Lincoln Law School, Voir Dire, Winter 2012

Voir Dire.

A Lincoln Law School Publication Since 1977

Winter | 2012 - 13

Message from the Dean Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of being dean is to see our students arrive with a dream and watch them progress through law school. With this sentiment, I welcome all

“Determine that the thing can and shall be done…then, find the way.”

first-year and transfer students to the Lincoln family. Dealing with conflicting priorities of a job, family and a rigorous academic schedule is a difficult but doable task. Through dedication, desire and determination you will reach your goal of graduating from law school and passing the California Bar. We also congratulate our returning students. You should be justifiably proud of your accomplishments and continued success.

We also welcome back our esteemed faculty. Our faculty is the cornerstone and life blood of the school. Our faculty is dedicated to the success of our students and we thank them for all that they do.

Our annual faculty conference was held in October and I would like to share with you some of the discussion topics.

In this issue:  July 2012 Bar pass list is out.

See who passed on page 8.  Lincoln Law School attends the Unity Bar Dinner for the first time this year.

Story on page 6.  Meet Lincoln’s new Remedies professor, Jill Talley.  Congratulations to newly appointed JUDGE Gevercer!

Bar Examination: The success of a law school is, in part, based upon the passage rate of its students on the California Bar Examination. A recent Sacramento Business Journal article listed Lincoln as twenty-third in bar pass rate of the fifty four ABA, State Bar accredited and unaccredited law schools throughout the state. Our cumulative bar pass rate for the last six graduating classes is 76% (Class of 2011), 65% (2010), 78% (2009), 76% (2008), 69% (2007), and 87% (2006). Our faculty and administration are very proud of the success of our students. In support of the efforts of our students with the Bar Examination, Lincoln has made changes to its curriculum providing fourth-year students with courses designed to assist with Bar preparation. Applied Legal Reasoning/Semantics is a review of the first and second year subjects taught by our first and second year professors. The Semantics portion of the course is designed to prepare students for the multiple choice sections of the Bar examination. This course was recently made a required, rather than elective, course. In addition, the Legal Analysis class is designed to prepare students for the Performance Test portions of the Bar Examination which are three-hour examinations administered on the first and third days of the Bar Examination. For the past three Bar examinations, we have also offered a voluntary one-day mock Bar here at Lincoln. The day consists of three essays in the morning and a Performance Test in the afternoon; consistent with the first and third days of the Bar Examination. The mock bar examination answers are graded by the professors who teach the tested subject.

WASC Accreditation: Lincoln, for the past several months, has been preparing materials to be submitted to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The goal is to achieve accreditation from WASC which, of course, will bring greater notoriety and prestige to our school. The WASC process is difficult, demanding and very time

Table of Contents

consuming. The first step in the process is to submit responses and supporting documentation to the twenty-three WASC criteria. It is anticipated that our materials will soon be submitted to WASC for review and evaluation.

From the Editors

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Welcome Professor Jill Talley!

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State Bar Visit: As all returning students are aware, the State Bar conducted its five-year accreditation visit on March 28th through 30th of this year. The visit consisted of meetings with the senior staff, registrar and assistant

Legal Writing

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Meet Linda Smolich

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registrar, librarian and library staff, admissions committee, Board of Directors, financial officers, students, dean and faculty. We have not yet received our formal report but, during informal discussions with the review committee following the visit, we were complimented on the quality of our education, our students, the school’s facilities

Unity Bar

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Sacramento District Attorney Hosted Open House

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Message from the SBA President

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(particularly its library), bar pass rate, faculty and staff.

Mentoring Program: This is the second year of our mentoring program with Sacramento County Superior Court judges. This program was developed by Presiding Judge Laurie Earl (Lincoln ‘86) and is offered to third and fourth year students of which twelve are participating. For this academic year, Judge DeAlba (father of Amanda DeAlba Lincoln ’12), Judge Blizzard, Judge Currier (Lincoln ’90), Judge Roman, Judge Bogert (Lincoln ’96), Judge Krueger, (Continued on page 2)

VOIR DIRE

Winter 2012/13

(Continued from page 1)

Judge Abbott, Judge Hom, Judge Fiorini (Lincoln’s Evidence instructor), Judge Thornborne and Judge Lueras are participating in the program.

The program is designed for students to have informal lunch meetings with judges on a once-a-month basis to learn more about the practice of law, what our students should expect after graduation, the path their assigned judge took from law school to the bench, and perhaps sit in on court sessions. If everything works out, the possibility of adding a judge as a reference or receiving a recommendation letter is very real.

Legal Writing: We have made some changes to our first-year Legal Writing class. Professor Rouse has stepped down from the position of Legal Writing professor and responsibility for the class is now in the hands of Kelly McNertney (Lincoln ‘00) who has served as a Legal Writing reader since 2002. In addition to changes at the helm, Lincoln has, at no expense to its students, purchased the services of Fleming’s Legal Examination Writing Workshop. In addition to receiving the Fleming’s materials, workshops were held here at Lincoln on September 29 th and 30th. We will survey our current first-year students to gain information on the value of the course and whether it will be continued for future first-year students.

Lincoln has also expanded to three the number of tutors working with its first-year Legal Writing students.

As you know, I have an open-door policy and if you have suggestions for ways we can improve our program, or if you just want to talk please feel free to stop by.

A significant amount of time, an understanding family and above all hard work are all part of the formula for success. Please accept my best wishes for a successful and rewarding year.

Sincerely, James M. Schiavenza, Dean

Fro m t h e Editors

Dear Readers,

We are looking forward to being your Voir Dire editors this year. We couldn’t think of a better way to end our law school career. It’s hard to believe that the end of our Fourth Year is so close. When we started in 2009, this date seemed almost unreachable.

First of all, congratulations to the Class of 2013 for coming this far. We will be the largest Lincoln Law School graduating class since 1997. This really says a lot about what great people you are and how hard we’ve all worked. Additionally, the support from professors and fellow students has been tremendous. Our class has been through many changes together – the integration of a new Dean, mid-year teacher changes and for some reason, tenured Professors want to retire right before we reach them (no hard feelings!). All this has only added to what we’ve learned technically. We are great adapters to change, we are zealous advocates for changes we believe we can affect and we have stronger relationships with our classmates because of these shared experiences. If we can get through this, we can get through anything.

For potential students, if you are thinking about starting on this journey, do it! You are probably weighing the pros and cons right now and wondering if this is the right move. Is it the right time? Is Lincoln the right school? Can I do it? Well, there is almost never a convenient time to go to law school. You are giving up three nights a week to a classroom and countless weekends to studying. But, the earlier you start, the earlier you will finish. It will be one of the hardest things you’ve ever done but there is so much support along the way. Lincoln truly creates a community of future lawyers and resources. You spend all four years with the same classmates which creates such a positive learning environment. The class works together toward the common goal of getting through law school and passing the bar, helping each other along the way. If you really want to become a lawyer and become part of this noble profession, don’t regret the decision to not at least try.

Class of 2014, 2015, and 2016, we know that the end seems so far away. You will do a lifetime of growing in these short years and the time will go by quickly. For now, spend as much time with your family as you can. You will learn who your true friends are by which ones stick by you, whether you’re stressed or just unavailable. Lean on your classmates when you need to. Never stop asking for advice, (even though you will get plenty of it without asking); you never know which piece will change your life.

Our class is proud to soon become part of the Lincoln Alumni family. To our Alumni - thank you for building a superior reputation for future graduates. You give back to this school every day by acting with integrity and being wonderful people and attorneys. We are grateful to you for leading the way!

Yours truly, Peter Khang and Lisa Sotelo, Class of 2013 A Lincoln Law School Publication

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VOIR DIRE

Winter 2012/13

L i n c o l n We l c o m e s N e w R e m e d i e s P ro f e s s o r J i l l Ta l l ey

By Peter Khang, Class of 2013 This year, Lincoln Law School welcomed Jill Talley as its new professor of Remedies. Professor Talley was interested in teaching at Lincoln because she is a firm believer in the school’s mission to provide an excellent education through professors who are practitioners and not book writers. More importantly, she feels a personal connection with Lincoln students because she understands how difficult it can be to balance work and school at the same time.

Professor Talley was born in New Jersey. She spent the majority of her childhood there, before her family moved to Naples, Florida when she was 11. She returned to New Jersey to attend Rutgers College in New Brunswick for her undergraduate degree, before traveling west to attend Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu. Professor Talley met her husband at Pepperdine and they are happily married with three children.

Professor Talley’s legal background is extremely diverse. As a third year law student at Pepperdine, she worked as a judicial extern reviewing motions and drafting recommended rulings for various judges in Los Angeles Superior Court. With her judicial extern experience, Professor Talley was able to join a mid-sized law firm specializing in the areas of business, environmental, and employment law in Los Angeles.

She handled all types of litigation and spent the majority of her early career working in courtrooms.

After two years with a mid-sized firm, Professor Talley joined the firm of Feldman & Shaffery. She ultimately became a partner and the firm was renamed to Feldman & Talley. A few years later, the firm was acquired by Loeb & Loeb, LLP, a large firm with over 300 attorneys nationwide. Professor Talley then decided to accept a position at the Attorney General’s Office in Sacramento. She moved her family from Southern California to Sacramento and they have been here for the past 10 years.

Professor Talley currently works in the Employment and Administrative Mandate Section of the AG’s Office. The section is a part of the Civil Division and primarily defends state agencies in employment disputes. Another aspect of her job is to prevent litigation by providing training and advice to state agencies regarding employment laws. In addition, she also defends state agencies in writ proceedings and makes appearances in criminal matters on behalf of law enforcement in response to discovery requests of peace officer personnel records. Professor Talley states that working at the AG’s Office has “been a great experience and has allowed me to work on a variety of matters and to constantly improve my skills as a lawyer.”

Though Professor Talley may be new to current students, she is not a stranger at Lincoln as she taught Community Property to 4th year students in 2012. This year, she replaces Judge Warriner in teaching Remedies to current 4 th year students. In replacing Judge Warriner, she understands she has big shoes to fill. Rather than being intimidated, Professor Talley states that she is “inspired and honored to follow such an impressive professor and judge.” She finds that Community Property is more fascinating, but Remedies is more complex yet practical. With her diverse legal background, Professor Talley has been able to use her experience in employment, business, and environmental law to assist students in understanding complex remedial theories.

Professor Talley truly enjoys teaching Remedies to 4 th year students every Monday night. She comes equipped with a power point and her “jazz hands” to make Remedies as exciting as possible every week. Professor Talley notes that in her first year of teaching, her biggest struggle is finding a way to keep the class interested while making sure that she teaches the class in a straightforward and cohesive manner.

However, she has been impressed with the classroom participation, even if the material may be dry. She looks forward to a successful year as a faculty member at Lincoln and following her 4th year students in their legal careers.

A Lincoln Law School Publication

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VOIR DIRE

Winter 2012/13

C h a n ge s t o F i r s t Ye a r L e g a l W r i t i n g

By Thomas Sherer, Class of 2015 Many students, myself included, were forming an opinion of their classes well before they ever set foot at Lincoln Law School. A common refrain heard from many trusted 3rd or 4th year friends was: “Saturday mornings are going to be brutal!” Being prepared for this, many 1 st year students approached their required single unit Legal Writing class as nothing more than an obligatory chore. The truth, however, is quite different than this story passed down by 4th to 1st year students.

The most important thing to say about Legal Writing is that it has changed significantly in a relatively short period of time. Dean Schiavenza notes that “Dean Smolich, during his most recent tenure as dean, recognized the importance of the class and devoted a significant amount of time to its improvement.” These improvements were implemented based on student feedback, following numerous positive reports of the instruction received from Fleming’s Workshops. “The changes were made with the goal of getting our readers and students to use the same approach,” said Dean Schiavenza.

As law students, many of us believe we have above-average writing skills, having sat through hours of seemingly remedial English writing classes in college. This confidence comes to a screeching halt when first exposed to the mystical IRAC format of a law school exam. This is where Legal Writing steps in, to bridge the difficult gap between being a good writer, and being a good law school writer.

The format of the class is fairly straightforward: individual students are assigned a reader for the year. At the beginning of every class, the questions for the day are delivered and students break off into their groups. Questions rotate between the core first year subjects (Contracts, Torts and Criminal Law). After having an opportunity to review the question, each student individually outlines their approach to answering. Once an outline is completed, the group becomes collaborative and discusses each student’s individual approach to writing the answer, as well as the substantive law that applies.

This style of mixed study, utilizing both individual and collaborative approaches, does a great job of developing the methods and pathways of thinking like a law student. By creating your own outline, you are forced to think quickly and in an organized manner, while still receiving the benefit of learning how other students approached the same question. Furthermore, these meetings are a great opportunity to review and clarify the law, working through difficult rules with classmates and the reader.

If every successful law student who progressed to 2 nd year compared their performance on exams to the effort they put in to legal writing, they would realize the value. Dean Schiavenza holds that “The Legal Writing course and legal writing in general is very important to a student’s success. In addition, the writing we are learning, including the IRAC method does not end with law school and carries on to writing briefs, motions, letters, and other legal documents.”

The Dean continues to look at ways to make this critical foundational class as beneficial as possible and will be an ongoing focus during his tenure. Perhaps we can all start to turn the Lincoln legend of brutal Saturday mornings, and treat it like the course it is: an early Saturday morning introduction to the most difficult form of writing the majority of us have ever faced. The sooner you learn to appreciate it as a 1st year, the sooner you will reap the benefits.

A Lincoln Law School Publication

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VOIR DIRE

Winter 2012/13

We l c o m e L i n d a S m o l i c h

By Kristofor Helm, Class of 2014 For the past 25 years, Marilyn Smolich directed Lincoln Law School with the philosophy that students come first, school tuition should remain low, and all resources should be used to improve academics. As a result, Lincoln has turned out numerous judges, high-ranking officials, and countless attorneys who positively affect people’s lives.

Recently, Marilyn decided to step down as Director of Lincoln Law School and pass her duties to her daughterin-law, Linda Smolich. Linda has energetically embraced the position and seeks to guide the school with the same ideals that Marilyn has touted.

In addition to working alongside staff and faculty, Linda is bringing Lincoln "up-to-date" aesthetically and technologically, all while keeping Lincoln Law School's mission in the forefront. Linda has enrolled in Sacramento State’s Masters program in Educational Leadership and Policy for Higher Education to ensure that all that can be done, will be done for the school.

To get an idea of the direction of Lincoln Law School and an update on some of the programs the administration is seeking to implement, I conducted a brief Q & A with Linda Smolich: What are you hoping to accomplish within the next five years at Lincoln?

Currently, our central focus has been to gain accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC.) We are continually analyzing student success and seeking ways to improve student learning.

Additionally, we would like to expand our internship program and seek clerking opportunities in law offices, non-profit entities, and government positions.

Lincoln Law School is increasing its presence in the northern California legal community and business community at large. We believe that the more exposure our school has, the better our graduates will be received in the community. Dean Schiavenza is an important ambassador for the school at numerous legal functions throughout northern California. It is our goal that legal professionals throughout northern California will recognize the value and quality of a Lincoln Law School education.

We want to continually increase the usability and livability of our “campus", and are open to student recommendations for how we can better meet their expectations.

Now that the website is up and running, are there other online programs that you are seeking to integrate into the academics?

Currently we are focusing our attention on presenting grades in an efficient manner. While TWEN allows for the posting of grades, it does not allow the breakdown of grades that we would like to offer. Since we are in the midst of looking for a new student information system, we will choose one that allows for the proper disbursement of grades.

Hopefully, our new online payment system and the course pages on TWEN have been helpful. If anyone has ideas they would like to present, please know we look forward to hearing about it.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with students or alumni?

I am thankful for the opportunity to work at Lincoln Law School. I believe in its mission and am proud to be associated with such a great staff, faculty, and student body. My goal is to continually improve upon what we already have in any way I can. To that end, I would like to extend an invitation to everyone to please contact me with any suggestions you may have to improve our program and/or operations at linda@lincolnlaw.edu. Your input is greatly valued.

A Lincoln Law School Publication

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VOIR DIRE

Winter 2012/13

Lincoln Attends its First Unity Bar Dinner

By Angelina Singer, Class of 2015 On October 25, 2012, the Sacramento Unity Bar celebrated its 25 th anniversary at the annual Unity Dinner Gala. Attendees have roots in various ethnic and social backgrounds but share common professions. This is a night to bring together all of the elements of Sacramento’s legal society into one Grand Ballroom. As one of the most diverse cities in the nation, there remains a positive effect in bringing these diverse groups together.

The Unity Bar is an organization comprised of the Sacramento County Bar Association’s minority affiliates, including the Asian/Pacific American Bar Association of Sacramento, La Raza Lawyers, the Wiley M. Manuel Bar Association, Sacramento Lawyers for the Equality of Gays and Lesbians, the South Asian Bar Association of Sacramento, Leonard M. Friedman Bar Association and Women Lawyers of Sacramento. At the gala, each of the affiliate bar associations, with matching contributions from the Unity Bar, awarded scholarships to student recipients.

The event marked a milestone in the association’s history, and tribute was paid to founders Jerry Chong, Luis Cespeda and the Honorable Renard Shepard (retired). In a retrospective of the Unity Bar’s history and inception, the founders recounted when they joined forces as presidents of their respective bar associations in 1987 to promote the appointment of minorities to the Sacramento County superior court bench.

Keynote speaker of the evening was retired California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno. His message reflected how far the effort to promote diversity has come and emphasized the need to create and maintain pipelines from Sacramento’s legal community to our city’s diverse populations. His core theme was that diversity within the courts strengthens the impression of fairness and justice and that judicial systems which include members from many segments of society are more likely to obtain a sense of impartiality within the community that they serve, fostering the public’s trust and cooperation with the system.

Of significance this year is that it was the first time representatives of Lincoln Law School attended the event. In an article in Sacramento Lawyer Magazine, distinguished lawyer and organizer of the Unity Dinner Patricia Tsubokawa Reeves noted that guests this year included “Deans and Professors from King Hall, McGeorge and for the first time Lincoln Law School.” This is an exciting step forward for Lincoln, participating in this unique dinner which has become a tradition of honoring diversity in the Sacramento legal community. Our very own Dean was introduced with a flair of diversity by the Master of Ceremonies, Honorable Elena Duarte, who introduced him, with the correct Italian pronunciation, as Dean Ski-ah-vehns-sa. Unfortunately for us, the Dean did not have a chance to sit with us students (at table 33), as he was promptly whisked away to table number 1 to sit with Justice Moreno, former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso, presiding justice for the 3rd District Court of Appeals Vance Raye, emcee Justice Duarte and associate Justice from the 9 th Circuit Consuelo Callahan.

Not bad company, though we still had to give him a hard time about it afterward.

As a student, it was an honor to represent our school and an excellent opportunity to meet a wide variety of judges and attorneys in the Sacramento community. The atmosphere of the night was upbeat, and the attendees were receptive, welcoming and encouraging. It felt very natural that students from as diverse a school as ours would be welcomed to join in the celebration. Lincoln was given a warm reception, and encouraged to return next year.

A Lincoln Law School Publication

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Asian/Pacific American Bar Association of Sacramento

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La Raza Lawyers

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Leonard M. Friedman Bar Association

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Sacramento Lawyers for the Equality of Gays and Lesbians

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South Asian Bar Association of Sacramento

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Wiley M. Manuel Bar Association

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Women Lawyers of Sacramento PAGE 6

VOIR DIRE

Winter 2012/13

S a c r a m e n t o DA D i ve r s i t y O p e n H o u s e a n d R e c e p t i o n

By Pamela Myers, Class of 2013 In response to a flier sent out by the front office, I attended the Sacramento County District Attorney Open House on November 8th. I wasn’t sure what to expect. As it turns out, the event is sort of a career fair with the opportunity to “rub elbows” with District Attorneys, learn about career and internship opportunities, and to pick up some always helpful advice.

Upon arriving, the room was bustling with conversation. The students participating included first through fourth year students from UC Davis, McGeorge and Lincoln. (I do have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by how many Lincoln Law School students came to this event.) I was worried that I would feel out of place and feel compelled to quickly make way for an exit. This was not the case at all.

I was greeted by Deputy District Attorneys who were eager to find out what school I attended and why I was interested in working at the DA’s office. The room was filled with attorneys with a wide range of experience and from almost every level; from legal research assistants to entry level District Attorneys to supervisory District Attorneys. I learned a lot through them about what the work would be like and what the promotional opportunities would be.

The event is good for students from just about any year and whether you are interested in criminal law or not. It is a fantastic way to get your name out there for internship opportunities. I was especially interested in getting to know the DAs because I had recently applied for the “Post-Bar Legal Research Assistant” position. Emailed resumes all start to look the same and this event gives the hiring attorneys the opportunity to put a face to the name on that resume.

The bottom line is that these attorneys are there specifically to meet you. Law school is hard work, so don’t put that hard work to waste.

Take advantage of these events that can be valuable to your future legal career. Even if you are in your first year with the bar nearly four years away, this event is a good way to start learning about future opportunities and get advice from experienced attorneys. Legal internships are a great way to determine what type of law you want to practice and an even better way to acquire legal experience which is becoming more crucial for getting a job post-bar. Networking can be difficult and uncomfortable, but it is helpful in standing out above the rest. For me, it was both an exhausting and exuberating experience.

Attention Alumni and future Alumni!

Please assist us in developing an active and engaged alumni organization! We’d like to see YOU at the next student-alumni gathering. Interested parties can contact the school to get on the mailing list for events and news. Please be sure to advise us of your contact information. We’re interested in making contact with all alumni, whether you are practicing law in California or not. If you have more than one Lincoln Alum at your place of work, consider becoming a representative there.

Other avenues to connect are through LinkedIn and Facebook.

We’ll keep you posted!

A Lincoln Law School Publication

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VOIR DIRE

Winter 2012/13

C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s C l a s s o f 2 0 1 2 B a r Pa s s e r s Cheryl Akin

Michael Lusk

Mark Shaltes

Adele Din^

Vikram Mandla^

Michael Shoff

Michael Dougherty

Trevor Martin

Lisa Ventura

Rodney Goodman, Jr.

Jesse McClellan

Leah Zabel

Brandon Hintz

Robert Nelson

Adrian Hoppes

Jeremy Rutledge

^ From prior class year

M e s s ag e f ro m t h e S B A P re s i d e n t This year, as President of the Student Bar Association, I was entrusted with the task of creating a sense of community among the students, faculty and alumni. I am proud to say that the SBA so far has succeeded in doing so.

The SBA inaugurated the 2012-2013 school year with the Annual Back-toSchool Picnic at McKinley Park. Students came together with their loved ones to enjoy food and play. It was indicative of a successful year ahead.

The Fall Mixer at Centros had a great turnout. Many students came to spend time with each other outside of the classroom atmosphere. Students enjoyed socializing with one another over food and drinks.

Also, the first Lincoln wear sale of the year was a success. It was one of the best we have ever had. We are looking forward to doing many more sales throughout the remainder of the year.

I would just like to say that all of the success so far this year was not an individual effort. I would like to give a special thanks to Vice-President Carly Stockman, Treasurer Kris Helm, and Secretary Gabe Lieberman. You all have been very active in making this year a success, and your constant efforts are greatly appreciated.

I would like to thank the student body for giving me the opportunity to serve

Lincoln Law School students and the Voir Dire congratulate Professor Steven Gevercer on his appointment by Governor Brown to the Sacramento County Superior Court!

We wish him the best of luck in his new appointment and are very proud to have him as a professor at our school.

as your SBA President and hope we have the same success throughout the remainder of the year.

Sincerely, James Schaefers, Class of 2014 SBA President

A Lincoln Law School Publication

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