Author: cdtalaw

Simple, Useful Memorization Techniques For Use In Law School

Simple, Useful Memorization Techniques For Use In Law School

Of course, answering an essay question on a law school midterm or a bar exam requires applied knowledge more than rote memorization. Law students must use critical thinking and connect or apply the information they have learned to a set of facts, recognize issues, and solve problems. But before tackling the rigors of a law exam essay question, students must genuinely know the information. Here are some tips for effectively memorizing information: Record notes for later listening When I was in law school, I sat next to a former legal secretary who knew shorthand. She would take all her class notes in shorthand,...

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The Typical Life Cycle Of A Client File

The Typical Life Cycle Of A Client File

While most of us live in a computerized, digital world, the legal industry revolves primarily around information, notes, and documentation. Attorneys obtain information, then classify and organize it. A client file is how attorneys organize the information related to a client. For every client that retains an attorney or law firm, there is a file. There may even be multiple files within files that contain documentation relevant to each matter concerning the client. The longer the client has been represented by the attorney or firm, the larger the file. Law firms must typically devote a large portion of their office space...

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There are Many Paths To A Meaningful Legal Career – Human Resources and Employment

There are Many Paths To A Meaningful Legal Career – Human Resources and Employment

Law students must always remember that the unique and vast knowledge that they have gained in law school provides them many options and paths for rewarding and meaningful careers practicing law, as well as working in other traditionally non-legal areas and disciplines. The consideration of pursuing a career outside the traditional practice of law is a notion that most law students and graduates undertake at some point. However, it is not always simple to ascertain clearly how they may use their law degree in areas other than law. Those who are willing to think “outside the box” and expend the necessary time...

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Law Practice Tips: Disaster Recovery Planning

Law Practice Tips: Disaster Recovery Planning

Every business has had to adapt to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and quarantine, including businesses that engage in the practice of law. Granted, most business owners, including attorneys, were not prepared for the effects of the coronavirus. But it was those attorneys who were prepared for the pandemic or anything like it, to any extent, that were able to more quickly adapt and keep their law practices operating. Although most attorneys possess the ability to think on their feet and react to a situation analytically in an expedient fashion, it is best to be prepared so that they...

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California Bar Exam Postponed Until September

California Bar Exam Postponed Until September

Any student engaged in online, distance learning at a progressive law school like California Desert Trial Academy College of Law, has the freedom to study whenever and wherever, at their utmost convenience. In these current troubled times, CDTA students are at an advantage based on the online resources available to them on campus and at the CDTA website. This access will prove invaluable when preparing for the bar exam. On April 27, the Supreme Court of California ordered the July California Bar Exam to be postponed to September 9-10 and directed the State Bar to expend every effort to administer the test online...

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Ten Tips For Voir Dire

Ten Tips For Voir Dire

Generally. voir dire involves the preliminary examination of a juror by counsel. Frankly, voir dire is the mechanism through which attorneys select, or perhaps more appropriately reject, certain jurors to sit and hear a case. It is also a phrase used for a variety of procedures related to jury trials. Here are ten tips for effective voir dire. Adopt the proper orientation. Questioning during voir dire should be “conversational” rather than like an interview. Tell jurors why they are there. Explain the process to jurors requesting, if not cordially demanding, their honesty and candor, while helping them acknowledge their biases. Get jurors...

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Checklist For 1st Year Law Students, Part Two

Checklist For 1st Year Law Students, Part Two

The following is the second part of a checklist for first-year law students: Consider group study. While study groups are not for every law student, they may be a productive and efficient way to learn and prepare for a course, in the short-term, i.e., classes, and long-term, i.e., final exam. Discussing legal concepts outside of class in a different environment may increase a student’s understanding and retention of course topics. If interested in a study group, seek and find those students with whom you share similar study group goals. Time spent away from class and solitary studying is most precious, do...

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Checklist For 1st Year Law Students, Part One

Checklist For 1st Year Law Students, Part One

It’s never too early for first-year law students to prepare a checklist for their first year in law school. The following are some tips for finding success regularly throughout the year: Read. Always do the reading assigned for a subject in its entirety. The following point cannot be overstressed: If you fall behind on your daily reading, you are likely to fall behind for the entire semester. Also, read when you are most awake and alert in a location where there are no distractions. Brief. Take notes while reading an assigned case, noting the legally significant facts, the case’s holding, and the...

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There are Many Paths To A Meaningful Legal Career – Criminal Justice, Investigation, Law Enforcement

There are Many Paths To A Meaningful Legal Career – Criminal Justice, Investigation, Law Enforcement

Whether during school or after graduation, at some time, law students consider pursuing a career outside the traditional practice of law. The most formidable obstacle is determining precisely how to use a law degree in non-traditional legal settings. While the typical career paths are narrow and well-defined, alternative paths are extremely broad and have many branches, none of which are particularly obvious or categorical. Non-traditional law jobs are not usually found “prefabricated” but are custom-fit to an applicant’s interests, passions, and skills, which requires deliberate and exact self-assessment, as well as painstaking job market research. For those who have considered using their law...

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Using Zoom To Enhance Your Law School Experience

Using Zoom To Enhance Your Law School Experience

At the California Desert Trial Academy, we are continuously seeking ways to better utilize online resources for the benefit of CDTA’s growing student body. This includes better ways for students and faculty to communicate. Zoom provides a reliable, feature-laden video communications experience for students and professors alike. Its’ value is obvious and importance cannot be overstated during the coronavirus pandemic. For many law students, Zoom will now do more than enhance their law school experience – Zoom will provide their law school experience. As of the beginning of spring, 2020, law students were trying to adjust to the dramatic alteration of...

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