Spring 2025 Admissions Class Observation Guidelines

Professor: Chaumtoli Huq
Class: Contracts– This course centers on three areas: evidence, advocacy skills, and a theoretical understanding of dispute resolution. In each area, students acquire practical skills necessary to the lawyering role and examine litigation in a broader context, encouraging in-depth understanding of the structure of evidentiary rules, as well as the possibility of alternatives. Doctrinal coverage includes the Federal Rules of Evidence, as well as the common law and New York statutes defining the scope of privileges. Students are challenged not only to master this thicket of rules and their many exceptions, but also to develop an understanding of how they affect the fact-finding process, the development of a theory of the case, the viability of litigation, and the unfolding of the story if the case finally reaches the courthouse.

Days & Times: Mon 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Wed 2:00 PM -3:30 PM

Room #: 1|203

Sign up to observe the class using this form

Frequently asked questions

Where should I sit: No specific area, but if leaving early, they should sit near the door to avoid disruption.

Am I required to stay the entire class? May I get up to go to the restroom during class? No, you are not required to stay the entire time and yes you may leave to use the restroom. I usually have a break about halfway through the class to use the restroom or have a break. Please just be mindful of the other students and leave quietly.

Should I introduce myself to professor Huq before class begins or stay after to say hello? Yes, you should introduce yourself to professor Huq and the class.

May I participate in the class, raise my hand to ask or answer a question? It is not permitted.

Is there a cap on the number of guests who can observe per class?  No, except the limit of the classroom.

Are there test days that the class will not be open for observations? Yes, MARCH 12 is the midterm.

Professor: Kara Wallis
Class: – Civil Procedure – This course examines the structure of the judicial system and the basic ground rules of civil litigation. Exploring the adversary model and the purposes of litigation, students scrutinize the basic principles underlying the jurisdiction of courts and are encouraged to question the role of courts and to critically assess the adequacy of rules of procedure, to provide a framework for the efficient and fair resolution of disputes. Particular focus is placed on the degree to which justice is dependent on a party’s resources. Principles of common law and statutory pleading, discovery, motion practice, remedies, and appeals are taught with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, providing students the framework they are concurrently using in simulation and will subsequently use in live-client representation.

Days & Times: Tues / Thurs  1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

Room #:1|202

Sign up to observe the class using this form

Frequently asked questions

Where should I sit: In the back/along the sides

Am I required to stay the entire class? May I get up to go to the restroom during class? They should plan to stay the entire time without interruption

Should I introduce myself to Professor Wallis before class begins or stay after to say hello? They can say hello after the class (not before)

May I raise my hand to ask or answer a question? They should save questions for after

Is there a cap on the number of guests who can observe per class?Limit to 3 prospective students

Are there test days that the class will not be open for observations? Yes, MARCH 30 is the midterm

Professor: Beena Ahmad
Class: Lawyering Seminar
First-Year Lawyering Seminar teaches legal reasoning, professional responsibility, legal writing, and other lawyering skills by integrating clinical methodology with substantive, theoretical, and doctrinal material. Using simulation exercises and hypothetical cases, students role-play lawyers, clients, judges, or legislators confronted by legal issues arising from material in their other first-year courses. For example, in conjunction with their Criminal Law course, students may be assigned the roles of lawyers representing or prosecuting persons in a criminal case, or, in Law and Family Relations, they may role-play lawyers representing or prosecuting various parties in a child abuse case in Family Court.

Days & Times: Mon/Wed 10:30 AM-12:30 PM

Room #: 4|203

Sign up to observe the class using this form

Frequently asked questions

Where should I sit: Anywhere

Am I required to stay the entire class? May I get up to go to the restroom during class? plan to stay the whole time

Should I introduce myself to professor Ahmad before class begins or stay after to say hello? Yes, it would be nice if they introduced themselves

May I raise my hand to ask or answer a question? It is okay if they ask questions

Is there a cap on the number of guests who can observe per class? Limit to 2 prospective students

Are there test days that the class will not be open for observations? MARCH 3 (writing workshop)

Professor: Charisa Smith
Class: Torts
These two courses, I and II together analyze society’s focus on individual rights over collective responsibilities and examine adjudication, guilt, punishment, and deterrence. Each course provides a perspective on the central theme of the function and content of the prevailing legal standards for civil and criminal responsibility: malice and intent, causation and fault (including negligence), protected and unprotected interests, the legal duty to act, and several exceptions to accountability when an action causes harm. Each course covers the legal concepts and categories that shape these doctrinal areas. The Torts course explores theories of negligence, intentional torts, and strict liability, including in-depth study of status, causation, assumption of risk, contributory and joint liability, defenses, and remedies. The Criminal Law course covers both the common law and statutory elements of misdemeanors and felonies, while also exploring the legal implications of status, causation, conspiracy and accomplice liability, defenses, and sentencing. In both courses, students identify and assess the political sources and social implications of the ways in which responsibility is defined and allocated, and consider the efficiency and/or justice of varying allocations of risk, cost, and harm.

Days & Times: Tues/Thurs 11:00 AM-12:30 PM

Room #: 1|202

Sign up to observe the class using this form

Frequently asked questions

Where should I sit: Anywhere

Am I required to stay the entire class? May I get up to go to the restroom during class? It is fine to step out.

Should I introduce myself to professor Ahmad before class begins or stay after to say hello? No preference

May I raise my hand to ask or answer a question? Prefer prospective students not to participate

Is there a cap on the number of guests who can observe per class? N/A

Are there test days that the class will not be open for observations? April 15th

Professor: Charisa Smith
Class: Contemplative Practice
This course is designed to introduce students to the growing movement of contemplative practice and to explore its application to those who use the law for social justice. “Contemplative practice” encompasses a variety of traditions and practices that quiet the mind and draw one’s consciousness inward in order to gain insight and the ability to deal with the unique obstacles that one faces in a social justice practice. This course will focus on meditation as a form of contemplative practice and as an essential lawyering skill, directly linked to some of the more traditional skills — such as interviewing, counseling, and negotiation. The course will draw on a variety of readings that specifically link contemplative techniques to the study and practice of law and will require students to engage actively with the integration of contemplative practice with the lawyer’s work.

Days & Times: Mon/Wed 10:30 AM-12:30 PM

Room #: 4|203

Sign up to observe the class using this form

Frequently asked questions

Where should I sit: Student’s must introduce themselves to be provided with a seat due to space limitations

Am I required to stay the entire class? May I get up to go to the restroom during class? It is fine to step out

Should I introduce myself to professor Ahmad before class begins or stay after to say hello? Introduce themselves prior to the start of class

May I raise my hand to ask or answer a question? Prefer prospective students not to participate
Is there a cap on the number of guests who can observe per class?  4 students maximum

Are there test days that the class will not be open for observations? N/A