This Week in PARA/LEGS

First, the Legal Society will be having its first meeting of the semester on Tuesday, January 30, at 5:00 p.m. We will probably be meeting in Ivy 1132. Help plan our semester!

Second, the Involvement Fair is taking place on Wednesday, January 31, from 10:00 - 1:00 in the Great Hall. Help out at the Legal Society's table, or just see what else is going on on campus.

Third, the League of Women Voters is sponsoring a program on environmental legislation pending before the Indiana legislature. Details below.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THE 2018 INDIANA GENERAL ASSEMBLY?

Amanda Shepherd, Hoosier Environmental Council, will provide a timely update.
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018, 5:15-7:00 PM
West Lafayette Public Library
208 West Columbia
5:15 - 5:30: Refreshments
5:30 - 6:30: Issue Presentation and Your Questions
6:30 - 6:35: Break
6:35 - 7:00: How to Voice Your Opinion Effectively

As always, everything is free!

Lecture on North Korea

Dr. Nusta Carranza Ko, professor of history, political science, and geography at Ohio Northern University will delivering a talk entitled "Crisis on the Korean Peninsula and the Danger of Global War" tomorrow--Monday, January 22, 2018. The talk will take place in Lawson Hall Room 1142 and begins at 7:00 p.m. According to my information, Lawson Hall is across from the University Street parking garage. 

If you're in the Capstone class, unfortunately, this one is a no-go. (No, you may not get an excused absence.) However, everyone else is certainly invited. As always, the lecture is free. 

Save Some Dates!

Spring semester is now underway, and we are in the midst of planning all sorts of things. Here are a couple of dates to save:

1. Sunday, January 28, 3 p.m.--We (any of my students and I, together with some Criminal Justice and Human Services students) will be going to see the play "Freedom Riders" at Purdue. Ivy Tech will cover the cost of your ticket, but you have to let me know you're going. (I'd like a rough head count by the start of next week, but if things change, we can add you in--or take you off the list--right up to the last minute, which we'll call "Saturday, January 27.") If you'd like more information about the show, click here.
2. Thursday, March 8, 10:30 a.m.--Appeals on Wheels. Ivy Tech will host the Indiana Court of Appeals for a live oral argument. (No, I don't know which case yet.) Following the oral argument, the judges will take questions from the crowd, as long as the questions aren't about the case they just heard. Following that, the PARA/LEGS students are invited to have lunch with the judges--again, on Ivy Tech's dime. You don't want to miss that!

Start Spring Semester off with a Bang (and a whole bunch of engagement points!)

Woo-hoo! It's almost spring semester. Spring semester actually starts on January 14, which is a Sunday. (This makes more sense if you're taking an online class.) Of course, face-to-face classes don't start until Tuesday, January 16, because January 15 is MLK Day.

I know what you're thinking--how can I use that to my advantage, other than sleeping in an extra day?

I'll tell you! You can earn engagement points starting on the 14th. And since there are commemorations all over the state of the life of civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King, Jr.--which sure sounds law-related to me!--anything you do in that regard will count toward your engagement point totals for spring semester. And for those of you who tend to insist that the homework loads are too heavy to allow you to do any such thing during the semester ... ahem ... you don't have any homework yet.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. The Legal Services Corp/Pro Bono Commission is hosting a Talk to a Lawyer Day on Monday, January 15. This is just like the one we host here on campus in the fall, but it's at the Legal Service Office, 8 N. 3rd Street, Suite 102, in Lafayette. They need people to help check in clients. Volunteer for at least 1 hour to get 10 points. Talk a friend who's a fellow PARA/LEGS student into volunteering with you and get 15 points.

Interested? Call or email Tim Peterson, 765-423-5327, tim.peterson@ilsi.net, and let him know when you can come help.

2.  On Tuesday, January 16, Indiana Supreme Court Justice Robert D. Rucker will be speaking at Purdue's Loeb Playhouse in the Stewart Center. Justice Rucker is the 2nd African-American on the Indiana Supreme Court; Indiana's longest-tenured supreme court justice; a Vietnam War veteran; and a fierce champion of defendants' and homeowners' rights. Same deal on the points--10 for just you, 15 for you and a friend, 20 if your friend is a 101 student. (Note the 101 student deal is not an option for volunteering at Legal Services. They need people who already have had some exposure to Legal Ethics.)

Interested? The talk is free. It starts at 6:30 p.m. Click here for more details and a stunningly well-done flyer!

I'll be at both events. Can't wait to see you there!!!

Legal Society Meeting

Just a reminder that the Legal Society will be meeting Thursday, December 7, at 5 p.m. The meeting will take place in Ivy 1132. We will be electing officers for next semester. Please be aware that you need not be present to "win," so you'll want to attend for sure.

Part-time Jobs

If you are interested in a part-time job at the Tippecanoe County Courthouse, please contact me. The Courthouse periodically hires our PARA/LEGS students. These are a great chance to get your foot in the door

So, You Want to Go to Law School ...

Apparently there is a book making the rounds among people considering going to law school titled Don't Go to Law School Unless, which gives some tough-love advice about what law school and practicing law are really like. For the too long: didn't read crowd, another lawyer boiled the whole book down to a flowchart.

Here's a little tough love of my own: if you are a TL:DR sort of person, law school is not for you.

No, I did not read the book. Before this morning, I didn't even know it existed. But I already have my degree, and it's paid for, so the book isn't talking to me, anyway.

The flowchart looks pretty accurate, albeit a little on the harsh side. I think the main takeaway is (or should be) that a lot of people have no earthly idea what lawyers do or what working in a law firm is like, and taking out scads of student loans based on the fact that you like lawyer TV shows is a really bad idea. At the very least, take some inexpensive law classes and spend some time actually working in a law firm.

Wait! That's exactly what our paralegal program is designed to have you do! Whoa!

If you'd like to look at the flowchart, here it is.

Legal Society

The Legal Society will meet TODAY at 5 p.m. in Ivy 1345.

See you there!