CLEO- A.I.E. Program

Hello All,

As promised, I want to give you the lowdown on my experience at the Council on Legal Education Opportunity's ("CLEO") Attitude is Essential ("A.I.E.") Seminar I attended in Atlanta over the past weekend.

I love the fact that CLEO brings together so many diverse people, from so many different walks of life, who all share a common goal- wanting to be a successful law student. I met a lot of great people, most of whom will be my peers in the legal profession.

Highlights of the seminar included-

• Mock Torts and Criminal Law classes.
• A panel discussion about how to obtain success in law school.
• A presentation on reading and briefing cases, and legal writing.
• A workshop on strategies for legal thinking.
• A discussion on ethical issues and law school.

I found the mock classes to be the most helpful. We were given cases to read and brief about a week before the seminar. During the mock class, which were taught by actual law professors, we discussed the cases we were given to brief. Some professors called on people randomly, while others took volunteers. Some even made you stand up to give your answer. It makes me both excited and nervous to be in class on the first or second day. I doubt I would be a volunteer, but in the event I am called upon, I will make sure I am prepared, because professors can be brutal if you give an incorrect answer, or if you are obviously trying to BS your way through a question.

I also found the ethical issues and law school workshop very insightful. It discussed things like social networking websites and how they can be used for good and evil, and it also discussed the Character and Fitness portion of the Bar. It definitely shed light on the importance of staying out of trouble (criminally, financially, and otherwise), because even if you pass your Bar exam, if you are found to not be fit of character-you will have essentially wasted three years of your life, and a ridiculous amount of money that you will STILL have to pay back.

There are definitely other tips and techniques that I took away from the seminar. I've decided to share them over the course of the next couple of days. I'm doing this mostly because I need something to do as I await my last day of work, LOL! So, stay tuned!