Armenian Bar Gives Students A Leg Up On Law School

On August 3 and 10, 2019, the Armenian Bar Association hosted a two-day law school preparation and study-pointers course called, “Succeeding in Law School: A Prep Course.” Approximately fifteen students, including those interested in applying to law school as well as those already admitted, participated in the inaugural classes and learned the following skills: (1) Anchoring; (2) Reading; (3) Briefing; (4) Note-Taking; (5) Synthesizing; (6) Weekly Review; (7) Time Management; (8) Outlining; and (9) Exam Writing. This special educational outreach program was spearheaded by the Armenian Bar’s Student Affairs Committee Co-Chairman Aleksan Giragosian and was delivered with amazing ease and clarity by Zepur Simonian.  Ms. Simonian is a Supervising Research Attorney at the Los Angeles Superior Court and also an Adjunct Professor at Southwestern University School of Law. The course targeted anyone interested in or already enrolled in law school, and the purposes were to:

• educate students about the skills necessary to succeed in law school;
• inform students about the rigor and seriousness of law school;
• help prospective students make an informed decision about entering law school; and
• expose prospective and current students to the Armenian Bar Association as a resource for the community.

  The students’ overwhelmingly positive responses confirmed these intended goals.  Here are samples of student responses: “I learned that organization and discipline are key. That it is important to sequentially approach and deal with the questions. Also, time management was well discussed.” “I learned a lot about how to handle the coursework that will come along with law school and it opened my eyes to what I should expect! The course was very helpful for me!” “I learned the importance of asking why you really want to go to law school and pursue the career of being a lawyer. I also learned on a broad sense the type of work and thinking that is expected as a law student. I liked the hands-on work and the breakdown of the material.” Due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback, the Armenian Bar Association intends to offer this course on an annual basis.