Tuesday Morning Message 9.26.23 The Power of Listening.

Last week, I noted that when I welcomed our first year class of law students, I shared “The 10 Things I Wish I Had Known When I Started Law School.” Here’s another “thing I wish I had known.”

When I started law school, I wish I had known the power of listening.

We need leaders who recognize the value of asking rather than telling, of listening rather than jumping to conclusions. As Steven Covey notes in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

Monday Morning Message 9.18.23 What I Wish I Had Known.

“Much of the uncertainty of law is not an unfortunate accident: it is of immense social value.” -Supreme Court Justice

Monday Morning Message 9.11.23 Make Your Torch Burn Brightly.

“The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”  -

Monday Morning Message 9.5.23 Our New JD Online Program

“Thank you for an exceptional start to my first year of law school!  I thoroughly enjoyed each part of my first residency weekend. The alumni dinner at the Synenberg’s was a special evening I will never forget.”

-JD Online Student

“I just wanted to say thank you for such an inspiring, gracious, generous, informative, and educational experience. The residency was so useful, and I feel like I really got to know everyone in a meaningful way. I just can't thank you enough for creating such a wonderful first law school experience. I am thrilled to be a student at CSU Law!! Oh, and the dinner was incredible!! Thank you so much for arranging and making that happen!!” - JD Online Student

Monday Morning Message 8.28.23 A Record Setting Week

“Get ready to embark on a wild ride unlike anything you’ve ever experienced, packed with thrills, chills, and probably a few spills. Being a 1L will challenge you like you’ve never been challenged….. The first year of law school will be one of the hardest years of your life. Law school will profoundly alter the way you think, and view and interact with the world around you. Your 1L experience will change who you are, whether you want it to or not.”  Andrew McClurg, 1L of a Ride, A Well-Traveled Professor's Roadmap to Success in the First Year of Law School

Monday Morning Message 6.12.23 Before Your Email Inbox Gets a Summer Break!

“ I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” - Maya Angelou

We are giving your email inbox a summer break! The Monday Morning Message will resume the week of August 21, 2023, the first week of fall semester classes. 

In the meantime, I have just one request.

It would mean a lot to us if you would take a moment before June 30, the end of our fiscal year, to support the opportunity for a student to achieve their dream of making a real difference in the world.  

Monday Morning Message 6.5.23 The Power of Shared Experience

“. . . I was fortunate to have a father who was a proud graduate of this law school.  He constantly demonstrated how a degree from this law school allowed him the opportunity to build a practice that looked out for people and assisted them when they were in need . . . I cannot think of another institution that has placed so many people at impactful positions throughout the community. I cannot think of another institution that has provided so many opportunities for its graduates and community. And I cannot think of any institution or alumni group more deserving of my thanks for the opportunities I have been afforded.”   - Frank Gallucci III ’00, 2023 Alumni of the Year

Monday Morning Message 5.22.23 The Resilient Class of 2023

“Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead.” – Nora Ephron 

Yesterday was our 2023 Commencement where we celebrated the accomplishments of one of the most resilient classes to ever graduate from our law school.

Early during their legal education, the world turned upside down.  The pandemic challenged the way we taught and the way they learned. Our graduates were forced to juggle the usual pressures of being a law student with a range of new and unexpected challenges, not of their making.

They adapted and excelled. I have no doubt that the unprecedented challenges they faced will make them even better lawyers and leaders.

Monday Morning Message 5.15.23 Your Moment of Truth

“A moment of choice is a moment of truth. It’s the testing point of our character and competence.” – Stephen Covey

Later today, at the invitation of the Ohio Supreme Court, I will have the honor of speaking in Columbus to all the law school graduates in Ohio and throughout the nation who passed the February 2023 Ohio Bar Exam. Here’s my message.

Three bricklayers were asked: “What are you doing?’ The first said, “I am laying bricks.” The second said, “I am building a cathedral.” The third said, “I am building a house of God.” The first bricklayer has a job. The second has a career. The third has a calling.  

Today I ask you to think beyond your job and career. I’m asking you to think about your calling.

Monday Morning Message 5.8.23 Your Law School For Life

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” - Seneca the Younger

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou

This morning I want to share some positive messages I’ve recently received from graduates of the Class of 2o22 who passed the February 2023 Bar Exam and students who have recently been admitted to our law school. 

We are very proud that the way we treat our admitted students is the same way we treat our current students and our graduates – with respect, support, and individual attention.

Our message is “we are your law school for life.”