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VIDEO SERIES AIMS TO MAKE LAW SCHOOL PREPARATION "ENJOYABLE"

"Enjoyable" is not an adjective most would-be lawyers would use to describe their experiences in law school.  A new video lecture series is designed to change that experience.

PatBar's Law School Academic Success Program has assembled and videotaped twelve long-standing professors and other experts providing their insights into what law school students should expect when they attend classes and workshops.  "This is serious, difficult stuff," says David E. Meeks, founder of the Institute for Patent Studies, Inc.  "All too often, students feel like their instructors are their adversaries. These lectures will be quite an eye-opener."

In the video series, the panel of experts discusses at length the material that will be presented in the classroom.  For the first time anywhere, these videos reveal the real-world scenarios that play out between professors and students.  Panelists use their own casebooks to pose questions, suggest answers and describe in vivid detail how a class may take on a whole new dynamic based upon the answers they actually receive -- and on the arguments presented by students defending their answers.

"Most first-year law courses use the Socratic method of teaching--in other words, students are chosen by the professor to answer questions," says Meeks.  "Still, no two classes are the same.  At the end of these lectures, students will have a much clearer picture with respect to the dynamics of a law school class and how to thrive in a contentious environment."

WHY SOME STUDENTS SUCCEED

Looking back, nearly every law school student can identify something he or she could have done better.  Panelists list the usual suspects: lack of preparation; failing to make and adhere to schedules; wasting huge amounts of time without even realizing it.  PatBar's Law School Academic Success Program takes the concept a step further by allowing students to learn from their professors' successes and, perhaps more importantly, from their mistakes.

THE STEPPINGSTONE TO A CAREER IN LAW

It is refreshing to watch professors poke fun at themselves -- and at each other.  While that levity makes the Law School Academic Success Program "fun, interesting, and enjoyable," Meeks says that the results cannot be more serious.  "This is (the students') careers we're talking about--their lives.  Any law school student can achieve high grades, be invited to join the law review, eventually receive more offers for internships and, later, be offered full-time jobs.  As instructors, we need to make sure that they're engaged from the start.

"By watching these videos, a well-prepared student will know what to do from this point forward.  A student applying the approach suggested in these videos will leave behind 75% or more of the other students in his or her class--and that's before classes even begin."

The Institute for Patent Studies, Inc., based in New York, has been preparing law students for their exams since 1992.