Falling Leaves, Rising Stress Levels (Redux)

sidewalk with fall treesFall in Wisconsin is a particularly beautiful time of the year. Crisp morning air, warm if windy afternoons, beautifully colored leaves, all things pumpkin spice. . . . (Okay, pumpkin spice is not exclusive to Wisconsin, but it is very fall-like.)

But law students may not be noticing the crisp mornings or the changing leaves because they’re huddled in the law school or the library or their homes trying to catch up on their class readings and thinking about outlining and worrying about their summer job search. It’s the time of year that law students begin to more acutely feel the stress of law school.

I wrote about falling leaves and rising stress levels exactly six years ago today, and what I said then about law school stressors still holds true today. But this morning I noticed my colleague Rachel Gurvich from University of North Carolina School of Law also posted on the “October slump” in law school, particularly focusing on 1Ls. She offers seven specific tips to help 1Ls get through this hectic time: (1) Understand that law school is a marathon, not a sprint; (2) remember that hard work alone doesn’t necessarily correlate with success; (3) you do you; (4) enjoy activities outside of law school; (5) make some friends in law school; (6) tune out external noise about law school “success”; and (7) talk to your professors.

Professor Gurvich’s seven tips are spot on and deserve a look, so take a break from your work and give her post a read.

And remember, this, too, shall pass.

 

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Study Abroad Information Sessions This Thursday

Five students in a classroom in Giessen, Germany respond to the professor's question.
2017 Summer Session in Giessen, Germany

There will be two information sessions this coming Thursday September 21 in order to provide students with important details about the Law School’s study abroad opportunities.  Plan to attend and learn about how to spend one semester of your law school experience in Copenhagen, Madrid or Poitiers, France.  Information will also be available about the 2018 summer program in International and Comparative Law which will be held in Giessen. Germany.  Foreign study can add an international perspective to your legal education, and the Marquette University Law School offers several outstanding study abroad opportunities.  Advance planning is necessary in order to take advantage of these programs, however, so come to the information session in order to learn more about deadlines and application procedures.

Professors Madry and Fallone will be providing information and answering questions on Thursday at noon (in Room 257) and again at 4:30 pm (in Room 255).

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Things Are Heating Up in Germany

Approximately 60 law students pose for a group photo in front of the law school building at Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany.cThe 2017 Summer Session in International and Comparative Law is off to a hot start, matching the temperature in Giessen, Germany.  In this photo, you see a mix of jet-lagged law students from all over the world posing outside of the law school at Justus Liebig University (you can also see me and Professor Anuj Desai from the University of Wisconsin).  The students attended orientation this past Sunday, and then set off on a “city rally” in which small teams of students competed to locate different check-in points located throughout the city of Giessen.  It was a fun way to get introduced to their new surroundings.  Then it was back to the law school for the group photo and a Welcome Dinner.

Our 10 Marquette Law School participants have now joined their classmates (and new friends) from countries that include Brazil, Colombia, Poland, Vietnam, Egypt, and Portugal, and have completed three days of classes.  Interest and enrollment appears equally divided among our four course offerings: 1) International Economic Law and Business Transactions, 2) Comparative Constitutional Law, 3) Business Ethics and Human Rights, and 4) CyberLaw.

Following the last class on Thursday, the students will board buses for a 3 day field trip to Berlin and surrounding sights.  At this pace, the four weeks of the program will fly by.  However, I happen to know that some of the U.S. students have still found time during this first week to visit a local beer garden and participate in a karaoke night.

Our program is open to any law student in the United States attending an accredited law school.  Details on the 10th annual Summer Session, scheduled to begin July 14, 2018, will be available this fall.  Watch this space for course, faculty and tuition information.

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