New Praxis Certificate Program. Professor Maureen Aidasani will be holding information sessions for second-year full-time students, and for second-year and third-year part-time students, interested in enrolling in the new Praxis Certificate Program. These optional sessions will be held on Wednesday, October 15, at 3:00 pm in Rm. C40, and Tuesday, October 21, at 5:30 pm in Rm. 580. Refreshments will be served.
The Praxis Certificate is designed for students who are interested in fully embracing a practice or experience-based course of study. In addition to completing 24 credits in approved experiential coursework, Praxis students will learn about some of the most important “practice competencies” of successful attorneys, chart their progress toward developing these skills, and learn how to package and market their experience to potential employers. Students may enroll in Praxis concurrently with other Chicago-Kent certificate programs. Full-time students must enroll no later than the beginning of their fourth full semester of law school; part-time students must enroll by the beginning of their third year. For more information, visit: http://www.kentlaw.iit.edu/academics/jd-program/certificate-programs/praxis-program. Separate information sessions will be held for first-year students in the Spring 2015 semester. Please contact Professor Aidasani (maidasan@kentlaw.iit.edu) if you have any questions.
Fire Drill Follow-Up. We would like to thank students, faculty, and staff for their cooperation with the recent fire drill. We would also like to pass along a few reminders:
•Please use the nearest staircase to exit the building, unless the staircase is overcrowded. In that case, please seek out an alternate staircase (there are at least two on each floor). There are maps in the elevator bays on each floor identifying the locations of the staircases. Do not use the elevators.
•Once in the staircase, please proceed all the way to the first floor -- do not exit at the third floor in order to use the atrium staircase.
•Please do not take time to gather up and pack your belongings -- your safety is more important than your possessions. If you have valuables you do not wish to leave behind, please "grab and go" when you hear the alarm -- do not waste precious seconds or minutes powering down your laptop computer or packing up your belongings.
•Once you exit the building, please move either eastward or westward down the sidewalk so that you will be out of harm's way if any windows shatter. For your safety, please do not step into traffic or cross against a traffic light.
•Failure to follow the directions of Law School personnel during a building evacuation may subject you to a disciplinary charge.
1L Your Way. As announced last year, full-time first-year students will be able to choose an elective class or Clinical Rotation in the Spring semester if they wish. Part-time day students and evening division students will begin taking electives next Fall (or this Summer if they elect to enroll for the optional Summer term).
Full-time students will have three options in the Spring:
•Taking Legislation (a 3-credit required course).
•Taking one of several designated elective classes. The tentative list of classes includes Business Organizations (4 cr.), Patent Law (3 cr.), Employment Relationships (3 cr.), and International Law (3 cr.). With the exception of International Law, which will be offered in the evening, all of these courses will be offered in the day (in the same time slot as Legislation). Some additional classes may be added to the list, and students may petition to take other elective classes that fit their schedules (petitions will be considered on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the professors teaching the courses).
•Taking the new Clinical Rotation (see the description below).
Students who choose to take an elective or the Clinic Rotation will be required to take Legislation in the Fall of their second year. The final Spring schedule, with further details, will be issued prior to Spring registration in November. For the Clinical Rotation, an application will be due prior to Spring registration (we will give ample notice of when and how to apply). If the number of applications exceeds the number of available places in the Rotation, we will conduct a lottery to select the students. In addition, depending on demand, we may not be able to accommodate all first-year students who wish to take one of the designated electives classes, although we are hopeful there will be sufficient spaces available for all interested students. To ensure that all full-time first-year students are assessed on a common set of courses, grades for Legislation or for an elective taken its place will not be considered in calculating Spring class ranks for first-year students or for purposes of probation and dismissals, Law Review selections, or merit scholarships for first-year students. (As noted below, the Clinical Rotation will be graded pass/fail and thus won't count into students' GPA's for that reason.)
Clinical Rotation Description: The Clinical Rotation option aims to help students refine their career interests by gaining exposure to diverse areas of law practice. Based on the medical school model, the intensive clinical rotation matches first-year students with a trio of faculty practitioners, allowing students to immerse themselves in several practice areas and to learn the diverse skills demanded. Students enrolled in the rotation will spend four weeks with each of three practitioners, shadowing them as they work and taking part in virtually every phase of the cases they handle. Practice areas include civil litigation, criminal defense, employment law, entrepreneurial law, tax and probate law, health and disability law, and family law. Students will participate in legal and factual research, client interviews, document drafting, discovery review, administrative hearings and negotiations, trial strategy sessions, court appearances, and motion calls. The Clinical Rotation will be graded on a pass/fail basis only.
Joke of the Week. I dreamt about mufflers last night - I woke up exhausted.
