Law School Toolbox®

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Doretta McGinnis

About Doretta McGinnis

Doretta McGinnis is a law school tutor for Law School Toolbox. After graduating from Harvard, she worked in academic publishing until a friend dared her to go to law school. Doretta earned her JD at Penn Law, where she was an editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and a legal writing instructor. Eager to pay off her student loans, she practiced labor and employment law at a major Philadelphia law firm, but soon left Biglaw to pursue her interest in legal education. Doretta joined the faculty at Widener University Delaware Law School, where, over the course of nearly 20 years, she served as Associate Director of the legal writing program and taught labor law, employment discrimination, and bar exam prep. She is the co-founder of Admission Logic, LLC, an independent educational consulting practice focused on college and law school admissions.

Ahead Of The Curve: What Is The Socratic Method?

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Basics of the Socratic MethodWelcome to Ahead of the Curve, our new series for incoming 1Ls. We’re getting lots of questions about what law school to attend, how to pay for it, and what people can be doing now to set themselves up for success in law school. Stay tuned, and be sure to sign up for our free mailing list and check out the Start Law School Right course to ensure you’re ready to go on Day One! 

An intimidating professor calls on a terrified student and asks a mind-boggling question. As the entire class looks on, the student manages to squeak out an answer. The professor, unimpressed, responds with another question. And so it goes, until the professor impassively turns to the next victim, leaving the first student exhausted and the class utterly confused. [Read more…] about Ahead Of The Curve: What Is The Socratic Method?

Exam Tip: How to Apply a Rule or Statute to Facts

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Statutes Rules to Fact

If you’re taking Civil Procedure, Evidence, a UCC-based course, or any other course involving rules or statutes, consider how the rules or statutes (I’ll use the terms interchangeably) will affect your approach to answering exam questions. Reaching the correct conclusion depends on applying and interpreting statutory language. This requires a meticulous, step-by-step approach. Here I’ll set out a technique you can use on practice exams and on your finals, breaking it down and then illustrating it with a simple example from the UCC. [Read more…] about Exam Tip: How to Apply a Rule or Statute to Facts

Seven Ways to Make the Most of Your 3L Year

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3L Year

Some critics of legal education assert that the third year of law school is unnecessary and should be eliminated. Reducing law school to two years would curtail student debt and add an additional year to career earnings, with potentially little effect on career readiness, they argue. But for now, law school remains a three-year program. Whether you’re approaching your third year with enthusiasm or, more likely, ennui, you’ve got to get through it. Here are some tips for making the most of it. [Read more…] about Seven Ways to Make the Most of Your 3L Year

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