Even with the craziness of summer upon us, the OBCLAA Board is steadily moving forward with preparations for the upcoming Annual Meeting in lovely Lake Tahoe -- and a slew of other projects!
Here are some highlights from the last Board meeting on June 15:
* Preparations for the 2010 Annual Meeting in Tahoe are in full swing. Brandon Stallings has set up a Facebook event page dedicated to the meeting. If you have any pictures from last year's meeting that you would like to contribute to the page, message Brandon. And be sure to RSVP!
For the first time ever, a hard copy of the announcement has been mailed out to all alumni, and online registration is available here. Now would be a great time to RSVP!!
As always, this conference will be a memorable time of refreshing, refocusing, and reconnecting with the OBCL community. If you've never made it to an Alumni Association event, coming to Tahoe would be a great first step! Don't forget to RSVP!!!
* Congratulations are in order to Charissa Sonntag, who will be getting married later this summer. Sadly for the Board, however, Charissa will be not be seeking reelection as the National Association and Accreditation Committee chairman. If you are interested or know someone who would be interested in serving in this position, please let the Board know.
* Adam York reported that the Student Relations Committee is working to supply mentors to all students preparing for the Bar exam. The Committee is also in the planning stages of establishing regional coordinators to get the word about OBCL out to local homeschool groups, debate clubs, and other potential sources for future lawyers.
* Paralegal Liaison Crystal Kinz asked for the Board's input on a plan to publish contributions from Paralegal Program graduates on the Alumni blog. The Board enthusiastically approved, and hopes to be adding additional paralegal content soon.
* The Board approved issuing funding to cover publication of new publicity brochures for the school. The old brochures had become outdated, most notably with their listing of old amounts for tuition.
This year promises to be the OBCLAA's most productive year yet! If you're not already, make 2010 your year to become involved.
(Oh, and remember to RSVP.)
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
OBCL - Where Value Exceeds Cost
The Alumni Association's College Liaison, Anita Paulsson, has been working with OBCL staff on a project to detail and illustrate the cost-effectiveness of OBCL's legal training.
At the same time, OBCL is in the process of kicking off a brand-new blog to highlight the college's news. Anita put her work into one of the first posts up on that blog, and shares her personal testimony along with the hard-and-fast statistics on OBCL's great value, both educationally and fiscally. Great work, Anita!
Read it here: Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy - Where Value Exceeds Cost
At the same time, OBCL is in the process of kicking off a brand-new blog to highlight the college's news. Anita put her work into one of the first posts up on that blog, and shares her personal testimony along with the hard-and-fast statistics on OBCL's great value, both educationally and fiscally. Great work, Anita!
Read it here: Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy - Where Value Exceeds Cost
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The Washington State Supreme Court Coming to a Community near You!
"The Supreme Court of the State of Washington is now in session." It was a rainy day in May when the Washington State Supreme Court convened at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake to hear oral arguments in three cases. With the audience largely consisting of college students for the first case heard by the Washington Supreme Court on May 18, 2010, I had to remind myself this was the real thing, not a law school moot court. As the students returned to their classes, the audience thinned to a discouragingly few for the second case.
According to their website, the Washington Supreme Court has made periodic visits to communities throughout the state since 1985, welcoming and making it more possible for the public to observe that branch of government in action. http://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/?fa=newsinfo.pressdetail&newsid=1590. As the oral arguments began in the second case, nearly everyone simultaneously looked up as the first attorney to speak began discussing a case from 1895. That date clearly arrested the attention of everyone there and reminded me that how you begin your argument can make a difference.
For the citizens of Washington State, these visits by their state supreme court are great opportunities to learn more about the Washington Supreme Court and the current justices. I would encourage not only every attorney and law student but also every concerned citizen to take every opportunity possible to visit and observe their state supreme court in action.
According to their website, the Washington Supreme Court has made periodic visits to communities throughout the state since 1985, welcoming and making it more possible for the public to observe that branch of government in action. http://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/?fa=newsinfo.pressdetail&newsid=1590. As the oral arguments began in the second case, nearly everyone simultaneously looked up as the first attorney to speak began discussing a case from 1895. That date clearly arrested the attention of everyone there and reminded me that how you begin your argument can make a difference.
For the citizens of Washington State, these visits by their state supreme court are great opportunities to learn more about the Washington Supreme Court and the current justices. I would encourage not only every attorney and law student but also every concerned citizen to take every opportunity possible to visit and observe their state supreme court in action.
RSVP for Tahoe on Facebook!
Brandon Stallings, our Alumni Relations chairman, has created our official Tahoe Facebook page. Be sure to RSVP to let us (and other Alumni) know that you are coming to the annual meeting and retreat!
Check it out here.
Check it out here.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Law school and "bad sociology"
Catching up on old news, I read an interesting and provocative article by Charles Rounds (professor, Suffolk University Law School) lamenting the decline of the “common law” subjects in law school. (HT: Law School Innovation.) Courses on the bread-and-butter common law courses ought to be at the heart of the law school curriculum, he says.
“Common law, of which agency and trust are critical components, is the bedrock upon which all our statutory and regulatory edifices are constructed. Unfortunately, the old required courses in the law—the courses necessary to master the law’s basic anatomy—have largely been crowded out by courses about the law. Almost every self-respecting law professor is now an amateur sociologist engaged in ‘ground-breaking’ and ‘cutting-edge’ scholarship that has a gender, race, or sexual identity hook. Those who are less sociologically inclined are likely preoccupied with some ultra-technical aspect of the Constitution, some piece of legislation, or a regulation. Many professors manage to cobble together entire courses around their preoccupations.”
Professor Rounds concludes that “law students at great expense are getting little more than bad sociology.”
What’s the solution? Professor Rounds suggests:
“This de-professionalization of the American law school, a phenomenon of profound concern to many in the legal profession, suggests that there is an opening for the for-profit sector. A bare-bones, back-to-basics for-profit law school staffed by seasoned scholar-practitioners may be the answer. The more boot-camp-like the better, in that the rigor will prepare future lawyers for the work they’ll actually confront in the real world.”
Rounds' comments raise some issues that I might quibble about some other time (should a law school curriculum be reduced to just nuts-and-bolts courses to prepare student for practice? I don’t think so). But I think he does raise some thought-provoking points about big issues facing law schools, especially in a difficult economy.
And, ahem. The Oak Brook College curriculum features the common-law staples prominently. The distance-learning methodology makes it possible for OBCL students to get real world experience working in law while still in law school. The faculty is comprised of practicing lawyer-teachers who know what really is happening in the real world. These are pluses that we OBCL grads sometimes take for granted, but shouldn’t.
And ending on a cheerful note, Professor Rounds thinks the future is bright for new approaches to legal education: "A for-profit law school that affords its students a thorough grounding in the fundamentals would soon win the respect and admiration of the hiring partners in the nation’s law firms. In time they would come to take with a grain of salt the puff pieces and propaganda of their non-profit alma maters, and of the American Bar Association which regulates them."
“Common law, of which agency and trust are critical components, is the bedrock upon which all our statutory and regulatory edifices are constructed. Unfortunately, the old required courses in the law—the courses necessary to master the law’s basic anatomy—have largely been crowded out by courses about the law. Almost every self-respecting law professor is now an amateur sociologist engaged in ‘ground-breaking’ and ‘cutting-edge’ scholarship that has a gender, race, or sexual identity hook. Those who are less sociologically inclined are likely preoccupied with some ultra-technical aspect of the Constitution, some piece of legislation, or a regulation. Many professors manage to cobble together entire courses around their preoccupations.”
Professor Rounds concludes that “law students at great expense are getting little more than bad sociology.”
What’s the solution? Professor Rounds suggests:
“This de-professionalization of the American law school, a phenomenon of profound concern to many in the legal profession, suggests that there is an opening for the for-profit sector. A bare-bones, back-to-basics for-profit law school staffed by seasoned scholar-practitioners may be the answer. The more boot-camp-like the better, in that the rigor will prepare future lawyers for the work they’ll actually confront in the real world.”
Rounds' comments raise some issues that I might quibble about some other time (should a law school curriculum be reduced to just nuts-and-bolts courses to prepare student for practice? I don’t think so). But I think he does raise some thought-provoking points about big issues facing law schools, especially in a difficult economy.
And, ahem. The Oak Brook College curriculum features the common-law staples prominently. The distance-learning methodology makes it possible for OBCL students to get real world experience working in law while still in law school. The faculty is comprised of practicing lawyer-teachers who know what really is happening in the real world. These are pluses that we OBCL grads sometimes take for granted, but shouldn’t.
And ending on a cheerful note, Professor Rounds thinks the future is bright for new approaches to legal education: "A for-profit law school that affords its students a thorough grounding in the fundamentals would soon win the respect and admiration of the hiring partners in the nation’s law firms. In time they would come to take with a grain of salt the puff pieces and propaganda of their non-profit alma maters, and of the American Bar Association which regulates them."
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Alumni in the News VI
98B’s Chris Schweickert writes an essay on prayer at public colleges for the American Thinker entitled "Free Speech at College: 'You Can't Do That Here'"
Alumni Peter Fear is featured in a Business Journal story on one of today's most discussed legal topics: "Local Attorney Cautions Against Debt Consolidations"
Matt McReynolds is quoted in an AP story on religious freedom in Southern California.
Jonathan Bechtle and Mike Reitz discuss internet filtering at libraries, rape shield laws, and other recent Washington Supreme Court decisions in their entertaining monthly podcast.
OBCL Grad Meredith Turney discusses the political blame game in the aftermath of BP’s recent offshore oil spill.
Alumni Brian Tyson has a number of informative updates out of Georgia on his firm's SCOG Blog.
Are you an alumni that has recently been published online? Please let us know so that we can highlight your work!
Monday, May 17, 2010
February, 2010 Bar Results
Congratulations to the OBCL Alumni who passed the February, 2010 California Bar Exam! This class did us proud.
Right now, I know of 7 of 9 first-time takers from OBCL whose names were on the pass list. There may be a couple of other first-timers who took it, so check back for an update later today when the school fills us in.
But for now, congratulations to Curtis, Kristi, Caleb, Heidi, Joshua, Laura, and Lael!
Stupendous work, Class 05! May God continue to richly bless your efforts.
***UPDATE***
Looks like the final statistics are in: 7 of 12 first-time takers passed, and 3 of 9 repeat takers passed. Both of those are fantastic statistics on the whole, and we congratulate each individual passer!
Right now, I know of 7 of 9 first-time takers from OBCL whose names were on the pass list. There may be a couple of other first-timers who took it, so check back for an update later today when the school fills us in.
But for now, congratulations to Curtis, Kristi, Caleb, Heidi, Joshua, Laura, and Lael!
Stupendous work, Class 05! May God continue to richly bless your efforts.
***UPDATE***
Looks like the final statistics are in: 7 of 12 first-time takers passed, and 3 of 9 repeat takers passed. Both of those are fantastic statistics on the whole, and we congratulate each individual passer!
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