A friendly "Hi"

Living in Ohio, the state that says "Hi" back, I found it truly fitting to say "Hi" for the first time to the Capital Law School blogger community!

My name is Julie and I am a 1L currently in my second semester here at Capital University Law School. What a ride it has been! I have to admit, despite the excessive reading, late hours, and challenging course work, I have found it incredibly exhilarating.

I hail from Pittsburgh, PA, where my mother owns and operates The Beroes Law Center. I hold a BFA in Acting from The University of the Arts, located in Philadelphia. Upon graduation, I booked Twelfth Night by W. Shakespeare, playing the lead role of Viola, at The Oval Theatre in London, U.K. I lived and worked as an actress in London for a little over a year and a half and then moved to New York City, aka The Big Apple. While in New York, I was lucky enough to land an agent/representation and work in Independent films, Off-Broadway, voice-over work and print modeling. 

By now, I'm sure you've figured out that my dream was to be an actress, but what you don't know is that I grew up in the courthouse. One of the oldest memories I have is sitting in the jury box watching my mom litigate. As previously mentioned my mother is a prominent attorney in Pittsburgh and owns her own firm. My mother and I are very close, practically two peas in a pod, so any opportunity she got for me to be with her, she took and I gladly went.  

When my 'struggling artists' phase arrived - for a while there I thought I might have been lucky enough to avoid it - I brainstormed ways to make excessive amounts of money and combine all the skills of an actor. With the help of my mother, naturally, we came up with an adequate solution, Law School. My mother is an alumi of Capital University Law School and raved about the school from the moment the idea was formed.

I am extremely pleased with my decision to attend Capital Law School. My professors have recognized and catered to my inter-personal skills and have encouraged me to continue to be creative. The further I get in my studies, the more I realize how useful my acting skills are, after all, "the best litigators are the ones that tell great stories."

...Exams then...SUMMER!!!

I keep reminding myself as we head into exams that even though there is a lot going on, and frankly I would rather be sitting outside on a patio sharing drinks and conversation with good friends than sitting in the library or my apartment making outlines and note cards trying to study for my exams that are a week away, at least i am an adult who gets SUMMER VACATION!!

  I know exams stink no matter if you are in high school or taking the Bar exam, but spring exams are awful!! It is just starting to get warm so you want to go outside but you can’t read your computer screen, or the wind blows your papers, or you internet doesn’t reach, or (like in my case) the only options to go outside around my apartment are, for lack of a better word, creepy.  

I live downtown and 99.99999% of the time LOVE it. But when the weather gets nice and I want to do my homework on a porch I can’t.  What I would give to go back to high school studying for exams where my friend Kim and I would sprawl out by the pool or on a raft carefully holding the textbook that was school property (back then we didn’t have to buy the books so a few were splashed and one French book died when Kim moved on the raft and both went under water).

I am getting prepared to start my finals preparations and realize I am nowhere near where I need to be but I look around and think that most my class is in the same boat. So tonight with my MBA finals done I am giving myself a break and taking the night to enjoy some weather and some friends! I hope everyone is getting ready for a great summer! I personally am so excited about my summer internship I am ready for warm weather and friends and new experiences!

Tips for Exams!

Exams are stressful. At this point, with exams so close, students are probably biting their nails down to stubs, having the "oh-no-i-missed-my-final-" nightmare, or tracking down their professors like hound dogs for last minute questions. Here are a few little tips to ease the pressures of the upcoming weeks.

• 1. Study everyday! This is really not the time to watch a Friends marathon guys. It is down to the wire, and every minute counts.
• 2. Create a study group. Study groups do not have to be large ensembles of people. Even just one other person is enough to bounce ideas off of and review key concepts.
• 3. Review some commercial outlines. However, do this one with some caution because sometimes a commercial outline can be wrong, broad, or cover excessive material. I recommend to use it for term grouping strategies (ex. to understand under what heading should a particular concept go) and clarification on black letter law. 
• 4. Take five minute breaks after every hour of study.
• 5. Meet with professors. Even though they may be swamped around this time, hang in there and get an appointment. It always help to converse with the person that is actually going to be making your exam!

Happy Studying!

The end is in sight!

It is almost surreal that my first year of law school is coming to an end. The memory of the first day of school is so fresh in my mind that it feels as though it occurred just yesterday. I can still remember inhaling a deep breath of late summer morning air before I opened the glass doors to the school building; or the both the excitement and uneasiness that slowly crept over me as I waited for my first class began. Fast forward through crying through legal memos, long, tedious hours in the library, and lots of social events, and boom, there's only two weeks left in the semester! Now I am looking forward to a summer vacation. I want to kick back, relax, take a few road trips, and . . . of course take summer classes.

Exams..

As exams are fast approaching I am realizing that I have had an exam on the last or second to last day of exam week every semester! As I am figuring out my final fall semester of school ever (hopefully) I am realizing that in undergrad I did a way better job of making my schedule the way i wanted it.

In undergrad my junior and senior year I worked my schedule that I had no Monday or Friday classes (aka 4 day weekend every weekend!) and I only had fun night classes on Wednesday so that I was able to make my classes straight through and as manageable as possible. I am looking at the options to create an awesome schedule for this upcoming semester and it is not looking even close to well planned. My options are slim because I have limited classes to take as well as blocked up times for my other degree that I am looking at a few 2+ hour breaks and at least one class a day again.

I think that even though I can't get a schedule I love this semester the knowledge that I am registering for my last year of school ever will make it worthwhile. I am so excited that all this hard work and time put into school will pay off with a graduation in sight. Even though I am not looking forward to the bar exam I recognize that that is part of it and cannot wait to get home on Friday and not have homework that could overtake my entire weekend if i let it.

for now I need to focus on exams and since I only have to do that three more times I think I can manage :-)

Spring Break!

Spring break is ever so fast approaching. . . it is just within reach for all the weary learners aimlessly drifiting through the hallways of Capital University Law School. Just about the only thing that stands in its way (for 1L day students, at least) is a dreadedful motion for summary judgment. After that,  its a fun-filled week of . . . outlining. Yep, thats right. Although spring break provides a break from the usual rigorous schedule of jam packed classes, it is not a full opportunity to slack off from doing anything productive. Resist the enticing urge to abandon your books in the locker. Spring break is the perfect chance to meet with study groups, catch up on any missed readings, and of course outline. You will thank yourself when exams come around.


Happy Outlining!

Elections!!

Law School like any other school has a student government called Student Bar Association (or SBA). Here the elections are happening now and end tonight. students have been campainging for about a week (this is so much nicer than the entire year you have of campaigning for presidential elections in a swing state) and the campaigns go right back to how people campaigned in high school... cookies, candy and posters on lockers.

I personally think it is awesome to get free snacks for a week! I did not get the benefit of them since I gave sweets up for lent but i looked enviously as friends got a sugar boost in just about every class. I personally am not running for any position but think that it is awesome that in such a small school we can have so many people run and do so while still being friends with people they are running against.

To add more to just the daily life of a law student the Catholic Church elected a new pope (which I realize everyone isn't Catholic but this is pretty big world news) and they did so in just 5 votes (this hasn't happened in over 100 years i hear). This is also pretty awesome because regardless of personal opinions and political views this shows that those who voted were cordial and friendly accomplishing the task of the conclave very fast.

So my take away from these two election experiences (unlike those that happened in November) is that we are starting to realize, even if only in small amounts, that the fighting and attacks are unnecessary. Elections are a time of change and a time to grow no matter if they are happening in the world wide setting of the Catholic Church or in the small setting of a Law School on Broad Street here in Columbus. I hope that this feeling of comradery and respect for ones opponent begins to spread because that attitude makes everything just a little better!