Dear Incoming Students:

We hope that you are getting excited about your upcoming Orientation. All of us at OklahomaCityUniversitySchoolofLaw are very excited that you will be arriving soon and are looking forward to assisting you in your transition to law school.

As you know, the first segment of your Legal Analysis course will take place from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, August 6, in the Homsey Family Moot Courtroom in the Sarkeys Law Center. Dean Valerie K. Couch will welcome you and, along with Dean Emeritus Lawrence K. Hellman, will initiate your Legal Analysis course. This course counts as one hour credit toward the 90 hours required for your Juris Doctor degree and is graded ‘credit/no credit’ (i.e., no letter grade is given). The Legal Analysis course is completed following your Friday, August 10, class.

Also on Monday evening, you will recite the Pledge of Professional Commitment and hear inspiring words from two of our alumni, Beau Patterson (JD ’01) and Amy White (JD ’01). Mr. Patterson is employed by McAfee & Taft. His practice involves a broad range of business transactions and representation of business entities in the areas of creditors’ rights, healthcare, oil and gas, regulatory compliance and real estate. Ms. White, also with McAfee & Taft, is a trial attorney whose practice is focused on business and commercial litigation, with specific experience in products liability defense.

Dean Couch will close out the evening and launch you toward the remaining four days of your Legal Analysis course. Dean Couch began her tenure as dean at Oklahoma City University School of Law in April, 2012. Judge Couch had previously served for 13 years as a Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Prior to that, she was a partner at Hartzog, Conger, and Cason, P.C., in Oklahoma City where she practiced law for 16 years.

Monday evening’s materials can be found online along with the rest of the week’s Legal Analysis assignments, I have attached the hypotheticals here, which you should immediately print out and study before arriving at class on Monday evening (August 6). Also attached is the detailed schedule for Monday evening, August 6.

INTRODUCTION TO PROFESSIONAL EXPECTATIONS (and HYPOTHETICALS)

Please read the instructions in the attachment very carefully. You will be expected to be prepared to discuss the hypothetical scenarios in class on the evening of August 6. That evening, you will be broken out into your Legal Analysis sections (about 35 students each) to discuss the hypotheticals, your reactions to them, and the ethical considerations raised therein with a law professor or other distinguished member of the legal community who will facilitate the discussion.

PLEASE NOTE: YOU WILL NEED TO BRING A COPY OF THE HYPOTHETICALs WITH YOU to class on Monday night.

ALSO: You will need to know your Legal Analysis section number on Monday evening. You can look up your Legal Analysis section online at , The course number is 7071. Your section number is listed just after. For example, if you were to see 7071-03, you would be in Section 3 of Legal Analysis. Please find your section number and remember it for Monday evening.

THE PLEDGE (attached)

The Pledge of Professional Commitment represents an important part of your transition to law school and to the professional life in which you will participate after your graduation. Please review the Pledge and reflect on it before the evening of August 6. We ask that you dress like a lawyer ready for a courtroom appearance (coats and ties for men; suits (with pants or skirt of reasonable length) or other conservative attire for women) on Monday night in recognition of the significance of the occasion. The Pledge will be administered to your class, en masse, by Justice of the Chief Justice of The Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma, The Honorable Steven W. Taylor.

Upon your graduation from Oklahoma City University School of Law, you will once again recite the pledge, along with your fellow law graduates at the Hooding and Commencement Ceremony.

WESTLAW PASSWORD

You should receive your Westlaw password by email today. You can access all of your Legal Analysis materials using this password so that you can begin your preparations for both the Monday evening session and the continuation of the course on Tuesday-Friday, August 7-10, sessions of Legal Analysis. If you have any questions about your Westlaw password or the Legal Analysis materials, please contact Jennifer Prilliman at either 405.208.5174, or . Ms. Prilliman is our reference librarian for public, clinical, and student services.

REMINDERS

  • Please remember that attendance is required at all Orientation events and all sessions of Legal Analysis.
  • In case you may have missed one, emails that have been sent out this summer from Student Services are also posted on the Admitted Students page of the OCU LAW website. Scroll down to Registering for Classes and 1L Orientation,”where you will see “Orientation-summer mailing.” Re-read these emailsto ensure that you have all of the information you will need.
  • You should plan tospend much of your weekend time on August 11-12 preparing for your lawclasses. Although not many are posted yet, course syllabi will be found at:

CONTINUE TO RE-CHECK THIS SITE FOR NEWLY ADDED COURSE ASSIGNMENTS. Unlike in undergrad, you are expected to arrive for all of your classes fully prepared on the first day of classes.

  • Please take care of “other details” now—financial aid, books, parking pass, student ID, Stars Cash, etc.
  • Don’t forget to have Stars Cash added to your ID so you won’t have to worry about carrying cash every time you want something to eat or drink. Stars Cash is good at all campus eating facilities and some off-campus restaurants.

OTHER INFORMATION

1. Watch for additional emails, including one about health insurance/student health center and one with computer/technical information.

2. As you can see in my signature line below, I give all 550+ law students access to my personal cell phone number. As your dean of students, it is important that I remain available to law students beyond normal business hours. Emergencies and other pressing issues don’t seem to arise only during normal work hours. You are definitely always welcome to call me after business hours if you have a pressing need or if a situation can’t wait.In that event, do not hesitate to call me. Please put my cell phone number in your phone now.

Looking forward to meeting you very soon,

Deborah R. Felice

Associate Dean for Students

Oklahoma City University School of Law

2501 North Blackwelder Avenue

Oklahoma City, OK 73106

cell: 405.822.3324 (day/evening/weekend)

office: 405.208.5355

private fax: 405.208.5420