During my first day of orientation in law school, formerly known as South Texas College of Law, the dean spoke to the incoming class and gave us a bit of wisdom. He said that our undergraduate education does not prepare us for the LSAT and the LSAT does not prepare us for law school. His honesty was proven true time and time again during my first year of law school.
It is without a doubt that my time in the Paralegal Program at UH directly contributed to my academic success. In my opinion, there is no other course that will better prepare someone considering law school in such a short period of time. You are not being prepared for a single test, but for a career in the legal field. This instruction brings with it an introduction to concepts and research methods that many going into law school having never been exposed to until they face an intimidating assignment. In my 1L year of law school, I received A’s for both of my final papers in my Legal Research & Writing courses completed in my first and second semesters. After my second semester, I was awarded the Cali Award for having the highest grade in my LRW class, and I got A’s in four of my five classes. I definitely give credit to the paralegal program at UH for my achievements. By exposing me to online research tools, like Westlaw and Lexis, I had a foundation to build on before the majority of my classmates even knew what those systems were. I am still using that mental scaffolding built during my time in the program to build on top of concepts discussed regarding torts, civil procedure, criminal law, and property law.
My favorite question to answer is when one of my classmates overhears me explain something we haven’t discussed in class yet and ask me, “How do you know that?” I enjoy telling them I learned that in the Paralegal Program at UH.
