3L Spring Class Overview

Overview — “A general review or summary of a subject.”

-Oxford English Dictionary

Now that I’m starting week 5 of classes, I wanted to share what classes I’m taking for my last semester of school!  Unfortunately because of the credit requirements to be a full-time student and how many credits each of the classes I’m taking are, I’m taking six classes this semester. 

Trademark Practice

I am taking this course as a requirement for my Intellectual Property concentration.  The assignments and class are structured around what actual trademark attorneys do during their day to day practice.  My professor for this class actually practices as a trademark attorney so she infuses our classes with anecdotes that exemplify what we’re talking about from her own practice.  It makes it easier to understand how the basics of trademark law actually apply to the practice of trademark law.

Leadership and Management Skills for Lawyers

In college, I participated in a leadership related club so learning about leadership styles and my own personal strengths was a big part of my college life.  This class focuses on very similar ideas, like what our own personal leadership styles are, but incorporates certain things a lawyer may have to deal with in their professional careers, like giving a crisis management speech and a speech trying to influence others to understand their position on a given issue.  This class is definitely more of a discussion based class that involves conversations about great leaders, their characteristics, and how they can be applied to the leadership roles that lawyers take in their careers.

Accounting for Lawyers

I took Accounting in high school and college, so this class is mostly a review from concepts I learned before.  However, my professor is really concentrating on what lawyers need to know to understand financial statements and lawyers’ roles in developing financial statements in accordance with GAAP and SEC requirements.  It’s really interesting learning Accounting in a new way that more understanding based and not so much application based.

Advanced Legal Research

This class is basically an extension of my 1L Legal Research classes, which focuses more on free resources, legislative history, company and people research, and other subjects not really taught in 1L Legal Research.  One of the most recent homework assignments involved basically stalking someone on the internet to find out a lot of information about them and their lives.  So really this class involves researching things that attorneys do that aren’t just reading case law or statutes.

Corporate Governance

Working as in-house counsel requires some understanding about how a business functions, with its directors, officers, and shareholders.  This course focuses on how boards govern themselves and company officers and how shareholders influence those decisions on the part of boards and management.  Instead of being a traditional law school class with an exam at the end of the semester, this class involves four group projects that involve analyzing public companies and writing and presenting a report on the findings on different topics.  I also really like the professor of this class so it should be a good class.

Fashion Law

Probably the class I get the most slack for taking, Fashion Law was one class I had to take before I graduated from law school.  Most people laugh when I tell them I’m taking this class.  I find that it helps to explain the class as How to Be a General Counsel 101 but framed through the eyes of a fashion/apparel company.  The class covers intellectual property, counterfeit goods, customs, leases, employment issues, licensing, etc.  So it really covers a lot but the prof is also an adjunct who was a GC for multiple fashion companies so it’s definitely an interesting one.  Even at 8 am on Monday mornings, I find it one of the most exciting classes I’m taking this semester.

I also have my professional development requirements, similar to the past two years.  I’m still interning for the company I interned at this summer and working with the professor I have been for the past two years.  This semester is shaping up to be extremely busy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I hope you’re all having a great start to the semester and for those of you 3Ls, we’re almost there!