Staying Healthy in Law School

With this year’s flu season hitting the nation early, staying healthy is a top priority for CSL students.  No one wants to miss class, work, or an internship.  Here are some tips on how you can keep the flu and other illnesses at bay this winter.

1. You’ve heard it a million times before, but eating a well-balanced diet and exercise are the foundation of a healthy law school lifestyle.  Eating nutritional foods doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming – Allrecipes.com has hundreds of quick and easy recipes that are also healthy.  Taking a multivitamin is a great way to make sure you aren’t missing out on important vitamins and minerals in your diet.  In addition, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise like walking will help you fight off illnesses, give you a mood and energy boost, and can assist with mental function.
2. Getting a flu vaccine is the most effective way to prevent the flu.  According to CNN, the shot is about 62% effective.  When creating the vaccine each year, scientists predict which strains will be the worst, so it is still possible to get the flu, but the effects are often less debilitating than without the shot.  Even though flu season is in full swing, it is likely to last through February (and possibly into March) so getting the flu shot now is still beneficial.  The flu vaccine is widely available at physicians’ offices and retail drug stores for $5 to $30, and many health insurance plans cover the shot with no out-of-pocket cost for the patient.
3. If you do get sick, rest is key.  Often, taking a day or two off helps the body to fight off illness faster and prevents others from catching the illness.  Getting extra sleep is important, especially early on.  Going to the doctor can shorten the duration of your illness too – prescriptions are available for common illnesses like sinus infections, strep throat, and the flu.  Home remedies like chicken noodle soup and hot tea can make you feel better too.  Giving yourself time to recuperate means getting back to the books faster.

~Kirsten Hallman~

A Torts Outline: The Lost Leg-Lost Chance Doctrine

For all you new readers who missed our previous posting featuring Margaret Hagan’s “Are You a Nuisance?” property outline, here’s another 1L study gem – this time featuring torts…

FYI – this artist’s blog covers everything – not just the flowcharts and cartoons inspired by her journey through Stanford Law School, but also dolls, drawings, films, and t-shirts…

Like it?  Love it?  Want one of your own?  She has an account on Image Kind — a site that you can buy prints (framed, unframed, or canvassed) of her drawings – and she even offers tshirts featuring these images as well…

Follow her on Twitter here…

Kudos, Margaret, for yet again making the drudgery of studying for law school a little more delighful!

~ Ashley Moye ~

CALI’s Unbound Conference

I had the pleasure of attending the Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) conference at the Marquette University Law School from June 25-27.  The law school building was a sight to behold.  The building is only a year old, cost over 82 million, and has as much state of the art technology as anyone could ask for.  The classrooms are designed to engage students – from push to talk mics to clean sight lines to configurable spaces that are geared towards collaboration or traditional lecture, depending on the class being offered.  Their “conference center” is set up to accommodate guests, let local tv stations plug into their state of the art recording studio, and give conference goers a beautiful view of downtown Milwaukee at the same time.

View of the School from one of the upper floors – notice the “exploded library” located on every floor!

The CALI conference was a real eye-opener on a variety of topics.  Speakers presented information on topics ranging from the latest uses of iPads in the classroom to new technology options for sharing and collaborating on faculty scholarship.  The crowd was nearly as enthusiastic as the speakers were for all the sessions I attended, and the questions were interesting as well.  To see the list of conference sessions, view the recordings, and listen to those questions, go to http://conference.cali.org/2011/webcast

The iPad sessions focused on not only the latest apps available in the legal market, but on some very creative classroom uses of apps.  At least two of the sessions used Xtranormal to illustrate ways of capturing students’ attention and introducing a topic that might normally be a little dry.  The speakers suggested that new apps and cartoons created using Xtranormal may just be the trick for getting students away from those FaceBook pages and back to concentrating on the law school topic of the day!

~Bobbie Studwell~

*New* Charlotte School of Law Video Tour

Halloween Haunt in the Library

Friday, October 29, 2010, the Charlotte School of Law Library played host to the children of CharlotteLaw and their parents.  PALS (Parents Attending Law School) worked hand-in-hand with student services, faculty and the library team to pull together a widely successful, and safe, Halloween event.  Professor Victoria Taylor followed up the event by saying “A BIG thank you to members of the faculty, staff and administration who helped make this year’s PALS Halloween event a huge success!  I am so proud to be part of this wonderful team; the way you support and encourage our students is inspiring.”  Many thanks to the students, faculty and staff that made this event so successful and fun.  Please enjoy a few snapshots of the library staff entertaining the spooky trick-or-treaters.

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Law Library Course Reserves, CPAS, Study Rooms, and Fines

With mid-terms upon us the CSL Library wants to remind you about Circulation policy regarding course reserves, CPAS (Academic Success) and study rooms.

• Course reserves are located behind the Circulation desk in the law library. These materials are put on reserve by your professors and can only be checked out for three hours, cannot be renewed, nor can they be put on hold. The course reserves also carry a fine of $3.00 an hour even if the book is only one minute late. These materials have the highest demand in the law library. The course reserves are there for the convenience of all CSL students, so please be respectful and professional toward your fellow students and return these items on time.
• At the end of September an announcement was sent out stating that the CPAS (Academic Success) materials would be moved from their location in front of library reference to behind the circulation desk. We know that some of you have found this move an inconvenience; however, these materials are also in high demand and having the CPAS collection behind circulation better serves all students. Currently, the CPAS materials can be checked out for seven days, may be renewed once, may have a hold request placed on them, and do not carry a fine. Because of mid-terms we have discontinued renewal of these materials.
• CSL now has 20 study rooms, which means we have more study rooms than 80% of all law schools in the country. Of course, the rooms are in very high demand at this time. Remember, you can either call the circulation desk at 704-971-8574 or come to book a study room up to 24 hours in advance. It is possible to renew a study room a half hour before your allotted time is finished if the room is not booked in advance for another group.
• In order to pay library fines you will need see Ms. Linda Pickett who is the Accounting Manager in Financial Services, Room 333. When you pay for a fine Ms. Pickett will provide you with a receipt to bring to Circulation, and after we receive the receipt the fines will be cleared from your patron record.  Remember unpaid fines can result in restricted ability to register for classes or graduate.

If you have questions or concerns regarding CSL Library Circulation policy and related issues please contact Kim Allman, the Library Access Services Manager, or visit the library website for more information.

- Kim Allman -

 

Seniors to 1st-graders: Your gift is the present

3L to 1L, what would your advice be?

Seniors to 1st-graders: Your gift is the present.  CharlotteObserver.com.

“A couple of weeks ago I asked new high school seniors to give their advice to incoming first-graders on what the next 12 years will be like. I wondered if I’d get much response. It turned out the problem was having enough time to read them all” - ShaMal Brown, West Meck
Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/09/09/1680160/seniors-to1st-graders-your-gift.html#ixzz0z7woelNX

Law school dispelled

Welcome, Fall 2010 students!  Here are answers to some of your unspoken questions.

“Law school is like a new language…HELP!”

Don’t worry, we’ve listed below a couple glossaries that break down commonly used law school terminology:

• A Glossary of Terms for First Year Students by George Mason School of Law
• Legal Glossary by University of Denver, Sturm College of Law
• Glossary of Terms used in Legal Research by Westlaw (West Thomson)

“What should I be reading?”

We’ve compiled some reading lists created by law professors and other commercial vendors that might interest you:

• A Real Law School Reading List by Amazon.com (The Dilettante Dilly!)
• Suggested Reading for Future Law Students by MSU Law
• Suggested Readings Prior to Law School prepared by Prof Sam Jacobson
• Suggested Reading for Law Students prepared by UDC David A. Clarke School of Law, Office of Admission

And if you see any books that you’re interested in reading, see if it’s available in our online catalog.

“Can I come visit before school?”

Sure, stop by any time between 9-5 during the week.  We would love to meet you and give you an individual library tour.  Just swing by the reference desk.

“What is TWEN?”

The West Education Network® (TWEN) is an online extension of the law school classroom and is similar to Blackboard (which some of you may be familiar with from your undergraduate programs). You use TWEN to access your course materials (such as your syllabus and reading assignments for the 1st day of class), participate in class discussions, receive and submit online assignments, complete quizzes, exchange e-mail messages with your instructors and classmates, and more. To participate in TWEN, you need a Westlaw password (which you will receive during Pre-Orientation) and you need to add a course created by one of your professors. For more information review the Student’s Guide to TWEN.

-Liz McCurry-

Worried about final exams?

Take a deep breath and relax.  Come see us in the library and check out all the resources available to help you prepare for this stressful time.  Please feel free to use any of the resources in the book display by the elevators.

Studying at home?  Surf your way to Westlaw’s Law Exam Guide.

Try out CALI for lessons & tutorials & crossword puzzles.  Stop by or call Reference for a card with the CALI authorization code.  The subjects include Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, Torts, Administration Law, Arbitration, Business Association, Corporations, Criminal Procedure, Environmental Law, Evidence, Family Law, Professional Responsibility, Remedies, Sales, Tax and Wills & Trusts, among others.

Want additional online resources?  See these sources for law school exams and preparation and advice:

• Indiana University School of Law
• Jurist Legal Intelligence
• FindLaw Law School Exams

For a relaxing laugh, check out the advice of a OneL blogger at Top Ten Survival Rules for Law School.  Her advice about exams:

4. Avoid classmates during finals: this has been the secret to my success. During finals I think I saw a handful of people in my section who were either 1) stressing out every day, 2) crying every day, 3) throwing up every day, or 4) a combination of the first three. It starts to wear on you. Your meals start to come from vending machines and the librarian starts to know your name. When it’s dark outside, you’re not sure if it’s day or night because you’ve been in the library for nearly 24 hours anyway. Don’t do this. As I said in Point 10, law school is a marathon, not a sprint. The final you have at the end of exam period is probably worth just as much as the first final. Pace yourself.

So please stop by the Charlotte Law Library today either in person (or virtually!) and let us help you find the resources you need.

Good luck and best wishes with exams!

-Mary Susan Lucas-

The Golden Egg, What makes a good law school exam answer?

With finals almost halfway complete, some students may be looking eye-to-eye at the light at the end of the tunnel, while others may be looking for inspiration.  I know you don’t have time to sit and read Chicken Soul for the Soul, but here are a few, hopefully inspiring sentiments from law professors on what they are looking for in a good law school exam answer:

“A good law exam answer is _______.” From The Wall Street Journal Law Blog, “What Makes a Good Law School Exam Answer? Law Profs Weigh In“

• Heather Gerken, Yale: A good law exam answer is . . . evaluative. Too often, students walk through each answer as if all arguments are created equal. They don’t tell me which arguments are strong and which are weak, which facts matter and which don’t, which cases provide strong support for their claims and which ones are distinguishable. And they throw everything into the answer rather than think hard about what belongs and what doesn’t. Good lawyers don’t just know the substantive law; they also have good legal judgment. The mistake students make is not to exercise their own legal judgment in answering a question.

• Richard Friedman, Michigan: A good law exam answer . . . answers the question. Banal as that sounds, many students take the question as an excuse to write a canned answer on some area in which they’ve learned the black-letter law. I tell my students, “Imagine you’re riding down an elevator with a boss who knows the law and who has told you the facts but wants your help in advising the client. Don’t repeat the facts to him. Don’t tell him the law. Apply the law to the facts.”

• Eric Chiappinelli, Creighton: A good law exam answer . . . is one that does more than tells me what the law is (more or less well) and applies the law to the facts (more or less well) and then stops. The other 90 anonymous answers will do that. You should do two additional things: Tell me up front what the question really turns on – a choice between two applicable rules? Deciding what a particular word or phrase should mean? Then, at the end, give me your opinion of whether the result is good or fair or just. Cutting to the heart of a question immediately and expressing a value judgment about the result are what separate the A’s from the C’s.

• Paul Secunda: Marquette: A good law exam answer . . . gets to maybe. By that I mean that too many law students have an undergraduate mentality and seek to figure out the one “right” answer for the question. The point of the law school exam is not necessarily to test for right and wrong answers, but to see whether the student is utilizing critical reasoning skills to understand all the possible issues that the question presents. The more you arrive at a “maybe” in your law exam, the more likely you are seeing all the sides of the question in your answer and will then receive the most exam points.”

• Adam Winkler, UCLA: A good law exam answer . . . is rigorous and deep. By rigorous, I mean it references every applicable standard, test, and burden; analyzes every appropriate “branch” in the decision tree; and follows a sound logical structure. By deep, I mean it argues — not just concludes — how the legal rules apply to the facts; analogizes and distinguishes the most relevant cases; and addresses the best counterarguments. There is no “right” answer. It’s all about the argument.

• Tim Wu, Columbia: A good law exam answer . . . is honest and perceptive. Many law students, when answering exam questions, seem to lose their humanity. They become a sort of law robot, flooding you with pages of 4 factor tests, canned nonsense, and ridiculous results. (Unfortunately, some judicial opinions read that way too.) The good students are more honest in their responses: they hone in on what is actually hard about the problem, and let their instincts drive the answer, with doctrine as their instrument. The very best law students are able to turn the problem around in their mind, almost like a computer rotating a complex shape, and explain how slightly different angles of view create different doctrinal consequences.

• Pamela Karlan, Stanford: A good law exam answer . . . is like a poem. Every word is there for a reason. It makes creative arguments within a conventional form. It avoids needless sentimentality but it reflects an author who thinks and cares. I learn something from reading it. And it ends with something other than the word “Time . . . . ”

Any other professors want to weigh in on their opinion on what constitutes a good law exam answer?

-Liz McCurry-