Practical matters: clinic participation and legal experience

I’ll admit it: Walking into law school, I was pretty sure that every lawsuitconsisted of attending depositions with former exercise instructors anddiscovering crucial evidence by examining an individual's shoes ("LegallyBlonde," anyone?). I showed up for the first day of orientation in full-blownElle Woods mode, despite a shocking lack of pink in my outfit. Then Lawyeringstarted.

By the end of orientation, I was introduced to the wonders of Westlaw andLexisNexis and became intimately familiar with the library. By the end of 1Lyear, I had written memos and briefs and spent too many hours highlightingcases. Somewhere along the way, I realized that being a lawyer had a lot to dowith writing and less to do with my knowledge of this season’s flats. Trust mewhen I tell you that legal writing is a whole new mountain to climb. If youthought "thinking like a lawyer" was a tough transition, writing like a lawyercan be even more difficult.

While Lawyering provides a great foundation for building legal writing skills, there are some things you cannot master in a classroom. Among other things, I choseto participate in a clinic to strengthen my legal research and writing ability.KU’s clinics provide students the opportunity to get out in the field andpractice law under the guidance of a supervising attorney. We have our ownclients and often carry a case from beginning to end, counseling clients ontheir options and drafting many of the necessary documents to proceedsuccessfully through a lawsuit. As a result, I have written supporting briefs,petitions and other documents that are ultimately filed with my clients’ cases.Being a great legal writer takes on a new level of importance when there’s aclient relying on you.

The clinic has also been a great way to experience what practicing a certain areaof law is like. KU offers 12 different clinics in differing practice areas, soregardless of what field interests you, you’ll likely have an opportunity to engagein practice before you graduate. Additionally, it never hurts to build morelegal experience for your resume. KU’s clinics are a great way to step outsidethe classroom and learn what practicing law is like … preferably in a pair ofreally cute shoes.

Amanda Ferguson, 2L

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My (fun) first-year experiences

Rather than whine about how challenging and difficult the first year of law school is (I do that enough on Facebook), I’m choosing to write about something you never hear from a first year student: law school can be fun. Yes, there is an endless amount of reading, and yes, it is all very challenging. I expected that when I applied to law school. It’s the nature of the beast. What I didn’t expect was the fun experiences that I have had already.

Wednesday Night Sand Volleyball

Since the start of the semester, a number of first year students have gotten together every Wednesday night to relax by playing some sand volleyball. It has turned the middle of the week into a night that everybody looks forward to. Starting as something fun to do for ten people, Wednesday Night Volleyball has turned into a tradition that includes around 30 people every week. We choose new teams every week because we are consistently getting new people involved. It’s proven to be not only a fun way to relax on Wednesday nights, but also a great way to make friends with classmates I haven’t had the chance to meet yet.

Exploring Lawrence

There is always something cool going on in Lawrence. Comedian Aziz Ansari performed at KU’s Lied Center and students only had to pay $10 to see him. A couple of weeks ago I went to this free sidewalk performer festival called the Busker Festival. I saw the American Strong Woman, a magician, a couple of bands, and even a puppet show. In addition to going to the various shows and festivals, Lawrence has a lot of trendy restaurants and bars. Whether I’m going to dinner for a friend’s birthday or going to a bar to watch Monday Night Football, exploring Lawrence with friends is always a lot of fun.

Saturday Game Days

Graduating undergrad from Marquette University, I never had a college football team. I had been to KU football games before, but never as an actual KU student. Even though the team has had its ups and downs, I have always had going to the games and tailgating. KU Law’s Student Bar Association (SBA) organizes a free tailgate before each home game, which is a great place to hang out and meet other classmates, upperclassmen, and faculty. My favorite experience as a KU student came when KU beat #15 Georgia Tech and we rushed the field. It not only was a huge upset, but it was a really exciting game in itself.

Don’t be like me and only expect the worst. Don’t get me wrong, I did find out that the reading is endless, the material is difficult, and the professors are challenging. But I also realized that my classmates are going through the same motions that I am, and that there are plenty of opportunities for us to have a good time.

Henry Thomas, 1L

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