Law Reaches Out
By Naushaba Khan
For the past month, the Santa Clara law school's Student Bar Association and members of the Associated Student Government have joined hands to create a program through which undergraduate students of Santa Clara can shadow the current law students of the school.
"The main idea behind the program will be to provide the (undergraduate) community here at (Santa Clara) with the information they need in order to make an informed decision when deciding if law school is right for them," said Ryan Hanson, the SBA co-vice president.
Though the program is not quite official yet, it is expected to start and potentially be in action by fall.
Beginning at 5 p.m. on April 24, the SBA is planning on holding a panel discussion session regarding the education provided by the law school as it relates to the current economic environment. An introduction session beforehand will allow undergraduate students to have the chance to meet and converse with current law students.
Following the "meet and greet" session, current law students, practicing attorneys and members of the undergraduate Pre-Law Advising Program form a panel to address questions related to the potential value of a law school degree.
"In the future," said Hanson, "we hope to be able to pair prospective law students with current (Santa Clara) law students who can share their wisdom regarding the application process, LSAT studying and the actual law school experience."
According to Hanson, this way, there will be no rigid program for the students to follow. A student may choose to talk about potentials in the law field over a cup of coffee once or twice a quarter, while other students may prefer more in-depth guidance and look into the lives of the law students.
"I think the program is a good idea," said freshman Alicia Lent. "Current students who are interested in pursuing a law degree can have look into what it's really like to be at a law school. This can definitely help them decide if it's something they want to undertake after college."
Though this program is still at the initial stages of its development, the SBA's main idea is to encourage undergraduate students, who are potentially interested in pursuing a career in law, to use as many resources available here on campus as possible when making that critical decision.
"The great thing about the program is that it's a student initiative and collaboration," said Bryan Hinkle, the assistant dean of Law Enrollment Management. "That's really the true beauty of it."
Contact Naushaba Khan at nkhan@scu.edu.