The faculty members at Loyola Law School are very friendly and open to meeting with students. Most professors will hold weekly office hours over zoom or in person to answer questions about class material or just talk about anything in general, whether law related or not.

It’s hard to choose a single favorite professor at Loyola. Even though each one has their own teaching style, every professor I’ve had so far is very proactive about making sure we learn and understand the material. I really like it when professors crack jokes during class because it makes class more fun. One of my favorite professors is Professor Sande Buhai. Professor Buhai taught two classes that I took: Law & Process Privacy Torts and Ethical Lawyering. Privacy Torts is a 1L elective and Ethical Lawyering is a required course for 2L’s to take that also prepares you to take the MPRE. Professor Buhai’s teaching style is very straightforward but also conversational, as we discuss the cases and rules that we read about for class.

Professor Buhai is also the Director of Public Interest and Pro Bono Programs at Loyola. During office hours, I was able to ask her about which classes she would recommend that I take to prepare for the bar. I was also able to get some advice about possibly pursuing a career in public interest and how to handle student loans. Don’t be afraid to reach out to anyone if you are ever curious about what a certain course of field of law is like. The faculty at LLS are a resource that every student should take advantage of!

After 1L year at LLS, we have the ability to choose our own classes and to organize our schedules to our preferences. The remaining required bar courses we have to take are Constitutional Law, Ethical Lawyering, Evidence. Along with satisfying the number of units required for graduation, there is also an upper division writing requirement, experiential requirement, and 40 hour pro-bono requirement. LLS offers a lot of courses for students to choose from to satisfy those requirements easily. In a previous post I mentioned that we have to be careful not to schedule classes with finals on the same day. I would also recommend not scheduling classes with finals on back-to-back days so that you have some time to study in between each final without getting burned out.

Having the flexibility and freedom to choose electives and what classes to take in general is awesome. There are bar elective courses (Remedies, Business Associations, Marital Property) that are not required but will help us cover an area of law that might be tested on the bar exam. Besides bar elective courses, there are many other classes pertaining to many of the wide areas of law and practice. By taking a variety of different electives, it allows us to experience a little bit of what those areas of law are like. Sometimes it helps students find their passion or interests. For example, some of the electives I have taken and are currently taking right now include Copyright, Trademark, California Civil Procedure, and Trusts & Wills. I am really interested in intellectual property so taking Copyright and Trademark were good introductory experiences into the world of intellectual property law. Trusts & Wills is an area of law that everyone should learn because it affects all of us, one way or another, in the future. It’s something that your relatives will always ask you about when they find out you are studying law.

There are academic advisors who are also professors that help us plan out and organize our class schedule. If you are ever curious about what types of courses LLS offers, you can always look up any semester’s course offerings on lls.edu. The lls.edu website also lists the descriptions and requirements for all the concentrations should you choose to pursue one. A few concentrations include Entertainment and Media Law. Intellectual Property Law, and Public Interest Law.

Hi everyone! This year I am returning as a blogger for Jury of Peers! I am looking forward to sharing with you some of my experiences and insights about Loyola Law School and law school in general. Hopefully you’ll be interested in reading my future and past posts and learn something new along the way!

I’m currently a 2L at LLS. This year I’m the treasurer for the Intellectual Property & Cybersecurity Law Society (IPCLS) and helping out as a 1L mentor in both IPCLS and the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA). I’m a student ambassador too, so hopefully I can see some of you at future LLS admission events and tours. I’m also a staff editor on the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review.

A little bit about me not law school related:

I graduated from UCLA in 2020 with a B.A. in Spanish. In my free time I like to watch any sports game that’s on (hopefully the Lakers and Rams will improve their records soon). I enjoy watching movies and anime, and keeping up with all the new social, cultural, and culinary trends. I’m also a big theme park enthusiast – I have an annual pass to Universal Studios Hollywood, and I think I know the park inside and out by now LOL. I’m super excited for the opening of Nintendo World next year! Last summer after 1L finals and the law review write-on competition, I was able to cross an item off my bucket list by flying to Florida and going to Universal Orlando. It was such a fun and amazing experience seeing how much bigger and different the counterpart park was in Orlando. I’d recommend anyone who’s thinking of a place to vacation to consider going! Here’s a few fun photos from my trip:

Blogging for Jury of Peers has been a great way for me to creatively write while taking a break from legal writing.  Law school can sometimes be stressful and overwhelming but it’s important to take breaks and stay motivated, but to find a balance and not burn yourself out.

Thank you all for reading my first blog post this school year and stay tuned for more!

Loyola provides many opportunities to network and to learn more about the different areas of law.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Loyola has many student organizations and groups that represent many ethnicities and the different areas of law (for more information on student groups, see this link). The 2L’s and 3L’s in a student group will inform and give advice to the 1L’s about what that area of law entails. The student groups will disseminate information about student opportunities and networking events. The student groups also organize guest speaker events with professors and attorneys to give insight into their areas of expertise and to answer questions that students may have. For example, during the fall 2021 semester, I attended an event hosted by Consumer Law Society, where a guest speaker attorney gave an inspiring talk about perseverance and gave us networking tips. He recommended writing handwritten notes because they stand out and are memorable. Last month, I attended an intellectual property panel organized by the Intellectual Property & Cybersecurity Law Society. I heard from current Loyola professors and attorneys about trademark, copyright, and patent law. As a bonus and an incentive for students to attend, a lot of these guest speaker events will provide lunch for attendees.

Loyola also has an awesome career development office. All the counselors are very friendly and work closely with all students in helping us draft our resumes and cover letters when we are applying to our first summer jobs. The career development office has set up very helpful workshops to give students advice on resumes and interview skills, and hosted informational panels about summer and career opportunities. Loyola also uses “Symplicity,” which is a portal for students to access information about potential employment opportunities and applications. The career development office often updates the portals with new listings and frequently notifies students when new opportunities arise.

Overall, there’s been many opportunities for students to network, to learn more about areas of law, and to pursue employment. It’s up to us to seize these opportunities. Don’t be shy or let anything hold you back. Attend as many events as you can, because you won’t regret it.

Happy New Year 2022! With every break, it always feels like it comes and goes so fast. It was nice to be able to take a break from law school and mentally reset and refresh myself.

Exams were tough and it was definitely a test of endurance. I attended UCLA for undergrad, which was under the quarter system, so it was interesting to now attend a school that uses the semester system. After fall semester classes ended, there was a reading period, which was about a week between the end of classes and the start of exams. It was a good time to consolidate study materials and transition into fully focusing for exams.

The time period between the end of classes and my last final exam was about 3 weeks. Our 1L exams were scheduled to be spaced out so that we could have a few days in between each exam to take a break and begin studying for the next one. It honestly felt like the longest 3 weeks of my life. Here are some of my takeaways from my first 1L final exams that I want to pass on:

• Start slowly studying and compiling your outlines early. The earlier you start studying, the more prepared and less stressed you will feel.
• Be sure to take breaks. The weeks of reading period and exams are not short. Be sure to pace yourself and take mental breaks from studying. Get some fresh air, don’t stay cooped up all the time in a room, but also stay focused.
• Stay hydrated during studying and during exams. It is very easy to get dehydrated and to forget to drink water when you are spending hours at a time doing assignments or studying that one hard concept you are trying to understand. Staying hydrated might be hard, but don’t forget to do so, especially during exams, where some final exams will span 3-4 hours.

Even though exams were tough, now that I have completed my first semester of law school, I have more knowledge, experience, and determination to tackle this next semester.

During my exam period and the beginning of winter break, I was also consolidating materials to apply for 1L summer positions. I applied for a judicial externship and internships for a few law firms. After submitting those applications, I felt that my winter break could finally begin.

Winter is my favorite time of the year. I love the holiday season and the festive lights that decorate the city. It’s always a nice time to meet distant family members again and to celebrate the new year with your loved ones. Being a big Marvel fan, I was anticipating the arrival of the newest Spider-Man film for a long time. I watched it opening night and if you haven’t watched it already, I highly recommend it. The whole theatre was cheering during the most climactic scenes. Another highlight of my winter break was going to LACMA with my girlfriend and seeing the Obama Portraits that were on tour around the U.S.

Besides that, I also got 2 wisdom teeth removed, which was not very fun…

Even though the beginning of spring semester is going to be online, hopefully we will be able to have class in person again soon. 2022 will be better than the last!

When this past summer started, I was so excited for it. Compared to last summer, California was finally reopening, and I was able to meet with family and friends who I hadn’t seen in a couple of years. Life for all of us was returning to as normal as it could be once again.

I had a couple firsts for me this past summer. Being a tech and video game enthusiast, I built my first PC. I had spent months doing research, scouring the internet for the best information and parts I could get. After spending a whole day assembling all the pieces, I felt so rewarded seeing the computer’s vibrant lights turn on. To anyone who is looking into building their own PC, I highly recommend it! It may seem scary and a lot of work at first but having the freedom to customize your computer specifically to your needs and wants is totally worth it.

I also went to my first baseball game! I didn’t watch a lot of baseball growing up, but being from L.A., I always felt compelled to stay caught up with the Dodgers. I never had an opportunity to attend a game, but my girlfriend surprised me with tickets. We went to a Dodgers vs. Angels game, famously known as “The Freeway Series.” It was such a fun and sensational experience being in a stadium full of fans cheering alongside one another.

The pandemic is still not over, but it’s nice to be able to look forward to doing things that we couldn’t do for the past year. I’ve been looking forward to starting law school and I am so happy that it can be in person.

What’s up everyone!

My name is John and here’s a little bit about me.

Before law school, I attended UCLA for undergrad, and graduated in March 2020 with a degree in Spanish. Whenever I tell someone that my major was Spanish, I get a lot of surprised looks because it’s the last thing they would expect me to say. Choosing that major has been such a fulfilling experience and inspired me to pursue law. Studying Spanish has helped me master another language and connect with another community in Los Angeles.

After finishing undergrad, I dipped my toes into the legal world by working as a law clerk for a law firm specializing in personal injury and workers’ compensation. I worked there for a little over a year until I started law school. I was able to learn a lot about the legal process and the importance of client interaction and communication.

I’m not entirely sure on what field of law I would want to pursue for my law career. I hope to discover my passion at law school and explore the way in which law intersects with my interests which are sports, technology, video games, media entertainment, and cooking. In my free time I love watching sports and following the LA teams like the Lakers, Dodgers, and Rams. In high school, I played volleyball for a couple years on the junior varsity team. Sometimes on Fridays, I’ll be playing basketball with other 1L’s on the school basketball court.

A few items on my bucket list are skydiving, learning how to play golf, learning to ride a motorcycle, and learning how to snowboard. Hopefully this winter I’ll be able to cross snowboarding off the list.

Thank you for tuning into my blog! I’m looking forward to writing about my life as a 1L at LMU Loyola Law School.