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Law School Class Selection

By "Daisy Duke"

My comments on "what to take" vs. "what not to take" have garnered a few responses so I figured I'd touch on it again. "S" makes a good point that not everyone wants to be a litigator and you might not have the option of taking your state-civil procedure class. So here goes:

I think that law school is, for the most part, a general curriculum. You can focus on what you like but there is still, in my opinion, an obligation of every law student to at least touch on the cornerstones of the American legal system: civil & criminal work as well as litigation and transactional work. I fully agree that many people go on to not work as attorneys, or work in a highly specialized area that does not require those skills or that knowledge, but I think, with a law degree, we all have an obligation to at least understand the very basics of these fundamentals. I knew that the likelihood that I practiced criminal law was slim to none to zero but I still took criminal law and criminal procedure. They were both required by my law school and I find this important...after all, it does comprise 1/7th of our Constitution. Worth knowing in my opinion.

Evidence is a hard one. Certainly some attorneys will never come across it, but it is heavily tested on the bar exam and the hearsay rule alone contains 26 exceptions. I think it is important to be somewhat familiar with them before you barrel in and try to get them memorized in two months along with 9,000 other pages of rules, exceptions and doctrines. However, we all pick a few subjects to leave solely to Bar/Bri or Micromash and if this is yours, go for it. I left secured transactions and federal tax to learn from Conviser & Associates and I'm not looking forward to those mornings in the least.

Civil Procedure..... we all take Federal, but I think, given the opportunity, continuing to hammer home those points is worth it. Even if you never plan on arguing in a court room, civil procedure is the cornerstone to all civil law, litigation or transactional. Certainly it won't tell you how or when to file your inter-office memo or your letter to your client, but it will advise you on when your order or motion or pleading or affidavit is due to the court and how. As I've wisely been told: "The (civil) attorney who understands the code of civil procedure will run the case, and as such, it is your duty to understand it in theory and practice."

So those are my thoughts. Certainly we all have our own career goals in mind and I'm not here to tell anyone that my opinions are the black letter on the subject.... going back I probably should have taken one more U.C.C. course, but again, we all pick our subjects and I made my bed....time to suffer the consequences & reap the benefits.

Tomorrow: Chocolate Chip Cookies. Prepare to draw the line between butter & no butter.

Full post as published by Legally Blonde Ambition on June 04, 2008 (boomark / email).