[blindLaw] Preparing for Law School

Singh, Nandini NSingh at cov.com
Wed May 20 16:25:36 UTC 2020


I was fairly lean with tech during law school: Braille note taker, laptop with JAWS, and a smart phone with Talks (not even an iPhone because I was and am still a bit of a luddite). I do use more tech for work though.

Outlining was interesting. We actually had a continually updated outline bank that collected outlines that past generations of law students had made and then archived for all the major black letter classes. Many people downloaded a good outline and then revised it based on professor or after perusing horn books, e.g. black letter capsules that summarize the important concepts. Examples and Explanations in addition to Glannon were some of the popular ones. Your law library should have both. I became friendly with library staff, who were always willing to scan in the horn books for me.

Eventually, I liked to reduce and condense entire outlines into the proverbial one-page outline. This mostly involved words and semi colons to convey the idea of a flow chart. This was done on my Braille Note. The one-pagers were great for open book exams.

Regarding finals, professors also put up past exams, so you could always look at those to get a sense for the type of issue spotters and/or short answer questions that they liked to pose. When I was a 1L, I liked to complete past exams with other people, but I think this was more a function that we were all terrified of failing than preferring the study group model, which died out by 1L spring.

I should say that everyone is different when it comes to understanding how laws, regs, and/or rules relate to each other. Regardless of Braille, Word, Excel, you need to review repeatedly, which is a basic but still effective learning technique. Keep in mind that some classes  have more of this than others, so you may feel like you need something like a flow chart for evidence or civ pro but not so much for corporations.

The type of class and professor makes a difference, which is one of my major themes today I guess. For better or worse, many of us selected courses based on who was teaching it, and we asked our classmates how they liked that professor's style. This can give you ideas on what you will need to do to gear up for class. I am a very theoretical thinker, so I gravitated to professors who were similar. I never had to read aloud a provision in the Constitution, but I made sure that I had case briefs for all the precedents we had been assigned. A case brief is an annotated capsule of the case, i.e. facts, issue, posture (occasionally helpful), holding (central ruling), rationale. During class, I jotted down a few notes to supplement the case brief.


>> On 5/18/20, Julie McGinnity via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi everyone
>>
>> Thank you so much for the advice!
>>
>> I truly appreciate it.  And thank you for the Federal Rules, Sanho.
>>
>> I don't know the first thing about cross referencing the various 
>> rules.  I suppose the best way to begin would be to just familiarize 
>> myself with the appropriate websites?
>>
>> How did you guys tackle outlines?  I was simply planning to keep them 
>> on my Braille Note and copy them to a flash drive for safe keeping 
>> and so I can read through them with Jaws as well.
>>
>> Thanks again,
>>
>> Julie
>>
>>
>>> On 5/18/20, Vaughn Brown via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> Thank you Sanho for sharing! That was quite thoughtful of you.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 5/17/20, Sanho Steele-Louchart via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>> Julie,
>>>>
>>>> Going off of what Bruce said, one thing I'd love to share with you 
>>>> is my searchable copy of the Rules of Civil Procedure. My professor 
>>>> would ask questions like, "Mr. Steele-Louchart, will you please 
>>>> list the provisions of Rule 5B2b-ii?"
>>>>
>>>> I had to be able to get there quickly, and using headings and 
>>>> standard reading controls simply didn't cut it. My version has the 
>>>> numbers, letters, and roman numerals of the rule all listed to the 
>>>> left of each subpart. If you're looking for Rule 42B2, just open 
>>>> the find dialogue and literally type in 42B2 before hitting enter. 
>>>> It'll take you right there.
>>>>
>>>> I'll attach the accommodated version in case it can go through the 
>>>> listserve.
>>>>
>>>> Sanho
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 5/17/20, philosopher25--- via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>> I suggest bookmarking the online versions of federal rules of 
>>>>> civil procedure and other such rule books such as criminal law and 
>>>>> professional rules of conduct. Start familiarizing yourself with 
>>>>> ways to cross reference rules against rules within the same text. 
>>>>> Blue booking and legal research also have some challenges that 
>>>>> you'll want to discuss with other blind people familiar with them. 
>>>>> You'll want to have a system that you can answer questions in 
>>>>> class. At some later date a system to do oral arguments. I found a 
>>>>> good study group was helpful, but not everyone does. Lastly, 
>>>>> outlining is something of a challenge you'll want to work out asap.
>>>>> Have
>>>>> handy a few phone numbers of blind people with experience with law 
>>>>> school and the study tools you use, like braille or speech.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>> Bruce
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of MIKE 
>>>>> MCGLASHON via BlindLaw
>>>>> Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2020 9:25 PM
>>>>> To: 'Blind Law Mailing List' <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Cc: MIKE MCGLASHON <michael.mcglashon at comcast.net>
>>>>> Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Preparing for Law School
>>>>>
>>>>> Ms Julie:
>>>>>
>>>>> You can call me and we can discuss this if you wish; Please seel 
>>>>> below;
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Please advise as you like.
>>>>>
>>>>> Mike M.
>>>>>
>>>>> Mike mcglashon
>>>>> Email: Michael.mcglashon at comcast.net
>>>>> Ph: 618 783 9331
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Julie 
>>>>> McGinnity via BlindLaw
>>>>> Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2020 8:24 PM
>>>>> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Cc: Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
>>>>> Subject: [blindLaw] Preparing for Law School
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi everyone,
>>>>>
>>>>> I hope all of you are staying safe and sane in these crazy times.
>>>>>
>>>>> I am starting my first year of law school in the fall, and I'm 
>>>>> wondering what, if anything, I should do to prepare.  I am already 
>>>>> working with rehab here to get me a note taker, and I will be 
>>>>> starting the paper work for disability services soon.
>>>>>
>>>>> Are there any tech tips I should know or programs with which I 
>>>>> should familiarize myself at this time?  I am already proficient 
>>>>> with Word and Outlook.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is there any piece of technology that you couldn't live without in 
>>>>> law school?  I'll have my laptop of course.
>>>>>
>>>>> My university is inviting us to take a law school prep course.  I 
>>>>> have no clue if it's accessible, but has anyone taken something 
>>>>> like this?
>>>>>
>>>>> Sorry for all the questions.  I have an arts background, and I'm 
>>>>> aware that law school is unlike anything I've ever done 
>>>>> academically.
>>>>> Despite my nerves, I am invested in doing the absolute best I can 
>>>>> and diving into learning all the things.  So, any advice would be 
>>>>> welcome.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you, and have a wonderful weekend!
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Julie A. McGinnity
>>>>> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; President, National Federation of the 
>>>>> Blind Performing Arts Division
>>>>>
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>>>>> mcast.net
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Julie A. McGinnity
>> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; President, National Federation of the 
>> Blind Performing Arts Division
>>
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