When I first met Hala Furst, at an admitted student function in the spring of 2007, I was impressed by her smarts and effervescence (plus cool “real world” experiences: an actress in California, a concierge in Minneapolis, and even work with MTV).

I am always happy to spotlight the advantages of being the only law school in the state, and here comes yet another: a top federal judge (who is also a member of our Adjunct Faculty) presided over a constitutional attack on a controversial approach to town/gown frictions.  The summary judgment hearing in University of Rhode Island Students vs. Town of Narragansett was heard in our courtroom and, to top it off, the judge and the lawyers held a Q&A session afterwards—a rare if not unique opportunity for students to get insiders’ perspective on litigation.

I am glad to report that two members of the RWU Law faculty are playing important roles in continuing fallout from the reaction to the 9/11 attacks and the resulting challenge to both the civilian and military justice systems.

Today marks the beginning of the reading period for my last set of fall finals in law school. My nostalgia is predictably overcome by concern that I will fail the two exams I do have.

In addition to the resources and sage advice offered by the folks in the office of the Dean of Students, here are a few Law Library resources to help you prepare for and take your exams! 

Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams (Reserve and Stacks, KF283 .F47 1999) is authored by two law professors and includes discussions of sample essay questions and answers for Torts, Property, Constitutional Law, and Contracts.

Lawyers are understandably interested in how judges are selected.  There is much attention given to appointments to the federal bench, like the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court and current nomination of

The School of Law recently welcomed the Honorable Margaret H. Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, launching our Women Who Lead series, with an address on “Our American Constitutions: Models for the 21st Century.”

In recent years Massachusetts has become the bar exam of choice for our most of our graduates (surpassing RI), and as a result Mass is now our “reporting state” for the American Bar Association.  The July 2009 results reinforce how well our graduates perform when compared to all takers (which in Mass includes almost 400 graduates of Harvard, Boston College, and Boston University).

For the fifth consecutive year, a leading Rhode Island law firm hosted a cocktail reception for members of the RWU Law Review and our Honors Program.  Past hosts were Hinckley, Allen & Snyder, LLP, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge