Jun 5, 2010

How to Have a Great Law Student Summer and Other Notes This Month

A few thoughts I sent out last week to some important ministry partners, that I thought might be fun to reproduce on the blog. Here you go:

ON MY DESK

The CLS National Conference and National Law Student Convention will be held October 21-24 in Orlando. Double scholarships for registration and membership dues are available through June 15. Here is the schedule for the student program. By the way, students and faculty advisor scholarships are doubled for those registering before June 15.

FROM MY GOOGLE READER

Mirror of Justice Blog - Great discussions on Catholic Legal Theory, from the right and the left portions of the spectrum.
Law, Religion, & Ethics Blog - Another group blog on religion and law topics from a variety of perspectives.

ON MY NIGHTSTAND

Walker Percy, The Moviegoer. Percy's great book on despair, sin, and love. It grew on me as I read, and I really recommend it.
David Bentley Hart, Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and its Fashionable Enemies (Yale 2009). Way, waaaay more than a critique of the "new atheists," such as Hitchens, Dennet, and Dawkins, this is a tour de force of Christian history. I am loving it.

IN MY NETFLIX QUEUE

The Fall. A visually stunning movie about the will to live, the nature of compassion, and the power of story.
Lost, Season 1. Nope, I have never seen a single episode. Still at number 5 in the queue.

ON MY MIND: Tips on How to Have a Great Summer

Here is a quick word of encouragement on your summer.

If you are at a firm or clerking for a judge, make the most of your opportunity, not just by doing excellent work, but in getting to know the "culture" of the place in which you find yourself. What is a courthouse like, generally, and how is this particular courthouse different from others? And why? How is this big firm like or unlike other big firms? What is the nature of my work as a transactional lawyer or litigator? Ask questions, listen a lot, and compare notes with your thoughtful friends in other places. In addition, remember that you are spending all sorts of time with lawyers or judges who you may never have a chance to learn from again. Aggressively pick their brains!! Ask them about themselves. Inquire (tactfully) about their career paths, family life, happiness level, and plans. Understand where they see themselves in relationship to the institutions and profession in which they work. Ask and listen. You'll learn plenty about how God is leading you!

If you do not have a legal job this summer, dig in and do all that work that you always complain that you don't have time to do in law school! Pick up books about calling (The Lawyers Calling, Redeeming Law, On Being a Christian and a Lawyer), legal history from a Christian perspective (Law and Revolution, The Higher Law Background of American Constitutional Law), or fiction that will challenge you as a called person (The Power and the Glory, Diary of a Country Priest, The Brothers Karamazov). You'll be a better student for it.

RESOURCES OF THE MONTH

Essential Reading List for Christian Law Students
Cross & Gavel Facebook fan page

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