{ prima facie } the Temple Law newspaper

By James Barger, 1LE

The path of a Temple Law evening student can take several twists. Some of the twists are necessary to cope with the challenges of the four year program, and some of the twists yield unique opportunities for the night-timers. Four such paths for evening students include: transferring to the day division, taking advantage of working to minimize their final debt burden, dealing with a lack of free summers for job programs and taking extra credits during summer sessions.

First, evening students may plan to transfer to the day division. To ease their transition, some first-year, part-time evening students decided to enroll in a day division course this semester. According to an e-mail from Dean Esten, those students taking a day division course this semester had to commit to transferring and need to take some credits this summer. The extra course this semester will give them more flexibility in future course choices, compared to those who transfer to full-time without taking the extra 1L class.

Second, evening students can work during the day and use their income to minimize their final law school debt burden. This frees up many evening students to pursue lower-paying, but potentially more fulfilling, public interest careers.

Third, evening students must deal with the lack of free summers for job programs, such as internships or summer associate positions. To overcome this difficulty, some students maintain a job at a law firm through most or all of their law school years, building contacts and law-related experience. Others seek year-long judicial clerkships during one or more years. Still others quit their regular job in their last year so they can accept summer associate positions.

At least one local judge specifically seeks out 1L Temple Law evening students to hire as her judicial aide. Judge Marlene Lachman needs a full-time commitment for at least 18 months, something a full-time student cannot offer. The position could provide useful experience, as Judge Lachman's judicial aide has significant responsibilities, such as guiding the jury selection process, according to 4LE Joel Benecke, who is vacating the position and recently described the job to the 1LE class.

Fourth, evening students may take extra summer credits to finish one semester early, according to the Temple Law "Wise Guide." By finishing after the fall semester of their fourth year, an evening student enters the job market at a time when there is less competition for the many smaller firms, government agencies, and public interest organizations that might be hiring.

The path of the Temple Law evening student is full of unique challenges and choices, but with a little thoughtful planning, it can also yield unique opportunities.