Beginning this semester, all new 1Ls will take Critical Lawyering Skills 1 (“CLS”). This new course provides a small homeroom experience where our first-year students will be introduced to the fundamental academic skills necessary for success in law school.
Professor Kelly Rodriguez from the Office of Academic & Bar Success serves as the project manager for the CLS curriculum. “This course will expose first-year students to essential skills such as case briefing, note taking, outlining, and self-assessment, all of which are necessary to success in law school. The class provides a low-risk space for students to learn and practice these skills in a supportive and collaborative environment,” said Professor Rodriguez.
The Santa Clara Law faculty added the new CLS course to the JD curriculum last year, embracing a trend in legal education to provide more structured support to all students in their transition to law school. The CLS curriculum builds on Santa Clara Law’s long history of co-curricular academic success programming, formalizing it as a part of the required curriculum.
The CLS faculty is drawn from across the Law School community. Professor Britton Schwartz from the International Human Rights Clinic is excited to teach a section. “As a clinical instructor, I love mentoring our incredible students, so I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help launch this important step in reinforcing Santa Clara Law’s deep commitment to training lawyers who lead by giving our students the support they deserve to thrive in their first year of law school. 1L year can be overwhelming and isolating, but incorporating Critical Lawyering Skills into the first semester will give every student a safe space to learn how to succeed here.”
All CLS sections will have assigned upper-division CLS Mentors. Formerly called ASP Fellows, these student leaders provide supplemental community-building activities and individual peer mentorship, and a student’s eye view of the rewarding and challenging experience that is being a 1L.
CLS is part of a suite of academic support initiatives for new 1Ls, including the Harvard Zero-L program, JDEdge by AccessLex, a Pre-Orientation Academic Skills Workshop for first-generation students, academic support overviews at Orientation, online academic skills workshops and supplemental materials through our new partnership with Themis Bar Review, and ongoing faculty advising through the Office of Academic & Bar Success.
The fall semester CLS course will be followed by CLS 2, a professional identity course that has been successfully led by Professor Thiadora Pina for many years now.
