Welcome to the Shepard Broad Law Center of NSU.

Beginning law school conjures up good and bad images harkening back to earlier days of starting school. For instance, there is the image of the customary annual trip parents make with their children to the department store to purchase the proverbial school supplies and new school clothes. No Suzy, we are not buying that! There is the image of rushing to complete your assigned summer reading list in the last few days before school starts. Another image is going off to college (freedom from those bothersome parents), moving into the dorm or your first apartment, and the joy or anxiety of meeting a roommate or two for the first time. And, finally, there is the image of a new group of fellow students and teachers and the tales and rumors about them. So how is starting law school like these experiences?

The Summer Reading List
Students often ask what they can read during the summer before law school that will help them during the first year. Enjoy your summer, read your favorite literature, watch your favorite movies and hang out with your friends. Avoid the temptation to buy your books early. Law school requires a lot of reading very different from that to which you are accustomed. Faculty members teaching the first-year curriculum and the instructors in NSU's Critical Skills Program will guide and help you develop the skills of reading, analyzing and synthesizing cases and statutes as part of the case method of legal study.

There is one exception to this advice. During NSU's week-long orientation, you will be introduced to the many aspects of law school. You are required to read Bridging the Gap Between College and Law School by Ruta Stropus and Charlotte Taylor. This book will be used during orientation.

School Supplies
When my generation purchased school supplies it included, among other things, a ruler, protractor, compass and a slide rule. (What's a slide rule?) A generation later the calculator was added-out with the slide rule. Today, it is the laptop computer. NSU Law requires all students to have a laptop computer. Much of the information to which you will have access, including some instruction, instructional assistance, and on-line legal resources make the computer an indispensible tool for you. Although many of you will come with computer skills, law school is a great place to hone those skills.

Resist the temptation to run out and purchase study aids, which can be expensive and not necessarily helpful. Each faculty member will provide you with a list of the required book(s) or materials for the class. Many will provide a list of supplemental materials that might be helpful. Until you have been in class for a few weeks, you really will not know what you need. Go slow on the spending.

Fellow Students and Faculty/Instructors
The full-time and adjunct faculty are very talented and committed to providing you an excellent education. They bring a wealth of experience as practitioners, scholars and legal educators. They are the finest of teachers and diverse in the broadest sense. Within the context of demanding much from you as students, you will find them supportive and helpful.
Also dedicated to the school and your education is the administrative team. The individuals you are likely to encounter-professionals in admission, financial aid, student affairs and student services, academic support, academic advising, and library and technology services are committed to your success.

Lawyers are by nature competitive. However, I have observed that NSU law students, while competitive, are also collegial, respectful and supportive. Most importantly, you will develop personal and professional relationships with your fellow students that will last a lifetime.

A New and Different Educational Experience
 "Sit Down and Hold On" are the words on a shirt I purchased at the Busch Garden amusement park in Williamsburg, Virginia a few years ago touting one of their fast new roller coasters. In some respect, the first year of law school is like a fast new roller coaster ride. Here is some friendly advice about "sitting down and holding on":

  • Dedicate yourself to hard work. Take from your professors every bit of knowledge and understanding they have of the law. Do not shy away from asking questions, seeking advice or being an active participant in the life and programs of the Law Center. Listen to and learn from your fellow students. Yes! Be fully engaged from the very first day of law school.
  • Most of what happens in law school happens for a reason. Learning to think like a lawyer -the critical skills of analysis, synthesis, written and oral communication, problem solving and professionalism-is taught in a manner radically different from what you have experienced to date. At times, it will be frustrating and unpleasant.
  • When you have a problem, whether of a personal nature or related to law school, seek counsel from a law school professional. Often there are solutions or options of which you are unaware. It is always easier to resolve a problem earlier rather than later.
  • Each of you brings to law school beliefs and precepts based upon prior learning, cultural perspectives, work experiences, moral and ethical teachings, and more. They make you the unique individual you are and provide the lens through which you view the world and, most likely, will view the legal system. The process of becoming a lawyer will be a natural challenge to some of your beliefs and precepts. Undoubtedly, you will think critically about them irrespective of whether they change.
  • AND ABOVE ALL - HAVE FUN!

Law is a noble profession. It is a profession of service. It requires skill, diligence, professionalism and the highest ethical standards. It demands trust because trust is given by clients. Every new generation of lawyers are called upon to seek justice, fairness and equality. I welcome you to NSU and wish you the very best.