On first day of law school, students learn the ropes

Classes at University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law started Monday, but for many first-year law students, the initial shock of cold calls and coursework has worn off.

“Last week was when we were all nervous,” said first-year law student Loretta Bacon, 23. “I feel more confident this week because we got through the first cold call, so we know what to expect now.”

First-year law students at UM Carey spent last week at orientation, and Monday kicked off regularly scheduled classes for all law school students. University of Baltimore School of Law students attended their first day in classes last Monday.

Students trickled in and out of the front doors at UM Carey on Monday. Some sat with their headphones plugged in at picnic tables outside or spread across a table in the law school’s café, barricaded by a wall of books, wires and laptop computers.

“It’s going well,” said first-year student Erik Pramschufer, 22. “It’s very different from undergrad. There is more focus on reading and class material.”

Jitters and fears

Most first-years said they were concerned about professors calling on them during class, that moment when they go from quiet observer to not-so-willing participant.

“First-years are definitely most nervous about the cold calls because that’s what you hear about when you first come to law school,” said second-year student Renee Connor, 23.

Past that, they had done their reading, filled their backpacks with heavy books and headed to the Baltimore Street building.

“It’s going pretty well so far,” said first-year student Joan Leatherman, 44. “We are just being introduced to our classes,” “It hasn’t been as much of a surprise on the first day.”

Leatherman moved from Cumberland to Silver Spring to attend UM Carey. She just graduated Frostburg State University in the fall, completing her degree after attending classes part-time while working as a registered sales associate.

She walked through the law school building Monday, at ease, a bag slung over her shoulder. She’s now a full-time student and is still trying to figure out what she wants to concentrate in, though she is leaning toward business or labor law.

“I’m getting through it, getting into a routine,” Leatherman said.

Pramschufer said he was still adjusting to the differences between law school and his undergraduate years at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.

“I was a finance and economics major,” Pramschufer said. “I haven’t done much law. I was afraid classes would be full of poli-sci majors who are all way ahead of the curve.”

First-year student Jules Szanton, 22, is fresh off of a stint at The Johns Hopkins University, where he was in the Army ROTC program.

Szanton received an education delay to attend law school. Afterward, he goes on active duty, which he hopes to spend in the Army JAG Corps. In the meantime, though, he said he is concentrating on his grades.

“As far as everyone’s told me, first-year grades are the most important,” Szanton said. “You want to have very good first-year grades so you can do something interesting over your summer break before your second year.”

On the first day of her contracts class for 1Ls, Associate Professor Shruti Rana starts off with introductions, then dives into hotly debated current issues in contracts law. And, yes, she cold calls on the first day.

“My goal in the initial class is to encourage and engage thoughtful, insightful questions as opposed to intimidation,” Rana said. “I just want to show people the right and wrong answers at this stage.”

Rana said first-year students most often ask her about how to translate their previous experiences to law school.

“Students are most worried about the analytical transition to thinking like a lawyer and how to read cases,” Rana said. “Law school is generally a lot of work so people always ask questions about managing the workload.”

Jeff Zavrotny, assistant dean of admissions at UB Law, said students are often most concerned about future jobs and how they can gain the most experience while they are in school.

“I think they are just concerned about the competitive nature of law school,” Zavrotny said. “… They hear the stories about it being cutthroat, so you have to alleviate some of those fears.”

Some students, too, struggle to transition from their laid-back days as an undergraduate second-semester senior to the academic pressure of law school, Zavrotny said.

“Some people have a difficult time getting over the fact that they’re not undergraduates anymore,” he said. “It’s sort of like starting college all over again.”

By the numbers

This year, UB Law’s entering class is down 60 from last year, with 290 students total. Of the first-year class, 224 are day students and 66 are evening students.

The entering class’s median GPA at UB Law is 3.24, which is up from 3.13 last year. The median LSAT score was 152, the same as the previous year.

The first-year class at UB Law is 73.7 percent white, 8.53 percent African American, 5.12 percent Asian and 4.78 percent Hispanic. Gender diversity for day students is equally split while men make up 61 percent of evening students while 39 percent are female.

The numbers are not final since some students drop out in the first few months. The official numbers the law school reports to the American Bar Association for accreditation are due in October.

Because the numbers are not final, UM Carey declined to provide its class size figures for the fall 2013 class.

Last year’s entering class at UM Carey consisted of 264 students — 219 day students and 45 evening students. The median LSAT score was 162 and the median GPA was 3.65.

The class was made up of 54 percent women and 46 percent men. Minorities represented 39 percent of the entering class.