Exchange Programs Let Law Students Explore the World

University-of-CopenhagenStudents at the Marquette University Law School have several opportunities to make their legal education a truly international experience.  Of course, each summer the Law School offers its popular Summer Session in International and Comparative Law, a month long program in Giessen, Germany.  Every other year, Professor Schneider also offers her course in International Dispute Resolution, which includes 10 days of travel to Israel and meetings with representatives of the Israeli government.  More information on these opportunities will be provided at two orientation sessions held on February 19.

However, these orientation sessions will also provide information regarding a more immersive study abroad experience: the opportunity to spend an entire semester studying law at one of the Law School’s three law student exchange partners in Europe.  Through partnerships with the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, the University of Comillas in Madrid, Spain, and the University of Poitiers in France, the Marquette University Law School regularly hosts foreign students from our partner institutions for a semester, and also sends Marquette law students to our partners to study abroad for a semester.

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22nd Annual Howard B. Eisenberg Do-Gooders’ Auction–An Interview with Nicole Ostrowski

Nicole OstrowskiThe 22nd Annual Howard B. Eisenberg Do-Gooders’ Auction on behalf of the Law School’s Public Interest Law Society (PILS) will be held in the evening on Friday, February 13, 2015 at the Law School.  Proceeds from the event go to support PILS fellowships to enable Marquette law students to do public interest work in the summer.  Nicole Ostrowski, a current law student, shares her experience here as a PILS fellow.  Besides her work as a PILS fellow, Nicole is helping to organize this year’s auction.

Where did you work as a PILS fellow?

I worked at the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office–Milwaukee Trial Division, both this past summer and the summer between my 1L and 2L year as a PILS fellow.

What kind of work did you do there?

I mainly worked on misdemeanor cases and did anything and everything with the cases I was assigned, including preparing for a jury trial that unfortunately did not go. I was very fortunate in my fellowships because I was able to get a lot of hands on experience with clients, including visits to the jail by myself! My time with the Public Defender has helped me learn what it’s like to actually be an attorney in practice, as opposed to simply learning how to think and write like an attorney, as we’re taught in law school.

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Figure Skating and Law School

414px-2011_World_Figure_Skating_Championships_(12)Throughout my childhood, I have loved figure skating with a passion and vigor that rivals no other. Although I no longer compete, I enjoyed watching the United States Figure Skating Championship this past weekend because it demonstrated the hard work necessary to succeed. As a result, I now reflect on the valuable skills figure skating has taught me in relation to law school. Bear with me in my attempt to relate something I love with something I have a growing appreciation of. Here are just a few of the lessons I learned from this weekend:

  • Nerves and self-doubt can derail a great performance. Figure skaters train for years and on a daily basis for just minutes on the ice. Unfortunately, even the best training is futile when a skater encounters nerves that prevent them from performing to their best ability. I liken this to the hours of studying necessary to succeed on a three hour law school exam. If one succumbs to self-doubt on test day, then those hours of studying will not be reflected on the exam. It is necessary to believe in your abilities.
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