The Newsletter of the Carnegie Mellon University Pre-Law Program |
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Top Law Schools for Racial Justice
No doubt, many law students want to enter the fight. The fight that has sparked so much passion. The one against racial injustice. The motivation for doing so has rarely been as stark or as powerful.
First the good news: Our annual analysis of Best Value Law Schools shows that many continue to offer affordable, results-driven educations, ones that can pretty much squash the popular argument that it’s a bad bet to become a lawyer.
FAMU student writes children’s book to motivate Black youth
Okoye Morgan Jr., a third-year law student at Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Law, is achieving his high-school dream of becoming a lawyer and is also sharing his experience in a unique way.
Former FBI Director James Comey to teach at Columbia Law
Students who are part of Columbia Law School’s Reuben Mark Initiative for Organizational Character & Leadership program will be taught by ex-FBI Director James Comey for the Spring 2021 semester. Beginning in January 2021, Comey will be appointed senior research scholar and distinguished fellow of the program. His new seminar is titled, “Lawyers and Leaders.”
Adapting to Change
Many questioned if the bar exam — so difficult that former California Gov. Jerry Brown failed it the first time he tried — should have been held during a pandemic, one that health experts say tends to spread most quickly among people in large gatherings . . . such as the bar exam.
For anyone considering law school, it’s important to get the lay of the land. Law school admissions cycles aren’t uniform
Can practical training hamper your bar exam chances?
When bar exam results started going south a few years ago, lots of blame was thrown around. Some argued that schools were admitting too many unqualified students in an effort to combat dropping enrollment. Some claimed that schools were not requiring as many rigid, bar-related courses. Some blamed the bar exam itself for not evolving to meet law school curriculum changes
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Events
preLaw Virtual Spring Symposium 2021
Thursday, March 4, 2021, 11 a.m., Remote
The preLaw Virtual Spring Symposium 2021 allows for prospective law students to gain insight from leading experts and the top law schools around the nation about their law school choices and how to best proceed. Future law students can engage with top law schools via our Virtual Exhibit Hall, and with speakers via Q&A time during the live sessions.
Agenda at a Glance
How to overcome challenges:
Low GPA, LSAT, Gap years
Most Diverse Law Schools
How important is diversity; what to look for in a school
Geographic Decisions
Stay local or move across the country?
When is practical training important?
Best schools for practical training; what to look for in a school
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American University Washington College of Law
American University’s Washington College of Law is one of the top international law schools in the country, with one of the largest programs for foreign attorneys, and the nation’s largest study abroad program. It also excels in human rights and other practice areas, and is one of the most diverse schools in the nation.
University of Dayton School of Law
University of Dayton School of Law, one of only two Catholic schools in the region and the only one in Ohio, focuses on delivering a unique hands-on approach to the study of law, while offering students flexibility in how they earn their law degree.
Washington and Lee University School of Law
Washington and Lee University School of Law is small but mighty. The school has an enrollment under 400 and one of the lowest student-to-faculty ratios in the nation.Its small class sizes and a dedicated faculty have lead to a strong, personal education. The faculty considers teaching its highest and most important calling, and they also serve as mentors and guides toward personal and professional success.
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How to Avoid Common Mistakes Applicants Make with “Why Us” Essays
Some law schools have what’s often referred to as a “Why Us” essay. It’s usually an optional essay. You don’t absolutely have to do it. But it doesn’t hurt to show interest, especially if it’s a school you are really hoping to attend, especially in a competitive application cycle.
How to Prepare for Law School in Undergrad
Some people have known they want to go to law school since they were in kindergarten. For others, it's a more recent discovery. No matter when you decide to go to law school, your undergrad experience will be an important factor.
How to Pass the Bar Exam as a Repeat Taker
There’s no sugarcoating it—failing the bar exam is a setback. You’ve already invested a lot of time and money preparing, and the thought of doing that again probably isn’t a pleasant one. One of the worst things you can do, however, is simply repeat the way you prepared in the past. Repeat takers that fail the bar exam often do so because they don’t undergo any meaningful reflection or make necessary adjustments from exam to exam.
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Opportunities
New course for spring: War Powers
This is a great small discussion course for any student interested in law or executive-congressional relations.
84-383 War Powers
Professor Alma Keshavarz
Tuesday/Thursday 12:20-1:40PM, Remote
Description: This course focuses on the President's exercise of war powers. The course will begin with the constitutional foundations of the President and war powers, then transition into the earliest judicial court cases that established the basis of war powers as a legal issue. This course will examine use of force by wartime Presidents and the role of Congress as the branch that has the constitutional authority to "declare war." It will follow Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus, Japanese internment cases, seizure of private property in Youngstown, military tribunals, and explore how non-state threats and terrorism have changed the scope of presidential war powers. Since the Global War on Terror, the Supreme Court has had to navigate how to interpret cases against "unlawful combatants," while the Executive and Legislative branches have been in constant tension over the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, the War Powers Resolution (1973) and the use of drones during times of war.
Course Relevance: War powers is a continual debate. International conflicts with US involvement spur judicial debates on who naturally holds the war powers: the Executive branch or the Legislative branch?
Course Goals: By the end of the course, students will have a solid understanding of executive-congressional relations on the issue of war powers. Students will also understand how the judicial branch interprets law, particularly matters that pertain to war powers, and how precedence is set for the future.
The Triple Helix
If you're interested in being part of CMU's only student-run research journal, The Triple Helix is recruiting writers and a social media liaison. The Triple Helix is a national undergraduate organization with chapters at two dozen college campuses including Yale, Harvard, Oxford, Brown, and Johns Hopkins. TTH aims to promote the interdisciplinary nature of technology, science, law, and society through our semesterly Science in Society Review journal. But there is also an Instagram account and biweekly blog posts. Joining the Triple Helix should not be too much of a time commitment, regardless of your position. They're looking for a social media liaison to post about a relevant current event 3x a week, and writers for either the blog or the journal. Here's the latest journal issue at UChicago to give an idea of what the finished product is like.
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Pre-Law Advising Office
Dr. Joseph E. Devine
University Pre-Law Advisor
Thomas M. Kerr, Jr. Student Pre-Law Society
Elle Schaefer
Senior, Business Administration major
President, Thomas M. Kerr, Jr. Student Pre-Law Society
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