Don’t Let Technology Cheapen Your Law School Experience

Professor Aaron N. Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Law at Saint Louis University School of Law. He also provides important information to law students and lawyers alike @TheEdLawProf. Professor Taylor is a must follow for law students and all of us interested in legal education. 

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I attended law school in the age of the desktop computer.  Laptops were still novel, wireless internet was virtually unheard of, and phones were not that smart.  Classroom distractions took primitive forms—a discreetly placed magazine, a surreptitiously passed note, a whispered conversation, or good ol’ daydreaming.  These distractions were simplistic responses to the innately human urge to just get away (oftentimes from a boring lecture)

Technology, however, has changed the nature of classroom distractions.  Today, students have the power of the World Wide Web at their fingertips, and that has created the potential for unending disengagement.  

Moreover, the pervasive and accepted nature of laptops in the classroom has rendered the dime-store deception of my day unnecessary.  Magazines no longer have to be hidden.  Notes no longer have to be passed.  Conversations no longer have to be whispered.  Engaging in these pastimes requires little more than looking at the laptop screen.  Far as the professor knows, those are notes you are typing, not a hilarious tweet about #lawschoolproblems.  And why daydream when there are so many more interesting options? 

A handful of studies have measured the effects of laptops on classroom learning, and while the conclusions are mixed, it seems that most of them suggest that laptops do more harm than good.  That conclusion seems to be the accepted wisdom among professors, and in recent years, there has been an uptick in law professors who have banned laptops in their classes. 

I take a libertarian approach to the issue.  My students are adults, and almost all of them paid thousands of dollars to occupy the seats in which they sit.  Thus, I allow them to essentially choose the type of educational experience they want to receive.  But with free will comes responsibility—and risks.  I am not vain enough to believe that everything shared in my class, by me or by students, is thought-provoking or profound in some way.  But I am immensely confident that a semester of engagement in my class will foster heightened knowledge of the subject matter and, more importantly, contribute to my students’ long-term academic and professional development.  Unfortunately, classroom distractions can militate against that development.

There is nothing wrong with episodic disengagement.  But don’t let the allure of technology convert what should be episodic into harmful engrossment.  Every moment you spend updating your Facebook status in class is one less opportunity for you to get your money’s worth out of your law school experience.  The more moments like those you have, the less valuable your law school experience will be.

The author is a professor at Saint Louis University School of Law.  You can follow him on Twitter at @TheEdLawProf.

Eat the Turkey, and Make Sure That the Turkey Doesn't Eat You!

 Sorry, just love this cartoon and had to send 

it your way again during the Thanksgiving Break

As this is a “shortened” week, I simply wanted to write a shortened blog note and wish all readers a very Happy Thanksgiving.

I’ve spoken to many law students who are not even returning home for the holiday but are “hunkering down” to start preparing for finals. . These are the students who are taking “the bird by the hand” and sense that the holiday would be a distraction from their chief goal – making sure they are ready for upcoming exams.

Going home. . staying to study . . either way. There is no one approach that  is better than the other. Law students need to just know that you are in the “homestretch” and it’s time to start the sprint!

In the “picture is worth a thousand words” category, I once again give you my favorite cartoon on preparation and proofreading, see above.

Upcoming On “Lawschool: Success & Careers1.       

1. NCCU Law graduate and SBA President T. Greg Doucette (@greg_doucette) makes the case for “NC Spice” and discusses the use of Law School Incubators to assist newly-minted attorneys;

2.       

       2  Tara Rethorn, President of M. Beacon Enterprises, a career and business coach (@TRethorne), writes about how law students can leverage Social Media to Manage their law careers.  . .

. . . and much more!  Please join us and participate on our blog!! By the way, please email me if you have an idea you have and would like to write about it. . You are always welcome to do so here.

If you are a law student, take a break (a short one!) enjoy, and get back to the grind. 

Remember that law school is a challenge, but at the same time, remember all those who are not as fortunate as you. . Life may be tough at the moment, but always keep it in perspective.

Phil Guzman  

PSJD's Steve Grumm Comes to NCCULAW With Encouragment for Public Service Law Students

Steve Grumm, is the Director of Public Service Initiatives at NALP – National Association for Law Placement. In this capacity, Steve concentrates on the employment market for law students and lawyers who pursue public interest careers. He focuses closely on the funding trends for nonprofit and government law offices, and on efforts to boost public interest lawyer salaries.

 

Steve was kind enough to pay us a visit at North Carolina University School of Law in Durham, N.C., on November 8, 2012. He encouraged students seeking employment in the area of Public Service Law to be realistic, but hopeful in the face of the current job market. He reminded students that times may be tough but there are jobs out there:

 

  “Remember what you see in print is always the bad news, you never read about the lawyers that were recently hired in an organization.”  

 

  He suggested that law students show passion and a record of past public service work of any kind to seek work with an employer.

 

  Mr. Grumm suggested that students should “follow the money” (my words not his)  and remember that “jobs follow funding.”  (his words, not mine).  He indicated that the currently public service areas that were receiving funding included Housing and Healthcare  law. Moreover, as we look down the road into the future,  Elder Care Law, Consumer Law (as it applies to Elder Care in the area of frauds and senior “scamming”), and Healthcare (the “Boomer” Generation will add these opportunities).

 

 Steve reaffirmed what all law students should know by this time. . Networking is the name of the game when it comes to looking for a job either during, or post-law school. He never enjoyed networking, but he told the students that “passive networking” is what got him his initial job as a Legal Aid attorney. 

 

  He reminded the students that networking included what he termed“Passive Networking?” . . . where a student or lawyer is actually being “networked.”  . . Huh? . . One of the professionals in Steve’s network actually called a prospective employer to suggest that he needed to consider Steve for the job! Steve wasn’t even aware that this had taken place. The point here is that, had not he been networking, the job opportunity – passive or otherwise – would not have been available.  Students need to shake off whatever trepidations that they may have when it comes to networking and enter the fray (see, on a related topic, a past blog entry, if you have not already done so –“Don’t Be Shy at a Law School Related Networking Event” http://lawschoolsuccessandcareers.blogspot.com/2012/10/dont-be-shy-at-law-school-related.html)

 

  Finally, and most importantly in my view, Steve suggested that all law students seeking jobs in the area of public service incorporate the PSJD website where tons of jobs and resources are listed:

 

  http://www.psjd.org/resource_center

 

Make it a habit to look on at least once a week and to setup job related searches that will send emails to you when specific jobs are listed.

 

 Be aggressive, be passionate and be undaunted as you look for a public service job! 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Financial Plan for Law School? . . Stay "Lean & Mean"

Given the emphasis placed on the amount of debt that a law student carries post-graduation, it is important to do a “flashback” in time before you move forward again in the “how-much-debt-is-to-much-for-law-school discussion.”

PLAN AHEAD

Most financial planners will stress the need for law students to explore all funding sources for scholarships to grants. All great ideas! . . btw: here is a list of federal grants for aid: www.ed.gov/fund/grants-apply.html . . However, I would take this one step further. Law students must also consider what they will be doing with their law degree, post-graduation.

I know that one can’t actually predict beforehand what legal career opportunities law school may bring to a law student. However, if a student knows for a fact, for example, that sitting on the Supreme Court of the United States, or in the Managing Partner’s chair of a leading Big Law firm, will probably not be a career choice, the student needs to start narrowing down school choices to a list of very good “local” schools in geographic areas where their career is more likely to take place. So look for a school that will more than suit the student’s needs and staly well within a reasonable educational budget.

Every year the National Jurist posts its list of the “Best Value Law Schools:

 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/nationaljurist0912/#/20

Before considering the costs of law school, I would advice all prospective students who, in their heart-of-hearts, feel that they will be establishing a law practice, or seeking employment in the state where they live (or close thereabouts) to consider a quality law school – one with good clinical programs – in the geographic region in question – and apply. Such a move will cut the law school bill significantly – even before attending a class!

BE FRUGAL WHILE IN SCHOOL

What always seems to remain lost in the law school debt equation is the need for the law student, like all the rest of the people already in the work force, to start considering and putting into place a strict financial budget while he/she is in law school (and living by it!).  Work it out on paper.

. . . What is the amount of the monies that you have coming in, and what is flowing out on a daily. . weekly. . . and monthly basis??? Then, subtract the two (hopefully, income coming in is a  tad greatly than the amount flowing out. If not, the student needs to stop the insanity before it event starts) and then live by the numbers.

Moreover, forget the new law school gadgets, tools, study-guides, if you can’t afford them! You DON’T need the best, the latest, the brightest of all those toys, unless you can really afford them. And please don’t hit up parents, relatives, and friends up when you want a tool but can’t afford it! Once one starts down the self-absorbed instant gratification road, it’s tough to get off that train. I firmly believe that keeping costs down while one is in law school will help you in the overall costs of your debt when you graduate.

One more thing, please don’t talk yourself into buying a car on credit! You are in law school, remember? Figure out how you can get transportation without putting your name on a three to five year car loan. Bad idea.

AFTER GRADUATION

Especially if you are on the public interest side of the law, there are many programs around to help you in loan repayment:

·         Income-Based Repayment (IBR) will limit monthly payments to 15% of your discretionary income and then provide forgiveness after 25 years;

·         Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) was step up specifically for students entering public service. This loan will “forgive” your federal direct loans after you make 120 payments on the right (there’s the catch) repayment plan while working at a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or in federal, state, local, or tribal government.

·         Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs) – these are programs that can be obtained from universities, the federal and state governments, employers and private organizations (check out bar associations) to assist with payements.

Check out more information at www.equaljusticeworks.org

Thus, if you go to law school, think ahead, explore your actions and stay “lean and mean.”

Phil Guzman