An important consideration when choosing a law school is the school’s learning environment. The ideal learning environment supports students so they can academically thrive. At SJCL, your success as a law student is our foremost objective. This is reflected in our built-in academic support program. At SJCL, you will not only find student-focused faculty and staff, but you will also have a personalized learning experience. Our academic support program consists of the following:
Automatic Enrollment in Legal Methods I: Designed specifically for first-year law school students to develop the fundamental skills necessary to succeed in law school, Legal Methods I assigns students to a faculty-member and places them into small cohorts of 10 - 15 students. During the course, students learn the skills necessary to prepare and perform in law school. Students learn how to read judicial opinions and statutes to extract legal rules, how to apply these rules to factual scenarios, how to develop effective study habits and tactics for exams, and how to prepare analytical documents just like a lawyer.
Writing Tutors: Writing tutoring is available to all students through SJCL’s writing program.
Academic Support and Counseling: SJCL’s culture is based upon a foundation of developing personal relationships between students and professors. In addition to offering an engaged faculty, students have direct access to the Academic Deanm, Justin Atkinson. Students can make individual appointments for academic counseling on study techniques, supplemental materials, best use of study groups, time management, and other strategies associated with academic success in law school. In addition, students are also encouraged to meet with their Legal Methods 1 instructors for academic counseling as well.
Collaborative Learning Environment: Unlike other schools, SJCL’s students work together to achieve their goals. SJCL has no grading curve as students are all graded to a set standard. As a result, students do not compete against each other for grades. Rather, students only work against their own, personal best efforts.
Mentoring: Near-peer mentoring is available through our student organizations to help with case briefing, outlining, factual analysis, and organizing for academic success. In addition, these organizations frequently hold workshops throughout the year to assist students.
Dedicated Faculty and Administration: At SJCL, all students have direct access to the school’s faculty and administration. The Dean, Academic Dean, and the Law Library Director are all available to meet with any San Joaquin College of Law student or Bar candidate seeking to improve their study skills and exam performance. Should the student wish, they will receive feedback on their efforts in order to help them reach their full potential. All of our Professors want to hear your thoughts on the issues discussed in class and are happy to meet with you outside of class in order to bring clarity to the material.
Practice Examinations: The primary methods of measuring progress in law school are essay and multiple-choice exams. On exams, students are asked to apply the law to hypothetical fact scenarios by analyzing how the facts might support arguments for each side. These types of exams are universally used by law schools as they mirror the questions asked on the California Bar Examination. To assist students with preparation for their midterms and finals, our professors release past essay exams so that students may write practice exams and then meet individually with those same professors to receive feedback on their answers. Taking these released exams for practice and having answers reviewed by faculty is an essential component to law school success and later success on the California Bar Examination.
Bar Preparation: An elective course called Legal Process during the second semester of your last year of law school will reinforce the hard-won skills you developed at SJCL and will show you how to apply these skills to the California Bar Examination. In this course, students practice bar-style essay exams, MBE exams, and Performance Exams. Moreover, students also receive some substantive review in Torts, Contracts, and Constitutional Law, all of which are tested on the California Bar Exam.
Career Readiness: In addition to the above, students are taught resume writing, cover letter, and interview skills in Legal Methods I. Moreover, it is highly likely that during your studies at SJCL one or more faculty or alumni will have pursued a career path that mirrors your aspirations and goals and would be eager to offer insights that will help you get your legal career started. The outstanding career outlook for attorneys in this region is one of the primary reasons a student would choose SJCL for their legal education over other law schools.
In short, San Joaquin College of Law offers a combination of a supportive, student-centered law school environment and a location that is rich in opportunities to launch your career as an attorney.
