With the new academic term shortly beginning (or having just begun), you might still be shopping for an elective course as upper-level law students.
If so, here's a friendly suggestion:
Be courageous.
Select courses that catch your eye, that seem passionate to you, that resonate with your heart.
Here's why?
In my opinion, regardless of your law school GPA (and perhaps contrary to some that advise taking most of the bar-related subject matter courses), if you take courses in which you are all in, in which want to go deep, in which you look forward to challenging yourself and growing as a future attorney, you will in fact develop the necessary skills to do well both on the bar exam and in the practice of law because you have found a place for your voice to shine.
So, if you have always wanted to take a course on refugee law, even if you might not ever practice in that field, go for it. Or, perhaps you have always wanted to learn about employment discrimination law. Get yourself signed up immediately.
And then, take on your studies of that subject with bold-ful abandon. Don't just read the cases. Rather, dissect them. As you read, be aggressive with the text. Ask yourself what is the function of each sentence and explore whether the sentences, the language, and the structure of the opinion supports the court's conclusion or instead undermines it. Dialogue with your cases. Don't just accept the word of the judges. Probe, proud, and push on the opinion to see if it has any merit at all.
In the process, you will no longer be a mere spectator of the legal process but you will be an active participant. And, significantly with respect to your future encounter with the bar exam, you will be well-positioned to demonstrate to your supreme court upon graduation that you are an adept legal problem-solver because you have learned through active engagement in law school to pay scrupulous attention to detail and to marshall your analysis in an organized lawyerly fashion.
So, listen to your heart as you choose your electives this term. You'll be mighty glad that you did.
(Scott Johns)
