WSU 2L Student Leila Stevens
The good thing about Western State is that when you are going to become a 1L student you have an introductory course called Introduction to Legal Methods. That gets you accustomed to law school in general. It’s a two week program. You’re in the class with all of the students who are 1Ls. It’s split up. But at that point you’re not just being thrown into law school. Basically, it’s an introduction. It’s allowing you to understand the law, understand what you’ll be learning throughout the year. I think that Western State is one of the schools that does that. I’m not sure that any other schools do that. I think that was good. We came in, we were able to meet our classmates, and speak with other students who were in the same situation as us. So it was comforting knowing, okay, I can start school now in a week, you know what I mean? So I think that the intro program is really helpful for students at the beginning.
Our professors here come from various backgrounds so they can provide their legal knowledge from the actual business world to the classroom, which is really helpful when you’re trying to understand materials. Then you can actually apply it to real life situations and stories that they have.
The professors here are diverse. Each professor has a different type of teaching style, and it just takes a little time, a couple of weeks to understand what each professor wants in class and on the exams. It is the Socratic Method, and the teachers do just call on students from a list of names or from your photo. So you need to be prepared in every single class.
Under the Socratic Method, the teacher does not stand up in front of the classroom and lecture. Instead, students come together and try to come to a final solution. Usually during classes, students will have six or seven cases prepared for that class for that day. The students will be called on at random by the professor and they will have to recite the case for that day. In cases usually you’ll tell the facts of the case—what actually happened, the issue, what the court is trying to solve by when this case comes to the court along with the ruling that the court had and any rules that come out of that. So by the students being able to answer the questions and talk about what the case is actually about it helps students to throw around ideas, and it helps them to collaborate to come to an understanding about what the case was about and what laws came from that case rather than the professor just standing in front of the classroom the entire time lecturing the students. And it helps you to pay attention more as well, because you’re always attentive to what other students are saying so you can have your chance to give your input.
I would say to prospective students that WSU is a very community-oriented school. The students are like a family. We all help each other. We all assist each other. When you hear about law school, you often think competition. It’s going to be competitive. And while it is competitive, people are very understanding to each other, and they help each other. We share outlines. We have study groups together. It’s not a mean environment, I guess. It’s more family-like. The same thing with the professors—the professors are very helpful. They all have office hours, and they’re always willing to assist you more.