OFF THE RECORD - Seton Hall Law

Law Schools Invested in the Community Foster Close Connections after Graduation

Posted by David Opderbeck on 12/1/16 2:00 PM

A few years ago I had the opportunity to lecture at a law school in Jérémie, Haiti. Seton Hall Law has a special partnership with this school in Haiti. One of Haiti’s ongoing problems is that its legal system, particularly at the local level, often functions poorly because of lack of resources and corruption. As the law school in Jérémie began to produce graduates who attained positions as judges and local political leaders, the situation in that city, though still very difficult, began to improve. Good lawyers, trained to live out core values of justice and respect for the rule of law, support good communities.

I share this story because it shows the unique value of a law school invested in giving back to its community.

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Topics: Admissions, Student Life, Faculty

Why I Study Alone (And the Exception to My Rule)

Posted by Sheena Shah on 11/23/16 10:33 AM

As a first year law student, the thought of one final exam determining 100% of my grade was daunting and I wanted to make sure I was prepared for what was to come. When I started law school, I asked many second and third year law students about their studying strategies. I noticed that study groups were pretty common, but decided that they were not for me and that was the best choice I ever made.

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Topics: Classes and Courses, Student Life

Your First Step To Secure Law School Financial Aid - the FAFSA

Posted by Karen Sokol on 11/15/16 8:35 AM

If you are researching financial aid for law school, you may know that the 2017-18 FAFSA is now available - 3 months earlier than in the past. Previously, the FAFSA was able to be completed any time after January 1, and this date has been moved up to October 1.

The 2017-18 FAFSA asks for 2015 federal income tax information – yes 2015. If you have applied for financial aid previously as an undergraduate, you may do a double take – isn’t 2015 the same information that you put on the 2016-17 FAFSA? The answer is yes, as this is the transition year. Instead of the prior year, the FAFSA now collects Prior-Prior-Year, which financial aid offices call PPY.
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Topics: Financial Aid

How Should Working Professionals Prepare Before Going to Law School?

Posted by Jon Romberg on 11/7/16 11:15 AM

While the majority of law students come to law school directly from college, there are a significant number who come from the workplace. If you are someone who started working after graduating from college and are now considering going to law school, you may be nervous about whether it’s a problem that you don’t really remember everything you learned in college. And you may be wondering what you can or should do to prepare for law school.

The answer is—pretty much nothing. Your college experience, whatever it was and whenever it took place, will not hold you back. And your work experience is an asset, not a liability.

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Topics: Admissions, Faculty

Law Students Need To Understand Basic Financial Concepts

Posted by Timothy Glynn on 11/2/16 1:00 PM

Historically, law schools focused almost exclusively on teaching students substantive legal concepts and developing corresponding analytical and writing skills. While this traditional core – “learning to think and write like a lawyer” -- remains at the center of the law school curriculum, it has become clear that law students need to develop other skills and knowledge to be successful once they graduate. Thus, we have seen a proliferation of course offerings focused on matters such as effective communication and leadership, adeptness with technology, and data analysis.

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Topics: Classes and Courses

How to Prepare for Law School While You Are Still in College

Posted by Claudette St. Romain on 9/27/16 7:49 AM

College students considering law school often ask which major will prepare them for success in law school. The answer is simple: choose a major that challenges you, requires you to think deeply, broadens your horizons, and sparks your passion. 

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Topics: Advice and Tips, Classes and Courses, Admissions

Navigating a Juvenile Detention Hearing Toward a Positive Outcome

Posted by Valisha Desir on 9/2/16 8:30 AM

When I walked into the Juvenile Justice Clinic at the start of the spring semester, I was excited for a change in my learning experience as a law student. I had grown accustomed to the classroom experience and was anticipating gaining an understanding of the judicial process from a hands-on perspective. To me, participating in the Juvenile Justice Clinic and working with the Public Defender’s Unit was an opportunity to learn the administrative processes of not just the courtroom but how each judge prefers to run their respective courts.

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Topics: Classes and Courses, Student Life, Clinics

Turn Your Judicial Clerkship Interview Into a Job Offer

Posted by Gregory L. Acquaviva on 7/13/16 11:00 AM

Congratulations! You have a judicial clerkship interview. You studied hard, earned good grades, wrote a stellar judicial clerkship cover letter, and submitted an application that rose to the top of a very large pile. Now what? How do you land that coveted clerkship? These tips will help you stand out for all the right reasons:

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Topics: Internships/Jobs, Advice and Tips

Law School Clinic Experience Gave Me the Chance to Provide Hope

Posted by Timothy Ortolani on 7/5/16 11:00 AM

My participation in the Immigrants’ Rights/International Human Rights Clinic was by far my most memorable experience in law school. Professor Farrin Anello assigned my partner and I to a time-sensitive case. The client was a young woman who recently fled Guatemala and had entered the United States without a visa. After being apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, she was sent to Delaney Hall Detention Center right here in Newark, where she was being held when we met her. Her bond hearing was rapidly approaching, and Catholic Charities brought her case to the attention of the Center for Social Justice. After reviewing the documents from our client’s initial interview with an asylum officer, we believed that she had a strong domestic violence-based asylum claim.

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Topics: Classes and Courses, Student Life, Experiential Learning, Clinics

Equal Justice Clinic Provides More than Transactional Legal Skills

Posted by Renée Bissonnette on 4/29/16 11:04 AM

In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote a public letter while he was imprisoned in Birmingham jail. In it, he said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Of course I’d heard this quote many times throughout my life, but I suppose in all honesty it affected me in the way most grandiose platitudes did: not much. We all innately feel that injustice cannot be tolerated, however, until injustice finds its way into our day-to-day lives, we are hard-pressed to find the motivation to take action, or the ability to comprehend what it truly means to face injustice.

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Topics: Classes and Courses, Clinics

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OFF THE RECORD

Seton Hall Law professors, students, administrators and alumni share advice and experiences about law school and life beyond the bar exam.

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