One Student Thrives at Experiential Program

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                          One Student Thrives at Experiential Program
                          [by Anayat Durrani]
                          Amidst the plethora of sound advice Alan Smith received before going off to law school, it was one bit of advice given to him a
                          while back that stood out and has always remained with him. “Never forget that I am a cool kid from Laguna.”




It is precisely this positive, upbeat, attitude     pate in law firm simulation training such as         prestige that will give a student the contacts
that has propelled an ambitious kid from the        motions, depositions, arbitrations, and other        in order to get an internship which ultimately
O.C. on his way to a career in law. Mr. Smith       work an attorney would do in the real world.         leads to a job. After you get some experience
graduated as valedictorian from Dana Hills                                                               under your belt, it makes it easier to change
High School in 1997 and went on to pursue           Mr. Smith added that because of the con-             locations, but for the immediate future, your
his undergraduate studies at U.C. Berkeley,         ceptual approach of the SCALE program,               school’s location can play a big role.”
where he had “the time of my life.” Now 25          students are given the opportunity to have
and still having fun, Mr. Smith is a second-        “the cream of the crop professors” teach-            Another important factor to consider, he
year law student at Southwestern University         ing at the law school. He said that the small        noted, is the size of the school. Since he
School of Law’s SCALE program. He said the          classroom setting offers more teacher-stu-           did his undergraduate studies at the large
advice to never forget who he was or where          dent interaction, particularly in projects that      campus of U.C. Berkeley, Mr. Smith wanted
he came from has helped him get through             overlap with other classes. “The two-year            a smaller school entirely devoted to law. He
law school unfettered.                              program seems intense to onlookers, as I am          added that tuition is also a big factor, since
                                                    constantly told that I am crazy for doing this,      loans can pile up quickly.
“This advice comes in handy so much be-             but the program has an ‘eerie’ ability to push
cause of how competitive law school gets,           us when we have time and ease up when we             Although he is still unsure which area of
because it is based on a curve, and I have          are crunched,” said Mr. Smith.                       law he will specialize in, he looks forward to
seen some real caddy behavior, and keeping                                                               the externships that are coming up dur-
a level head and competing with a good at-          The small classroom setting has allowed              ing his second year. The intense and highly
titude will really help you enjoy law school        many of the students to become close, but            structured curriculum of SCALE allows little
the way it can be.”                                 he admits for some people it could have the          time for summer internships, but students
                                                    reverse effect of being a bit too close for          are given externships which are eight weeks
Mr. Smith chose Southwestern’s two-year             comfort. But on the plus side, Mr. Smith said        of experience working for a law firm or judge
SCALE program for a number of reasons.              it is because of the small class size that the       “This is going to be integral, as the only real
He cited its smaller-sized campus, its              law school atmosphere differs from other             downside to the program is our inability to do
impressive alumni, its location in Southern         law school settings that he has heard about.         summer externships.”
California, and scholarship money as factors
that contributed to him choosing Southwest-         “It is not a high school scene with popularity       Once a skeptic about the common sense of
ern. “The fact that it was a two-year program       contests and parties,” he noted. “The class          the law, Mr. Smith said his experience at
played a huge role as well. Law school, I had       is diverse in age and background, and we             Southwestern has changed his views and
been told, pushes students to the limit either      have classmates of all ages and work history         made him appreciate law, which he describes
way, and since I would not know any differ-         which is a benefit that we get to hear from          as a code of conduct that yields structure in
ent, two years sounded better than three, and       other students’ successes and failures in the        our society. “After reading so many opinions
it has been.”                                       business and legal world.”                           and really going through the thought process
                                                                                                         and logic that fuels our legal system, I have
Mr. Smith said he is very satisfied with            Mr. Smith’s own advice for students cur-             really gained a lot of respect for our legal
SCALE’s unique program. In contrast to his          rently shopping around for a law school is           system and the judges that preside over it,”
friends who attend other law schools nation-        location, location, location. “This is because       he said.
wide, he is given the opportunity to partici-       there are few schools that have the national




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