A Day in the Life

"From the Horse's Mouth": A Visitor's Perspective on the University of Chicago Law School

One of my favorite things about being back at my alma mater and working in the Admissions Office is receiving feedback from people that visit the Law School.  Some of these people take advantage of our Open Houses held earlier this fall, others visit on any random day, and still others drop in and take advantage of our great self-tour authored (and narrated!) by current law students.  The most common refrain I hear is what a great, collegial and close-knit community we have and how impressive the classroom experience is here.  As an alum these come as no surprise to me as my peers and the interactive classroom environment were two of the best parts of my law school experience.  Rather than repeat our own sentiments about the Law School, we thought we would share some of the feedback we've received this fall from our visitors.  Once again we encourage you to visit the Law School and experience for yourself what a unique place U of C is.            

"From the point of entrance into the building, I felt very welcomed and accepted by the students and staff.  I had the opportunity to sit in on the Elements of the Law lecture and the Property lecture for 1L students.  While sitting in on these class, I noticed how the professors engage the students in their lectures by using the Socratic Method. 

I also noticed that the professors had no problem spending time outside of the class with the students to ensure that they understood the lesson.  This eased some tension because it shows me that the professors put a lot of effort into bettering their students and ensuring that students get the most out of their education at the University of Chicago Law School. During this visit, I also had the opportunity to talk to students about the current experiences as a law student ... I identified with some students due to shar[ed] similar interests, but others also due to them entering academia from the workforce.  Initially, I was fearful that the transition would be extremely difficulty one; however, your students showed me that it can be done with perseverance and the support given by the University staff.  Overall, this visit has solidified The University of Chicago Law School as my first choice."

"I found the tour highly valuable as I gained first-hand experience of Chicago Law.  I enjoyed interacting with faculty, staff and students very much.  ...  I was impressed with both the research that Chicago Law students undertake and the clinical practice opportunities available.  During the course of the tour, I found the arrangement of the relevant resources for legal research and studying lends to a unique synergy, which I believe contributes to the excellence of Chicago Law.  My visit has confirmed my belief that Chicago Law is my top choice."

"I enjoyed [attending a Open House] thoroughly and was extremely impressed by your faculty, staff, students and campus.  ...  Now that I have visited [the Law School] and have had the opportunity to learn from Professor Strahilevitz during his class on Property, I am genuinely enthusiastic at the possibility of attending [U of C]." 

"Coming from Utah, you can imagine that I do not get a chance to take part in may open house events at pretigious law schools such as [U of C] ... Chicago's students were welcoming ... [and] our class with Professor Strahelivitz genuinely gave me confirm and stoked my law interest anew."                                                                                  

Hopefully these comments "from the horse's mouth" will help give you a sense of the indelible impression the Law School leaves.  We encourage and look forward to visits.  Beginning on January 8, 2008, we will begin daily student-led tours of the Law School everyday at noon.  If you are planning to visit the Law School and contact the Admissions Office a few days advance notice, our fabulous Student Admissions Committee can sometimes pair you with a student day host with whom you can attend class and talk about his or her experience at the Law School.  And, of course, you are always welcome to drop by the Law School at any time and explore on your own, sit in on a class and chat informally with students.  One of our newest ways to tour the Law School -- from home or as you walk the halls of the buidling -- is download the fabulous student-authored and narrated audio or video tours to your own digital player.  If you forget yours don't worry -- we have some here too!  Stop by the D'Angelo Law Library with a photo ID you can borrow one of our video iPods to use while you stroll the halls.  One important reminder as you plan your visit -- our academic calendar operates on the quarter system which means you should target your visits during January and February in order to interact with our students and sit in on classes.

For those of you can't make it to Chicago, you can also always take advantage of the Law School's audio tour

Tips and Tricks #3: Classes, Majors and GPA

The GPA as a number is overrated. A GPA at "School A" can mean something very different from the same GPA at "School B." Even at the same school, your major greatly effects your GPA, as any engineering major can tell you. Cumulative GPAs can also be deceptive, as some students struggle in their first semester or year, maybe earning a few C's before hitting their stride senior year with the 'picket fence' of straight A's. For these reasons, we always look at the transcript not just your GPA to see the facts of your academic history, not just the numerical shorthand. 

Interestingly, we hear far fewer complaints about the GPA than another required 3-digit number, even though the GPA has its deficiencies. What we do hear is student concern that their GPA will not make them a competitive applicant because it is below our median.  Here are a few things to keep in mind when thinking about GPAs:

• We look at the whole transcript, not just the GPA.  We look for grade trends, upper class courses, and course variety. Law is going to be unlike the courses you took in college, so we want to make sure you have a variety of academic preparation.
• Pass/Fail: one or two pass-fail classes is acceptable, but more than a few makes us wonder how you will handle four graded law classes each quarter, so include an addendum if there are any special circumstances at your school that require multiple pass/fail grades.
• Study Abroad: we typically see your transcript from study abroad, but will look more closely at classes you took at your college. In our experience, study abroad programs are typically less rigorous than classes taken in residence, so if you did complete an academically oriented program please include a short description of the work on your resume.
• We don't think there is a perfect major for pre-law students. We like to see a variety of coursework; what is most important is that you took challenging classes, and did well in them.
• Senior year grades: if you are applying at the beginning of your senior year, it is a good idea to send us your first-semester grades when they are available. In some cases, we may ask to see those grades before making a decision on your file, so don't stop working once those applications go out!

All of this hopefully helps you understand how we review transcripts, and gives you insight into what we think is important. Your college coursework is a critical part of the application, but it is also  preparation for studying law. Try to take challenging classes, particularly those which require substantive, analytic writing, and remember that your senior year is not the end of your academic experience and you should use it to prepare for the next educational adventure -- law school!

Law School Lecturer in Law, Judge Mark Filip Nominated for U.S. Deputy Attorney General

Highly regarded U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois and Lecturer in Law at the Law School, Mark Filip, was nominated Thursday by newly sworn-in U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to serve as Deputy Attorney General, the second-highest ranking official in the Justice Department.  Filip, who has taught courses in criminal procedure and federal jurisdiction at the Law School since 2004, has been one of our most popular teachers and we will miss him when he moves to Washington.  We all at the Law School wish Judge Filip the best of luck with this exciting new opportunity.

U of C's Police Accountability Project Releases Major Study of Chicago Police Department Misconduct

The Mandel Legal Aid Clinic's Police Accountability Project released Wednesday a groundbreaking study of the Chicago Police Department's supervisory and disciplinary practices in its report, "The Chicago Police Department's Broken System."  The study, co-authored by Clinical Professor and head of the Project, Craig Futterman, prior Clinical Lecturer Melissa Mather, and recent graduate Melanie Miles ('07), outlines the results of a three-year study into the habitual misconduct of a group of Chicago police officers assigned to Chicago's former south side public housing projects.  The study's origins lie in the case of Diane Bond, a fifty year-old resident of Stateway Gardens, one of the former public housing communities located on the south side of Chicago, who was the victim of multiple instances pf physical, verbal and emotional abuse at the hands of the rogue team of officers assigned to the housing project.  The Clinic represented Ms. Bond in her litigation against the individual officers and the CPD and in the course of law students' fact investigation the students uncovered the pattern of abuse and sparked the idea for the study. 

The study, which has gained attention in local and national print publications, radio and television, not only demonstrates fundamental and systematic failures of the Department to address misconduct of its officers, it also discusses ways in which the study's use of statistical analysis can be used in litigation against police officers who engage in the type of abuse examined in the study. 

This type of complex and substantive investigation and scholarship is indicative of the quality of work our students perform as part of their clinical experience.  The study will be published in the upcoming Volume 23 of the Civil Rights Litigation and Attorney Fees Annual Handbook.

The 2007 University of Chicago Legal Forum Symposium: Law In a Networked World

The University of Chicago Legal Forum is one of the Law School's fantastic student-edited journals that includes articles by academics and practitioners as well as comments by students.  The Legal Forum is unique from the other journals in that each year the editorial board chooses a new legal topic on which to focus that year's volume.  Past issues have examined immigration law and human decision-making processes in the legal context.

Each fall the Law School hosts the The University of Chicago Legal Forum Symposium, a two-day conference preceding publication of the upcoming year's edition, during which the various scholars present talks and participate in panel discussions with their colleagues on the current year's topic.  Not only is Legal Forum a great opportunity for our students to immerse themselves in a single area of law but it is also a fantastic way to interact with the top scholars in that field.  This year's Editor-in-Chief, 3L Devon Hanley, gives us a recap of this years event:

"The University of Chicago Legal Forum Symposium, 'Law In a Networked World,' took place on October 26th and 27th at the Law School.  Participants, all leading scholars in their fields, gathered to discuss how law is and should be evolving to address advances in communications technology.  The discussion among the panelists was lively and stimulating, and I thought the entire symposium was very successful.

On Friday, October 26th, we opened the symposium with a panel discussion of the varying aspects of regulation in the networked world.  Professor Frank Pasquale of Seton Hall Law School, took up one side of the net neutrality debate, presenting "Internet Nondiscrimination Principles."  Professor Christopher Yoo of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, argued the other, perhaps less orthodox side, in his presentation "Network Neutrality, Consumers, and Innovation," positing that deviations from network neutrality might actually benefit consumers.  Professor James Speta of Northwestern Law School professed himself tired of the ongoing net neutrality debate and discussed regulation, and hopes for reform of the U.S. spectrum allocation policy.

The keynote address on Friday by Cindy Cohn, Legal Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ("EFF"), spoke to a theme that would run through any of the weekend's presentations, the rise of the power of intermediaries.  Ms. Cohn presented examples of this phenomena in some of the cases EFF recently handled (you can listen to her address here).

Saturday morning, Professor Susan Friewald of the University of San Francisco Law School discussed the impact on the Fourth Amendment protection for e-mail, in the wake of the Sixth Circuit's June 2007 decision in Warshak v. United States, a case in which an amicus brief was filed by Professor Friewald as was a brief by fellow participant Cindy Cohn's organization, EFF.

Professor Paul Ohm of the University of Colorado Law School explored an area between the extremes of perfect privacy and complete surveillance, arguing that we want to be somewhere in the middle, perhaps with privacy tools that are very good, but difficulty to use or obtain.  Professor Jonathan Zittrain of Oxford University and of Harvard Law School, discussed what he foresees as the next wave of threats to privacy arising out of Web 2.0, or an internet environment dominated by user-created content.

The final panel contained, as one speaker put it, 'those of us who don't fit in any other panel.'  Generally speaking the participants' papers related to changing forms of participation and content on the internet, and the problems and questions those changes create.  Professor Danielle Citron of the University of Maryland Law School, presented a proposal for open source code information systems for administrative decision-making, arguing that such a change would enhance our ability to have transparency, accountability and the input of experts.  Professor Brett Frischmann of Loyola University Chicago School of Law, explored how the emergence of the digital networked environment, and some of the pressure for government regulation to which it gives rise, may reveal how the First Amendment functions from an economic perspective.  Professor Orin Kerr of George Washington University Law School, a visiting professor here at the Law School last fall, discussed how, if at all, criminal law should apply to players in the virtual worlds of computer games such as Second Life.  Professor Tim Wu of Columbia Law School discussed the possibility that copyright rights should be vested in authors instead of distributors.

Overall the symposium was very entertaining and thought-provoking, and both the participants and attendees seemed to have a good time.  In light of the paper talks and the conversation between participants, we look forward to a great volume 2008, which should be out in time for next year's symposium!"

Professor Brian Leiter Joins the Law School Faculty

The Law School is pleased to welcome Professor Brian R. Leiter, currently Professor of Law & Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin Law School, as the newest member of our faculty beginning in Fall 2008.  Professor Leiter’s area of interest is law and philosophy and, in addition to his prolific scholarship in the area, he authors popular academic blogs on the subject.  We were fortunate to have Professor Leiter as a visiting professor at the Law School in 2006 and we are excited to have him return as a permanent member of our community.  Professor Leiter will join other faculty with interest in law and philosophy, especially Professor Martha Nussbaum.  His presence advances our goal of intellectual diversity and responsiveness to students' many academic and professional interests.  Check back next fall for updates on the Center and on Professor Leiter.