Review and Takeaways

     We've started with some subjects that might seem off point to you, but they are critically important for laying a foundation for law school and life as a professional. Just as any building needs a sound foundation to be stable, these matters are designed to frame and underpin your legal studies.

     Your goal in law school should not be just to learn law, but to begin your progress toward being a great lawyer.

      Being a great lawyer involves legal skill, but it involves much more. Great lawyers don't just answer legal questions; they solve problems that have some kind of legal connection. The sooner you internalize that you must become a problem solver, not a memorizer of law, the better.

     Your career as a lawyer will require a commitment to ethical conduct. At any time, the choices open to you as you seek to represent a client - and even to some extent the choices open to you in your personal life - will be channeled in part by your ethical duties.

     One of those duties, as we see in In Re Snyder, is to respect and protect the system of justice, which implies respectful treatment of all parties but especially judges. That said, lawyers may nonetheless strongly and firmly disagree with actions and decisions made by judges.

     For all lawyers, but especially transnational lawyers, cultural awareness and competence is one of the skills of being a great lawyer. Don't feel obligated to accept others' conclusions and be aware of misleading stereotypes, but do begin forming your own cultural awareness. 

     As you launch into a deep study of western law, be aware that western law reflects western cultural and social norms, and the methods of legal analysis used in the common law tradition draw on western modes of interpreting the world. Be aware that in the JD courses here at STL you will usually be expected to play by western rules, even if you agree with those who find that approach narrowing and unhelpful.

     US law cannot be understood fully without some understanding of US history. We've given a quick overview in class but ongoing reading in this area will serve you well.

     Understand that the US government is a federal government created through and based on the written document of the US Constitution. The Constitution operates to limit the concentration of power, with power shared between the states and the federal government. We will try to develop a more nuanced understanding of the sometimes difficult concept of state sovereignty as the course proceeds, but understand from the outset that states are viewed to some degree as having independent sovereignty so that power is shared between them and the federal government. The federal government is one of limited (but extensive) powers, and any exercise of federal power must be based on a grant of power in the Constitution. Even within the federal level, power is dispersed within the federal government between the three branches of legislative, executive, and judicial power. 

     Remember: Every student at STL has all the abilities necessary to be a great lawyer. Always aim high.