Meet the Board: Jack Stuart, Alumni Relations

For the next several of weeks on the OBCLAA Blog, we will be introducing OBCLAA's 2013-2014 Board. As we introduce the leadership of the Alumni Association, you will catch a glimpse of the goals we hope to see accomplished this year. It is our hope that something you will read here will give you an idea for how YOU can get involved. Please feel free to post a reply or contact individual Board members. 

A fighter pilot at heart, Jack is just recently retired from the Air Force. He will be returning to fly the friendly skies again with United Airlines next year. In addition to his JD with Oak Brook College of Law, Jack holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the US Air Force Acadamy and a MS in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Jack and his wife, Patti, make their home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with their two daughters, Ashley and Holly (who is a freshman at Colorado School of Mines). In his free time, Jack enjoys motorcycle riding, biking, and racquetball.

Jack looks forward to this year serving as chairman of the Alumni Relations committee. Among his goals for this year, he plans to leverage technology to “dramatically improving communication in and between student, faculty and alumni groups,” to improve bar prep, and to grow and strengthen the College and Alumni Association.

If you have any questions for Jack about how you can be involved, he can be reached by e-mail at jack.stuart@obcl.edu.

Update from baby bar review!

by Amy Kerschner

Saturday and Sunday: rest or study? Our students took their third mock baby bar on Saturday, writing up all four essays and completing a set of 100 MBEs. The mentor team expanded during the MBE session with the arrival of Joel Barker, which made breaking into small groups for the review easier. After the small groups, the mentors compiled data and

scores from the three full days and pinpointed specific areas for each student to target.

Three baby bars in as many days is grueling for any student, so we took Sunday morning off and let everyone go to church as a group or on their own. Of course, in the afternoon, we were hard at it again. We split the students into two main groups, essays and MBEs, and gave a few students specific instructions to help them overcome identified "last-minute" weaknesses. At this point, studying is about quality, not quantity.

On Sunday night the class threw a surprise birthday party for one of their classmates and invited the mentors to participate. Someone suggested playing legal charades, which turned out to be a huge success. Acting out legal doctrines and rules (M'Naghten, anyone?) was a great way to unwind, and I have a feeling that if misprision, interference with prospective business advantage or uttering are on the exam, these students will spot it and discuss it with confidence.

Meet the Board: Gabe Waddell, College Liaison

For the next several of weeks on the OBCLAA Blog, we will be introducing OBCLAA's 2013-2014 Board. As we introduce the leadership of the Alumni Association, you will catch a glimpse of the goals we hope to see accomplished this year. It is our hope that something you will read here will give you an idea for how YOU can get involved. Please feel free to post a reply or contact individual Board members. 

Gabe and his wife, Katie (also an OBCL grad), are well known and loved for making the food at our annual Tahoe retreat rival the beauty of the location. As a past President and now returning College Liaison, Gabe was admitted as an attorney in 2008 after graduating with class 03A.  Shortly after being admitted, he joined the bankruptcy practice of the Law Offices of Peter Fear. Prior to beginning practice, Gabe worked with a wide variety of non-profit organizations, doing public policy, humanitarian, and legal advocacy work. He has traveled widely, and continues to be active in humanitarian work, including his recent trip to Puerto Rico and work with Syrian refugees in Iraq. When he’s not at the office, you might find him searching for scenic views to photograph, reading a wide variety of literature, or cooking for friends.

Gabe is quick to admit that he tries to spread the word about OBCL at every opportunity.  His work in bankruptcy has given him a clear picture of the dangers of student debt, and he is constantly grateful for the fact that he could study law with OBCL, debt-free and with the opportunity to pursue his passion for ministry at the same time.  Gabe is looking forward to once again being the link between school administration and the OBCLAA in the upcoming year. 

If you have any questions for Gabe, he can be reached by e-mail at gabe@gabewaddell.com. Gabe's practice website is http://fresnobklaw.com/index.php/attorney-profiles.

The drills continue ... Day Two!

by Amy Kerschner

On day two of the Pasadena Baby Bar Boot Camp, the mentor team spent what mental energy we had to spare after day one brainstorming curve balls we could throw at our students in an effort to prepare them for any contingency. We believe in over-preparedness for this (or any) exam, and sometimes you just can't count on everything going smoothly.

We reluctantly decided an emergency earthquake drill was taking "over-preparation" a little bit too far. 

Instead, we decided to do a fake power failure. That's right. We informed the students that their computers had just died, and they had to handwrite the entire last essay (a beautiful common law contracts hypothetical). 

The students appeared to handle that curve very well! We did not review those essays for legal analysis like we did the first three essays they emailed us, but we did cover formatting and approaches specifically for handwriting an essay. The class really absorbed the experience and we feel pretty confident that if a student's computer fails, they willl know how to handle it.

We have seventeen students working diligently to apply the advice we are able to give them to boost their MBE scores or make their essays just a little bit better. Some of the questions we are fielding are black letter law issues, but there are also some questions that provide some amusement: "what should I eat for breakfast the morning of the exam?" or "are the proctors going to be reading my essay while I'm typing it, like you guys?" or (my personal favorite) "do I get bonus points for using the word 'inconceivable' in my negligence analysis?"

Please keep these students in your prayers. They are working very hard, and we, as mentors, are working hard as well to use the time we have left as effectively as possible.

First Day of Baby Bar Boot Camp!

by Amy Kerschner

We started Boot Camp this year with 16 students, with a few more arriving a bit later than the first group. This class is raring to go, ready to conquer this exam for the glory of our Lord. 

We "eased" them into their studies with a full mock-baby-bar exam, with essays carefully selected to challenge their legal depth and creativity. While the class was doing their MBEs, the mentors reviewed 54 student essays, provided constructive criticism, and individual feedback for each student, which we then emailed to them before we broke into small groups to discuss the essay sets. After dinner we again broke into small groups to discuss the MBEs that students had missed.

The mentor team is excited to see how God is going to work in this class:

Katie- "This is going to be a great week. The students are great, the location is great, the food is great...the subjects are great, the mentor team is absolutely great...the weather is great, I have the best roommates, and the elevators are just great."

Emily- "The MBE small group review last evening was encouraging as we engaged in several lively black letter law debates... The students are lawyers in the making!"

Amy- "I'm just blessed and thrilled to be able to invest in this class, and to encourage them in their studies. That moment when a student 'gets it' just makes my day, and this group of students are eager to 'get it.' I'm encouraged by their cooperation and their downright determination."

Please keep this class and the mentor team in your prayers!

Meet the Board: Anita Paulsson, Secretary

For the next several of weeks on the OBCLAA Blog, we will be introducing OBCLAA's 2013-2014 Board. As we introduce the leadership of the Alumni Association, you will catch a glimpse of the goals we hope to see accomplished this year. It is our hope that something you will read here will give you an idea for how YOU can get involved. Please feel free to post a reply or contact individual Board members. 

A resident of Washington State, Anita is admitted to the bar in California and Washington. She does legal work part-time as an independent contractor and is currently running for a position on the City Council of the Town of Coulee City. In addition to law, Anita enjoys reading, hospitality, and learning about and being involved in local agriculture.

“I’m excited about joining the OBCLAA board this year as Secretary, and look forward to supporting the Board in their efforts to advance the interests of the College, its alumni and students.”

If you have any questions for the Secretary, Anita can be reached by e-mail at anita.paulsson@gmail.com.

Meet the Board: Jonathon Hauenschild, Vice President

For the next several of weeks on the OBCLAA Blog, we will be introducing OBCLAA's 2013-2014 Board. As we introduce the leadership of the Alumni Association, you will catch a glimpse of the goals we hope to see accomplished this year. It is our hope that something you will read here will give you an idea for how YOU can get involved. Please feel free to post a reply or contact individual Board members. 

Since his admission to practice law in California, Jonathon has developed his expertise in legal research and writing, founding Franklin Adams & Company, LLC, a company focused on providing attorneys with solid research and well-written legal documents. In addition, he currently serves as a Deputy General Counsel for the Young Republican National Federation. Jonathon currently makes his home in Cabot, Pennsylvania, where his free time is spent biking, hiking, sailing, skiing, and generally experiencing the beauty of God’s creation.

As the Vice President of the Alumni Association, Jonathon had this to say about his vision for the coming year: “We have elected a Board that has a great vision and excitement for the upcoming year. We should have a vibrant, active alumni association this year -- one which is looking out for the interests of the alumni, the student, and the law school. I look forward to serving the Alumni Association and to assisting the Board in reaching for this vision. ”

If you have any questions or would like to find out how you can help, Jonathon can be reached by e-mail at jhauens@franklinadamsllc.com.