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Office of Academic Administration and Student Affairs

Asst. Dean Stephen D. Sowle

Academic Administration and Student Affairs home page
Week of January 20, 2003

News & Annoucements From Prior Weeks -- 2002-2003 Archives
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Welcome Back! Congratulations to all first-year students on completing your first semester of law school, and to upper-level students for making it one semester closer to graduation. I hope everyone had a restful holiday break. I would like to thank everyone who sent get well messages or cards while I was ill. I'm recovered now and am very happy to be back at work. My son, who had surgery several weeks ago, is also doing well.

"Law as a Profession: From Law Student to Lawyer," Wednesday, February 5. (Registration deadline, Friday, January 24.) To supplement other aspects of our educational curriculum and to reinforce our emphasis on professionalism, Chicago-Kent organized the first Law as a Profession program in 1995. This program is a graduation requirement. Law as a Profession 2003 will be offered twice on February 5th, once for 2L day students, from 8 a.m. - 3:15 p.m., and again for 2L evening students (and any 3L/4L student who has not previously attended) from 5 p.m. - 9:20 p.m. Classes for the rest of the student body will be canceled that day. Program topics include: Establishing your Professional Reputation, Diversity in the Profession, Managing your Practice/Personal Life/Time (incorporating pro bono work), and Ethics and the Law. Business casual attire is required (dress slacks, sweaters, dress shirts, pantsuits, skirt/sweater, etc.). No jeans, t-shirts, tennis shoes, hats, etc. Day program registration is between 7:45 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. in the front lobby. Continental breakfast and boxed lunches/dinners will be provided. Evening program registration and dinner will take place between 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Note: If you have special dietary needs, please contact Lindsay Duvall in the Student Services Office at lduvall@kentlaw.edu.

Academic Calendar Reminder. In observance of Dr. King's Birthday, there will be no classes on Monday, January 20. Spring semester classes will begin on Tuesday, January 21.

Adding Classes After the First Week. You may add an open course without special permission until the end of the first week of Spring classes; during the second week, however, you may add an open course only with permission of the instructor. You may not add a course after the second week of the semester.

Spring 2003 Initial Reading Assignments. Initial assignments for many Spring 2003 courses are available through the Student Portal page.

Spring 2003 Classroom Assignments. Classroom assignments for Spring courses are posted in the front lobby.

Spring 2003 Schedule Changes. A list of changes to the Spring schedule that were made prior to the holiday break is linked to this page. In addition, the following courses have since been canceled due to low enrollment:

Advanced Research (Prof. Gnoffo, 422-051)
Legal Drafting (Prof. T. Cahill, 424-051)
Cybercrimes (Prof. Chval, 214-051)
I.P. in New Technological Age (Prof. Piatt, 233-051)
Advanced Topics in Busines and Corporate Law (Prof. Gillespie, 623-071)

Spring 2003 Trial Advocacy Section Assignments. Assignments for the Spring 2003 sections of Trial Advocacy 1 and Trial Advocacy 2 are linked to this page.

Spring 2003 Final Exams. The final exam schedule for the Spring semester is linked to this page. The Student Handbook requires that you take your finals at the times scheduled, even if you have two exams in a row, or one at 6:00 p.m. and another at 8:30 a.m. the next morning. Absent extraordinary circumstances, the only exception is if you have three exams scheduled consecutively (which rarely happens) or two exams scheduled at the same time. If you believe you have an exam conflict or other circumstances justifying the rescheduling of an exam (see Student Handbook sections 7.2 and 7.3), please contact me.

Bookstore Hours and Website. The bookstore's hours are linked to this page. Please do not use the bookstore's website to order your books -- it is not currently functioning.

Bar Registration for First-Year Students. First-year students who plan to take the Illinois Bar Examination after graduation should register with the Illinois bar examiners. The registration materials must be postmarked by March 1, 2003. The forms and instructions are available on the bar examiners' web site: http://www.ibaby.org/. Although you are not required to register as a first-year student, the advantage of doing so is that you will avoid paying a late fee of $350 imposed on those who register at any point after March 1 of their first year. If you are uncertain whether you intend to practice in Illinois, you may want to consider waiting to register and paying the late fee should you eventually decide to take the Illinois bar exam. The application form is very comprehensive and requires you to provide a significant amount of background information, some of which may be difficult to remember or obtain. If you have any questions about the application materials, you may call the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar at 217/522-5917.

All information you disclose on the bar registration application should be consistent with answers to questions on your Application for Admission to the law school. Please note, however, that the bar registration application asks for a considerable amount of information that you were not asked to provide on our Application for Admission. You only need to be concerned about the consistency of your answers for questions asked on both forms. You can amend your Application for Admission, if necessary, by addressing a letter to me setting forth the details of the omission or misrepresentation and the reason for it.

First-year students who think they may practice in another state should contact the bar examiners office in that state as soon as possible to determine their registration requirements. Booklets with the addresses and phone numbers of state bar examiners offices are available for you to consult in the Registrar’s office and in my office.

July 2003 Illinois Bar Application. Applications for the July 2003 Illinois bar exam must be postmarked by February 1, 2003. The forms and instructions are available on the bar examiners' web site: http://www.ibaby.org/. Please note: Even if you registered with the bar examiners as a first-year student, you must still file a final application by February 1. If you did not register during your first year, you will need a separate set of application materials, which contains both the registration application and the final application. Please be sure that you obtain the correct materials. If you have any questions about the application materials, you may call the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar at 217/522-5917.

The law school sends a “Certificate of Dean of Law School Proof of Legal Education” to the Illinois bar examiners for every student who graduates in May. Please be sure to file an Application for Graduation so that we will know you plan to graduate in May.

All information you disclose on the bar application should be consistent with answers to questions on your Application for Admission to the law school. Please note, however, that the bar application asks for a considerable amount of information that you were not asked to provide on our Application for Admission. You only need to be concerned about the consistency of your answers for questions asked on both forms. You can amend your Application for Admission, if necessary, by addressing a letter to me setting forth the details of the omission or misrepresentation and the reason for it.

Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE). The MPRE is required for admission to the bars of most jurisdictions, including Illinois. The exam is administered in March, August, and November each year. You may take the exam after you have completed the equivalent of two full academic years of law school, i.e., after you have completed two-thirds of the academic requirements for the J.D. degree. Applications for the next exam, on March 8, 2003, are available in the Registrar's office. The deadline for applying for the March exam is January 28, 2003 (the late deadline is February 13).

Joke of the Week. Question: What do marathon runners with bad footwear suffer? Answer: The agony of defeat.



News & Annoucements From Prior Weeks -- 2002-2003 Archives
Joke of the Week Archives

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