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- From: Internet Esquire <netesq@dcn.davis.ca.us>
- Organization: Internet Esquire(SM)
- Newsgroups: ucd.king-hall,news.answers
- Subject: King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 5 of 9
- Followup-To: poster
- Summary: This article is Part Five of a Multipart compilation of
- information on subjects of interest to the readers of the
- ucd.king-hall USENET newsgroup and other members and would-be
- members of the King Hall Law School community.
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- king-hall-faq/part5/faq.html >
- Ebb: <http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~netesq/USENET-FAQs/king-hall/part4.html >
-
- The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 5 of 9
- Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall
- (c) Copyright 1995 & 1996
-
- by
-
- David F. Prenatt, Jr.
- King Hall, 1995 Alumnus
- U.C. Davis School of Law
- University of California
- Davis, CA 95616-5210
-
- <mailto:NetEsq@dcn.davis.ca.us >
-
-
- The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ (King Hall USENET FAQ) may be comprised
- of more than one part. If it is, please see the TABLE OF CONTENTS in Part
- One for a complete list of the questions that have attempted to answer and
- for other important legal information. Caveat emptor: I assume no
- obligation for anyone through the publication of the King Hall USENET FAQ.
- Furthermore, all versions of the King Hall USENET FAQ are my personal
- property and are protected by applicable copyright laws. All rights are
- reserved except as follows: I hereby give my permission to anyone who has
- access to this version of the King Hall USENET FAQ to reproduce the
- information contained herein for non-profit purposes, provided that proper
- credit is given to me as the author of this FAQ and that I am promptly
- notified of any use other than personal use. I may revoke permission to
- reproduce any version of this FAQ at any time.
-
- - - - - -
- The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 5 of 9
- Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall
- (c) Copyright 1995 & 1996 by David F. Prenatt, Jr.
-
-
- 4.2) THE SECOND YEAR OF LAW SCHOOL AT KING HALL.
-
- 4.2.1) ON CAMPUS INTERVIEWS (OCI).
-
- 4.2.1.1) What is OCI?
-
- The term OCI refers to the longstanding practice of various law firms
- to coordinate their hiring efforts through Career Services (primarily
- for second year law students). The OCI process is not unlike rushing
- fraternities and sororities (i.e., a superficial popularity contest).
-
- 4.2.1.2) Should I participate in OCI?
-
- It depends upon what kind of job you want. OCI takes up a lot of time
- and energy, and you may end up getting a high-paying/dead-end job with
- a glass ceiling. About seven years after law school, many lawyers who
- go to work for large firms find themselves out of a job and without
- enough practical legal experience to open their own law firm. In
- other words, be careful what you wish for, it may come true.
- At the same time, many legal employers use OCI by default. So if
- you opt out of OCI entirely, you may miss out on many of the job
- opportunities that might really interest you. And a baffling fact of
- life is that many legal employers will not offer you a position until
- you prove that you are appealing to other law firms. And when you
- receive an actual job offer, you can contact a potential employer who
- has been sitting on your resume and use the job offer you have as a
- bargaining chip for a job offer that you want (tactfully, of course).
- So applying for jobs that you don't want can help you get jobs that
- you do want.
-
- 4.2.1.3) What alternatives are there to OCI? [Rev]
-
- You can simply apply for the jobs that interest you. For one reason
- or another, many job openings are not filled through OCI (smaller
- firms, for example, cannot plan that far ahead). Whatever you choose
- to do, be discrete about your success and your failure. Much like
- first year grades, looking for a job during the second year of law
- school is a challenge to the self-esteem of most law students,
- particularly those who don't get the job offers that they want. See
- Section 4.6.5 for information on Career Planning Resources on the
- Internet.
-
- 4.2.1.4) What are call-back interviews?
-
- Call-back interviews (call-backs) are pretty much what they sound
- like: Interviews that take place after employers call back the job
- applicants who made a good first impression at their initial OCI
- interviews. Call-backs usually require job applicants to travel
- overnight to out of town law firms and miss a day of school.
- Depending upon the law firm, applicants may or may not be reimbursed
- for mileage, taxis, meals, plane fares, and hotel accomodations.
- The inconvenience of OCI and call-backs cannot be overstated. If
- you are "lucky" enough to get the job interviews that you want, you
- will still be overwhelmed with the demands on your time that will
- accompany out of town travel. Accordingly, the "lucky" people must
- often decide between OCIs/call-backs and sleeping and/or studying.
- Moreover, your second year of law school, when most OCIs take place,
- is filled with activities such as Law Review and Moot Court that will
- demand most, if not all, of your time.
-
- 4.2.2) JUDICIAL CLERKSHIPS.
-
- 4.2.2.1) What is a judicial clerkship?
-
- A judicial clerkship is a paid position as a legal clerk working for a
- judge or group of judges that begins after you graduate from law
- school. Judicial clerkships are different from judicial externships,
- which are often completed for course credit during law school.
- Judicial clerkships are extremely prestigious and the competition for
- these positions is very fierce.
-
- 4.2.2.2) How do I apply for a judicial clerkship?
-
- Each judicial clerkship has its own guidelines. Contact the
- individual judge's chambers for more information on a particular
- clerkship. King Hall also has a special clerkship committee that
- helps King Hall students put together necessary materials. For more
- information, contact Jane Thomson (<mailto:jthomson@ucdavis.edu >) at
- the Career Services Office, (916)752-6574.
-
- 4.2.3) SECOND AND THIRD YEAR COURSES AT KING HALL.
-
- For a complete and current list of second and third year courses,
- readers with a web browser may visit the King Hall Second and Third
- Year Courses Web Page on the World Wide Web:
-
- <http://kinghall.ucdavis.edu/pages/2nd3rd.htm >
-
-
- 4.2.3.1) LAW REVIEW AND MOOT COURT.
-
- 4.2.3.1.1) Should I do Law Review or Moot Court?
-
- Yes. Either one or both (I did both).
-
- 4.2.3.1.1.1) Which program is better, Law Review or Moot Court?
-
- Law Review is much more prestigious than Moot Court and can open up a
- lot of doors for you, but Law Review is also much more demanding on
- your time than Moot Court. Both programs are very rewarding.
-
- 4.2.3.1.1.2) Can I do both Law Review and Moot Court?
-
- Yes, at least during the Fall Semester. Alternatively, you can do
- Moot Court during your third year, but that would preclude serving on
- the Moot Court Board or Moot Court Teams during your third year.
- Whether you want to continue with Law Review during your second
- semester is the real issue.
-
- 4.2.3.1.2) What sort of demands upon my time should I expect from Law
- Review?
-
- The first semester (i.e., the Fall Semester) of Law Review requires
- "candidates for membership" to fulfill modest office hour
- requirements, complete a cite checking assignment, and submit two
- drafts of a "note" or "comment" on a topic of their choice. However,
- the second semester of Law Review is extremely demanding, whether or
- not you succeed in becoming a Member or Editor. [Note: first
- semester requirements for Law Review Writers were recently changed
- from one "good faith draft" during the Fall Semester to two drafts.
- The jury is still out on the prudence of this decision, which is
- intended to speed up the process by which people become Law Review
- Editors, but which will also act as a gatekeeping mechanism for people
- who are sitting on the fence about whether to do Law Review at all.]
-
- 4.2.3.1.2.1) How do I become a Law Review Member?
-
- Any second year law student at King Hall can "write-on" as a Member of
- Law Review. Each draft of your note or comment is reviewed by two
- staff editors who are assigned to you, and you revise your note or
- comment according to their editorial feedback. When your staff
- editors run out of criticism, they usually recommend your draft to the
- Notes and Comments Editor who is assigned to you. Your Notes and
- Comments Editor makes the decision as to when you qualify for Member.
- More information on becoming a Law Review Member can be found on the
- World Wide Web at Law Review Questions and Answers for Prospective
- Students (<http://kinghall.ucdavis.edu/stu_org/lawrev/candidat.htm >).
-
- 4.2.3.1.2.1.1) How do I pick a good topic for my law review article?
-
- Most people make their choice of a law review topic based on a
- personal predilection towards a particular issue (as I did). Other
- student writers try to pick a topic that they think will be
- interesting to their intended audience. After careful consideration
- and months of pounding my head against a wall, I came to the well-
- reasoned conclusion that the best method of choosing a topic for a law
- review article is what I refer to as the "cynic's choice."
- Rather than reinvent the wheel, the best way to find a "good
- topic" for your own student article is to read through other student
- articles until you find one that you think is well-written. Then,
- research that well-written article until you find another student
- article (that virtually always exists) contradicting the first article
- on some key point. You have now found that mysterious and mystical
- "split in authority" to which law review editors constantly refer
- [technically, a split in authority should be between different
- jurisdictions], along with two model articles with which to structure
- your own work. You will also have a humongous head start on your own
- legal research, and you will need it.
- Law Review is not a creative writing process. It is an exercise
- in tedious research that focusses on recapitulating and elucidating
- (in "Plain English"--irony intentional) the work of other legal
- scholars. Try as you may, you will never find a "good topic" for a
- student article on which someone else has never written, and you are
- foolish to try. By definition, the good topics are all taken.
-
- 4.2.3.1.2.1.2) Isn't the "cynic's choice" method of finding a law review
- topic somehow . . . dishonest?
-
- Quite the opposite. It requires you to be honest with yourself and
- face the truth that takes most Law Review Writers (including me)
- months to realize: As a Law Review Writer, you don't have an original
- idea in your head that anyone else cares to read. Every intellectual
- assertion that you make in your student article needs at least two
- supporting authorities (if not more to convince a skeptical Law Review
- Staff Editor that you are really on to something). If your ideas for
- your article are truly original, they are probably fatally flawed; at
- best they will be unsupportable.
-
- 4.2.3.1.2.2) How do I become a Law Review Editor?
-
- The process is pretty much the same as becoming a Law Review Member,
- but new staff editors are assigned to you, more exacting standards are
- invoked, and the Editor in Chief must approve your paper after you are
- recommended for Editor. [Note: Exceptions to this process do exist.
- Check with one of the current Notes & Comments Editors or Editor in
- Chief if you think that special circumstances apply to your
- situation.]
-
- 4.2.3.1.2.3) What happens after I become a Law Review Editor?
-
- After you become a Law Review Editor, you review the work of Law
- Review Candidates and Members as described above. You may also wish
- to seek one of the elected positions on the Law Review Editorial
- Board. Check with current Board Members for further information on
- these positions.
-
- 4.2.3.1.2.4) What happens if I am not recommended to become a Law Review
- Member or Editor?
-
- You can always appeal such a decision by your editors, but the odds
- are stacked against you. The guidelines for what constitutes a member
- or editor quality draft are very subjective. Thus, it's best to
- comply with the editorial demands of your editors. Many good law
- review writers who do not succeed in becoming a Member or Editor are
- simply too defensive about the editorial feedback that they receive.
- On the other hand, your editors may neglect their duties to you.
- If this happens, you should promptly report the situation to someone
- you can trust, preferably someone who can take some sort of remedial
- action. Otherwise, you will end up as one of the many people who gets
- eliminated from the law review process every year. You may get
- eliminated anyway if you encounter some sort of problem with your
- topic that you cannot fix, such as pre-emption.
- If for some reason you are unable to continue with Law Review, it
- is not the end of the world. Many people continue working on their
- law review article to complete the Advanced Writing Requirement and
- obtain independent study course credit. At least one person I know
- had her law review article published in a prestigious journal after
- she lost an appeal for Law Review Membership.
-
- 4.2.3.1.2.5) Why should I do Law Review?
-
- Most people are compelled to do Law Review because of its resume value
- and the great prestige that it confers. Above and beyond this, Law
- Review gives you formal access to your colleagues who are a year ahead
- of you. Thus, Law Review is an excellent opportunity for you to hone
- your legal research and writing skills in a very demanding academic
- environment.
-
- 4.2.3.1.3) What is Moot Court?
-
- When most people talk about Moot Court, they are talking about the
- year long program of Appellate Advocacy at King Hall. There are
- actually several Moot Court programs; Appellate Advocacy is the most
- popular one.
-
- 4.2.3.1.3.1) Why should I do Moot Court?
-
- Moot Court will help you acquire valuable skills in oral advocacy.
- Having clerked for Moot Court as a One L, I though I knew what to
- expect from oral arguments, but boy was I wrong. I have never had a
- fear of public speaking, but during my first oral argument in Legal
- Writing as a One L, I experienced an adrenaline rush that really
- surprised me. All at once it occurred to me that I was confronting a
- hostile heckler to whom I was required to show deference (i.e., the
- judge) while at the same time zealously advocating the interests of my
- client. I decided to do Moot Court because I realized that it's best
- to learn how to cope with such epiphanies in an academic setting
- rather than in a real courtroom.
-
- 4.2.3.1.3.2) What should I expect from Moot Court?
-
- The first semester (i.e., Fall Semester) of Moot Court (i.e.,
- Appellate Advocacy) involves researching and arguing both sides of
- three hypothetical cases on appeal. The second semester of Moot Court
- is different in that it involves a single hypothetical case comprised
- of two issues on appeal; you work with a partner who helps you prepare
- a written brief. Participation in the second semester of Moot Court
- is also used to qualify students for certain Moot Court teams.
-
- 4.2.3.1.3.3) How do I qualify for a Moot Court team?
-
- Many of the Moot Court teams are selected from the Appellate Advocacy
- program, but there are several other teams that are sponsored
- independently by the law school that have nothing to do with the
- Appellate Advocacy program. In addition, you can create your own team
- for one of the competitions that is not sponsored by the law school.
-
- 4.2.3.1.3.4) What is the Moot Court Board?
-
- The Moot Court Board runs the year long Appellate Advocacy program.
- Students are elected to the Moot Court Board by the outgoing Board.
-
- 4.2.3.2) THE ADVANCED WRITING REQUIREMENT.
-
- Many people use Law Review or Moot Court to complete the Advanced
- Writing Requirement, but any professor can supervise an Advanced
- Writing Project to help you complete this requirement. For more
- information, contact Nicole Waterman (<mailto:ngwaterman@ucdavis.edu
- >) or Dian Francis (<mailto:dpfrancis@ucdavis.edu >) in the King Hall
- Registrar's Office in person or at (916)752-4299.
-
- 4.2.3.3) CLINICALS.
-
- 4.2.3.3.1) Should I take a clinical? [Rev]
-
- Yes. It is an opportunity that few attorneys have for obtaining
- practical lawyering skills, but a clinical should not be used as a
- substitute for other more challenging law school courses. I took the
- Civil Rights Clinical, conducted by supervising attorneys Carter
- "Cappy" White (<mailto:ccwhite@ucdavis.edu >) and Professor Margaret
- Johns (<mailto:mzjohns@ucdavis.edu >). [Note: Cappy left King Hall
- at the end of the Fall 1995 semester, and I am not personally
- acquainted with his replacement.] As a Certified Student Attorney, I
- represented pro se plaintiffs who had filed meritorious Section 1983
- Civil Rights claims with the Eastern District Federal Court in
- Sacramento and were assigned to the King Hall Civil Rights Clinic sua
- sponte (the expertise of Certified Student Attorneys helps unclog the
- court's calendar, which is overrun by the numerous plaintiffs who
- appear in propria persona because they cannot afford an attorney).
- I strongly recommend the Civil Rights Clinical for any law
- student who is interested in any type of civil litigation. Litigation
- is litigation is litigation, and the clinical puts its participants
- through the paces of every stage of a typical lawsuit. I like to
- think of it as "Applied Civil Procedure." Like all clinicals at King
- Hall, the Civil Rights Clinical requires students to be in good
- academic standing and become a Certified Student Attorney by applying
- to the court before which they wish to practice (e.g., the Eastern
- District Federal Court in Sacramento. This means that you must have
- at least a 2.0 GPA and complete courses in Civil Procedure and
- Evidence (concurrent enrollment in Evidence is permitted). Students
- can enroll for upwards of two to six units of clinical credit, graded
- on a Pass/No Pass basis, but the total number of students who can
- enroll is limited, so sign up early.
- In addition to the general requirements of other clinicals, the
- Civil Rights Clinical requires students to complete a three unit
- substantive course in Civil Rights (graded) and a two unit Skills
- Seminar (Pass/No Pass), both of which are taught by Professor Johns,
- although the substantive course was taught by an adjunct during the
- Fall 1995 Semester. [Note: Most clinicals have specific academic
- prerequisites. See the law school class information bulletin for more
- information]. Many students take the substantive Civil Rights course
- without taking the Civil Rights Clinical, but the Skills Seminar is an
- integral part of the Civil Rights Clinical. All Certified Student
- Attorneys in the Civil Rights Clinical must also attend a weekly one
- hour meeting, much like an office meeting at a law firm.
-
- 4.2.3.3.2) What clinicals are available at King Hall?
-
- King Hall sponsors legal clinicals for virtually every field of the
- law. For more information on how to sign up for a clinical in a field
- of law that interests you, contact Clinical Director Betsy Stewart
- (<mailto:ejstewart@ucdavis.edu >) at (916)752-6564.
-
- 4.2.3.4) PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
-
- 4.2.3.4.1) When should I take the required course in Professional
- Responsibility?
-
- Whenever it is convenient, but you need to pass this course to
- graduate from King Hall. It is a one unit course graded on a Pass/No
- Pass basis.
-
- 4.2.3.4.2) When should I take the Multistate Professional Responsibility
- Exam (MPRE)?
-
- Whenever it is convenient, but you need to pass the MPRE to become a
- member of the bar in any U.S. jurisdiction. Application forms for the
- MPRE can usually be found in the King Hall Registrar's Office.
-
- 4.2.3.5) Should I try to become a Course Tutor or Teacher's Assistant
- (TA)?
-
- Yes. It has tremendous resume value, and if you intend to teach law,
- the experience is invaluable.
-
- 4.2.3.5.1) What is the difference between a Course Tutor and a TA?
-
- Course Tutors are somewhat unique to King Hall. All first year
- courses other than Legal Research and Legal Writing have Course
- Tutors. There is also a Resource Tutor. Course Tutors are paid for
- their time, and their job is to help students who ask for help in
- their coursework. They tend to be very good students who did well in
- whatever course they are tutoring.
- In contrast to Course Tutors, TAs are unpaid positions for Legal
- Research and Legal Writing. A law student who works as a TA receives
- course credit. I had no desire to work as a Legal Research TA, but I
- did work as a Legal Writing TA, and I found the experience very
- rewarding, albeit extremely demanding on my patience and my time.
-
- 4.2.3.5.2) What are the qualifications necessary to become a Course Tutor
- or TA?
-
- Assistant Dean Toni Bernhard (<mailto:aebernhard@ucdavis.edu >) is
- responsible for hiring Course Tutors and TAs. Contact her at
- (916)752-0243 for more information.
-
- 4.2.3.6) OTHER COURSES.
-
- The faculty presents a forum every year to help second and third year
- students make decisions about what courses that they should take. You
- should attend this for the most current information available.
- However, I do have some general and specific recommendations:
-
- * You should include at least one skills class in your law
- school education, such as Trial Practice or Negotiations.
-
- * You should take advantage of the various classes that offer
- a paper as an alternative to a final exam for two reasons:
- First, instructors usually allow you to rewrite your paper
- to bring up your grade; Second, this will give you a knock-
- out writing sample, possibly of publishable quality.
-
- * You should take Federal Income Taxation, regardless of your
- career goals. This course is a prerequisite for many other
- law school courses, and taxation principles are key
- ingredients in any modern system of law.
-
- * You should take most (but not all) courses that are
- designated as courses that you need for the California Bar
- Exam (Bar Exam). In addition, there are many courses that
- are not specified as Bar Exam courses that are very helpful
- in preparing you for the Bar Exam:
-
- - Administrative Law (3 units) (taught by Professor
- Arturo Gandara <mailto:agandara@ucdavis.edu >);
-
- - Federal Jurisdiction (3 units) (taught by Professor
- John B. Oakley <mailto:jboakley@ucdavis.edu >); and
-
- - Law of Elections & Political Campaigns (2 units)
- (taught by Professor Floyd Feeney
- <mailto:fffeeney@ucdavis.edu).
-
- I have heard that Conflicts of Law (3 units) (taught by
- Professor Fritz Jeunger) is also a helpful class in
- preparing you for the Bar Exam. I couldn't fit it into my
- schedule, so I wouldn't know. However, the July 1995
- California Bar Exam did include a performance test based on
- a conflicts of law issue.
-
-
- 4.2.3.7) SPECIAL PROGRAMS.
-
- 4.2.3.7.1) JOINT DEGREE PROGRAMS.
-
- You can work towards a graduate degree in another department of U.C.
- Davis while you earn your law degree (e.g., you can earn an M.B.A. at
- the Graduate School of Management). If you chose to pursue such a
- program, you would take all of your classes at King Hall during your
- first year and after that divide your time up between classes at King
- Hall and the classes that are required in your other discipline. You
- would be required to file a separate application for the other program
- and satisfy the admission requirements for that program.
-
- 4.2.3.7.2) TAKING COURSES OUTSIDE OF KING HALL FOR CREDIT TOWARDS THE
- JURIS DOCTOR.
-
- 4.2.3.7.2.1) Can I take courses in other departments of U.C. Davis towards
- and get credit towards my law degree at King Hall?
-
- Yes, but there are limitations on how many you can take (in
- combination with a number of other courses) and you must obtain
- approval before you enroll in courses outside of the law school.
- [Note: Whatever grades you earn in courses outside of the normal law
- school curriculum at U.C. Davis will be converted to a Pass/No Pass
- grade, and the standards for a passing grade in these classes are
- higher than they are for non-law students.] Check with Assistant Dean
- Bernhard (<mailto:aebernhard@ucdavis.edu >) at (916)752-0243 for more
- information.
-
- 4.2.3.7.2.2) Can I take courses at other colleges, universities, or law
- schools for credit towards the Juris Doctor at King Hall?
-
- Yes. In fact, many law students from King Hall attend other law
- schools for a semester or more. However, there are specific academic
- prerequisites and other requirements, both at King Hall and at the
- other schools that help coordinate these programs. Check with
- Assistant Dean Bernhard (<mailto:aebernhard@ucdavis.edu >) for more
- information at (916)752-0243.
-
- 4.2.4) COMPLETING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO THE BAR.
-
- Many requirements for admission to the California State Bar can be
- completed during your second year of law school. Complete your Moral
- Character Application ASAP. See Section 10.1 for more information
- about these requirements.
-
- - - - - -
-
- End of document:
-
- The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 5 of 9
- Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall
- (c) Copyright 1995 & 1996
-
- by
-
- David F. Prenatt, Jr.
- King Hall, 1995 Alumnus
- U.C. Davis School of Law
- University of California
- Davis, CA 95616-5210
-
- <mailto:NetEsq@dcn.davis.ca.us >
-
- Link to next document:
-
- <http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~netesq/USENET-FAQs/king-hall/part6.html >
-
- - - - - -
-
-