Category: General Announcements

TOWN HALL MEETING TO DISCUSS FINALIZING CLASS RANKINGS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 – LAW STUDENT LOUNGE

Noon to 1:00     AND     5:30 to 6:30

We want to hear from you!    

As you know, the Law Faculty approved a temporary two option ranking system for Spring 2009: 

  1. Option “A” —  separate full-time and part-time rankings, essentially as has been done in the past
  2. Option “B” — consolidated rankings based upon the class with which the student is expected to graduate.   

See options http://www.uakron.edu/law/studentservices/class_rankings.php

(Spring 2009 Class Rankings) 

We now need to finalize class rankings and create a system whereby students would be ranked only with those students expected to be in their same graduation year. 

The Law Faculty are considering the following proposal:

  1. Eliminate separate rankings
  2. Eliminate rankings after the fall semester
  3. Publish consolidated rankings based upon the class in which the student is expected to graduate.

 We would not rank first-year part-time students because they form such a small part of the class with which they would eventually graduate.  We would provide the correlation between LGPA and rank of the various classes, which would allow those students to approximate their likely rankings once their entire graduation cohort is at the law school.

 We expect the rankings to look like this: 

Full- & Part-Time Students, Ranked Together (those most likely to graduate together), Based on TOTAL Credits Completed* & Classification on ZipLine

Total Credits Completed, End of Spring Semester, (subject to slight variation to assure that all students are ranked with the appropriate cohort)

 
First Year Students**

up to 30 = Full-Time, 1st Year Students

 up to 45 = Part-Time, 2nd Year Students
 Middle Year Students

 

31 to 60 = Full- Time, 2nd Year Students

46 to 68 = Part-Time 2nd & 3rd Year Students
 Final Year Students

 

(88 credits required to graduate)

61 = Full-Time, 3rd Year Students

             69 = Part-Time, 4th Year Students

It is important to recognize that the “credits completed” are approximate. They are appropriate for the vast majority of students, but when we implemented the interim approach last spring, we found it necessary to make adjustments for some students who were more likely to graduate with a class other than the one indicated by their actual credits completed.

 Please share your thoughts at one or both of the following Town Hall Meetings:

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 – LAW STUDENT LOUNGE

Noon to 1:00     AND     5:30 to 6:30 

We look forward to seeing you there! 

In the meantime, your comments and ideas are most encouraged on this proposal.   Please feel free to e-mail your feedback to classrankings@uakron.edu. 

Thank you!

Bill Jordan, Associate Dean and C. Blake McDowell Professor of Law

and

Lauri Thorpe, Assistant Dean of Admission, Financial Aid, & Student Services

 

BarBri Q&A Session and Student Appreciation Day

  • Win a Video iPod and score free lunch!
  • Thursday, October 1
  • 12-1pm
  • Room 167

Learn about what enrolling early in BarBri can do for you. Your enrollment includes:

  • Outlines for Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Real and Personal Property, Torts, Criminal Procedure, Corporations, Evidence and more!
  • Practice essay questions with model answers and objective questions with detailed answers
  • Access to Online Review Lectures to help you better understand your subjects
  • Access to our Exclusive StudySmart Software to test your knowledge of first year concepts
  • Access to an Online Law School Success Lecture to maximize your exam performance

*Lunch is first come, first serve. One Video iPod will be raffled off!

All students welcome! Our ONLY business is bar review.

Graduation Application Deadline for Spring 2010 Extended to October 4, 2009

Good News!  The graduation application deadline for students planning to graduate at the end of the Spring 2010 has been extended to October 4, 2009.

Law students will be able to use the Graduation Services link in the “Quick Links for Students” section of ZipLine for step-by-step instructions for applying for graduation.  Questions and comments are always welcome and may be directed to the Office of the University Registrar at 330-972-8300 or registrar@uakron.edu.

Congratulations to Our Top Finishers at the Annual Law Student Closing Argument Competition

Congratulations to law students Theresa Bratton and Eric Ledger! They finished in first and second place in the Landskroner Foundation for Children Closing Argument competition.  This is the seventh year that University of Akron law students have earned a first and second place finish in this competition. More information about the competition is detailed in the press release below. 

MEDIA RELEASE

LAW STUDENTS SUCCESSFULLY COMPETE FOR SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS IN STATEWIDE COMPETITION

CLEVELAND – Thursday evening, September 24, 2009, The Landskroner Foundation for Children hosted its 11th Annual Law Student Closing Argument Competition in the courtroom of the Honorable Lance Mason at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center. The eleven students participating in the event were selected from a pool of applicants from law schools across the state of Ohio. The participants included second-and third-year law students from The University of Akron, Cleveland State University, The University of Toledo, Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Ohio Northern University Pettit School of Law.

In the competition, each student was given 15 minutes to argue on behalf of an injured child who lost his ability to speak as a result of medical negligence. Each student presented the case of their 14-year-old client to a jury comprised of experienced trial lawyers, esteemed Judges from the Court of Common Pleas, in Cuyahoga County, media representations, and child advocates. This year Theresa Bratton from the University of Akron was the first place winner, finishing second was Eric Ledger, also from the University of Akron, and finishing third was Patrick Hakes from Case Western University School of Law. The top three finishers received scholarship awards in the amount of $750, $500 and $200, respectively.

Since the inception of this program over 131 law students from across Ohio have competed and over $16,000 in scholarship awards have been distributed to the competition winners.

The Landskroner Foundation for Children is a nonprofit child advocacy organization founded as an outgrowth of the personal injury law practice of the Cleveland-based law firm of Landskroner • Grieco • Madden, LLC. The Foundation’s mission includes promoting safe and positive environments for children as well as protecting the rights of children through education and recognition of children’s needs. The Law Student Closing Argument Competition was created to encourage law students to consider public interest work after graduation from law school and to remind these future lawyers of their civic responsibility to the communities in which they choose to practice law.

For more information contact Jack Landskroner at 216-522-9000.

Submitted by:  Joann Sahl, Director, Civil Litigation Clinic