To give Oberlin students an edge in gaining acceptance at top law schools—and to establish a direct link between students and alumni who are prominent in legal professions—the Department of Politics and the Office of Career Services are teaming together to inaugurate the Oberlin Law Scholars Program (OLSP).

“Twelve scholars will be chosen from applicants who demonstrate a strong desire to prepare for a career in law and the potential to integrate legal scholarship and experience,” says Ronald Kahn, James Monroe Professor of Politics and Law and OLSP director.

Open to sophomores and juniors in any major who have a committed interest in law, the yearlong program will begin Tuesday, October 30 with Legal Advocacy, a one-module introductory course that includes an on-campus mock trial. 

The application deadline is Monday, October 15, 2007.

“Selections will be made prior to fall break,” says Erin Corwin, associate director of career services and pre-law advisor. “The Office of Career Services is excited about the collaboration, and we look forward to working closely with Professor Kahn.”

Legal Advocacy will be taught by William F. B. Vodrey ’87, visiting professor of politics. Currently magistrate of the Cleveland Municipal Court, the largest in the state, Vodrey has had extensive experience in many aspects of the law, including prosecution and legal aid. He also has wide experience in mock trial proceedings, as a mock trial judge for the Ohio Bar Association, moot court judge at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and as alumni advisor to the Oberlin Mock Trial team.

“He’s someone who is immersed in the inner workings of the legal system, day in and day out,” says Brian Holbrook ’09, a politics major who has had his heart set on law school since junior high. 

The course will cover approaching a case and developing a core theory, information literacy and research, legal writing (pre-trial motions, legal research memoranda, oral arguments, and briefs), presenting oral arguments, court procedures and decorum, and professional responsibility and ethics.

“The prospect of seeing how all the things I've been learning get translated into the actual world of legal practice is exhilarating,” says Holbrook. “I often read books on various topics in constitutional law in my spare time, and I’ve very much enjoyed the assigned readings and written work I’ve done for the law-related courses I’ve taken here at Oberlin. If I’m accepted, I see the OLSP as a chance to advance my knowledge of the law beyond the theoretical into the practical.”

OLSP members will take part in field trips, hear talks by distinguished speakers, and receive help with law school admission costs and the application process. They also will undertake funded summer internships in highly visible locations around the nation, such as a law firms, civil rights legal advocacy groups, government agencies, and prosecution and attorney-general offices.

“That’s the most exciting opportunity I see in the program,” says Holbrook, “particularly if I can be placed with a nonprofit public interest legal advocacy organization.  I believe in the law's power as a force for progressive social change, and I very much want to work with a public service/civil rights legal organization after I finish law school.”

Kahn says that an integral part of the program is the Alumni Associates, a group of Oberlin graduates in legal professions who will facilitate various components, such as the mock trial, assist in clarifying the different areas of law practice, and offer the scholars support and advice.

Charter members of the group are Vodrey and Jacklyn Ford ’83, who will assist Vodrey in teaching Legal Advocacy. Ford is a partner in the Columbus law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP and practices primarily in the field of labor and employment law with an additional practice in health care systems, behavioral health, and privacy.

Modeled after the Business Scholars Program and the Oberlin Initiative in Electoral Politics, the College’s latest initiative is an outgrowth of the 2003 conference, “Law and Social Change in the 21st Century,” which drew to campus more than 50 Oberlin alumni prominent in a variety of legal professions.

For more information on the Oberlin Law Scholars Program and an application form, visit http://www.oberlin.edu/career/olsp/.