Freedom of Speech

Does Freedom of Speech Give People the Right to Offend? A short post by Rick Zimmer.

I have thought about this for quite some time. I noticed that we are allowed to say whatever we want, as long as if it does not offend someone or hurt someone’s feelings. But is honesty the same as being offensive?

One thing that has bothered me, is when people get in trouble for saying their honest opinions about a particular issue or a political topic. I’ve noticed that a lot of people, celebrities especially, are essentially blackballed if they speak about a popular current event in an “offensive manner.” For example, if a black person in the public eye says something offensive against the black lives matter movement, they are treated as if they committed a crime. The same thing goes for white people who say thing against an issue that affects predominately white people. This applies to all races. Don’t get me wrong, if someone disagrees with what a feel, of course I feel some type of way about it. However, I get bothered by the fact that people seem to get into an uproar if someone describes something that he or she is passionate about in a negative manner. If someone says, “I hate the black lives matter movement,” what is so wrong with that? Just because it portrays something in a negative light, doesn’t mean that they should not be able to say it.

I guess this is bringing my article into a different light. I am tired of people getting upset about people being honest. I feel that freedom of speech is OK, and even offending people is OK if it is less intentional and more about expressing one’s beliefs and point of view. People are allowed to have opinions. Am I saying that we should go around calling people idiots and spreading hate, no. But I am also saying that if someone doesn’t agree with your lifestyle or says it in a manner that is slightly offensive to you, you shouldn’t get into an uproar. That goes for me as well.

My thoughts were kind of jumbled, but I hope I made sense in the end. What do you guys think about the things I discussed in this article. Leave a comment down below and share your thoughts please.

The post Freedom of Speech appeared first on The Rick Zimmer Law Firm.

source http://www.rickzimmer.com/freedom-of-speech/

Part-Time Law School

Here is a great post from one of our junior associates about different ways to finish law school.

“After successfully completing an evening law school program while working full time, there are a few words of wisdom and advice to share. First, although it is most like referred to as a part-time program, but would be better described as the “Evening Division” program. A full course caseload in law school is approximately 12 credits or 4 classes per semester.

In order to graduate in 4-5 years, a requirement of most accredited law schools, you will carry 9 -11 credits per semester (or more) every semester in law school (Summer semester you will probably only have to take 4-7 credits). This is not an easy task. You will have to be extremely organized and disciplined both at work and in your studies. There will not be a minute to waste. Your life will be highly scheduled and there will be little room for error, especially during the first year – which is the hardest of all.

The practice of law is all about preparation, and law school professors are keen to force you to learn the lessons of preparation. In spite of the fact that most law school professors are poor educators, and should not be teaching anyone, you will successfully learn the material if you apply yourself. Train yourself to prepare for every class by following the professor’s syllabus to the letter, and be ready to answer when called on. When the professor calls, be ready to answer. Nothing sends a law school professor into madness faster than law school students ill-prepared for class. The professor will take his anger out on everyone, and that is not fun. Please be prepared…it will be less painful for you and your classmates!

Because law school professors are not necessarily good teachers, you must be resourceful and find other ways to teach yourself the material beyond the case law and lectures—which, for the most part, can be difficult to understand. Finding a detailed course outline on the internet, or purchasing commercial outlines is a very good idea. However, do not think you will be able to rely on these resources alone. If you do, it will be a grave mistake and your GPA will show it. You must use other resources only to further your own understanding, not as a substitute for your own work. For every course, you should create your own detailed outline based on the professor’s syllabus. This way, you will learn what the professor wants you to know for the exam. Supplement your outline as necessary with explanations or highlights from other outlines.

Study groups were not useful only because of the time and effort spent preparing for each class, and also my work schedule. Others of my classmates could not survive without a study group. I think this was because they were distracted (Facebook or internet shopping) during class – or being too tired. Luckily, I was able to pay full attention throughout class, and did not allow myself to be distracted, so there was no need for me to take time traveling to participate in a study group, or trying to rearrange my schedule to attend a group where other students were trying to figure out the material. Pay attention during class. My study time was much better spent reading or working on my own outline, rather than with a group of people who didn’t know the material. The one thing that was marginally helpful in the later years was to collaborate with a small group on preparing an outline. I did not do this often, but carrying a heavy caseload sometimes necessitated it, and I developed trustworthy relationships my classmates, so it worked out. Even so, I went over the contributions of others very carefully. I rarely relied on others, and I would definitely pass that advice along.

Buy used books! Law school text books are outrageously priced — $250 for a textbook. During my first years, I thought I needed the brand new, clean books. During my last years, I sometimes found used books on Amazon or Barnes and Noble for less than $25. The same goes for used study aids. You don’t have to spend a ton. Check out the reviews of the seller. I never had an issue with buying used. Also, whether you drive or use public transportation, do yourself a HUGE favor and purchase audio downloads of law school courses . Bar prep audio courses are helpful for law school classes, too. I supplemented my learning this way and got A’s every time.

Definitely ask the professor for old exams to prepare. Use the law library to get any old exams you can, and practice. It occasionally happened that a professor would use a repeat question from an old test. What a bonus for preparing. Also, use commercial question & answer (Q&A) aids for studying. It will help prepare you for the multiple choice questions on your exams, and even if your exam is only essay questions, the Q&A has detailed answers so you will learn from your mistakes and be able to write better essays.

Most law school courses have only one exam during the semester, so your grade boils down to one performance and one performance only! The exams are three or four hour long marathons of non-stop writing. If you are working full-time, use your vacation time wisely, and take days off during final exams to study, rest and prepare. Being nice to your supervisor at work, and staying on top of work responsibilities will definitely pay off during the exam period.

Other random advice includes cooking meals for the week on Sundays, so that you can take something to school in the evenings to eat. You do not want to live on fast food while you are taxing your body and your brain. You will get sick if you don’t take care of yourself. Also, make a bed-time routine and stick to it. Every night I came home around 9:15. I usually grabbed a snack, watched a TV show to unwind, and then was in bed by 11:00. Alarm went off at 6 or 6:30. Sometimes, in the morning, I would catch up on reading for the evening class or do homework in the morning before leaving for work. Sticking to a routine is essential. I tried exercising off and on – mostly off. It definitely helped, but I confess that I wasn’t regular with it. You will do better and find time to exercise! Between semesters, make sure to do something fun—take a vacation. Kick back and rest your mind. Spend as much time as you can with friends and family whom you have completely ignored while running from work to school and back to work. Hopefully, they will understand your plight and you have everyone’s support.

As you can see, succeeding in law school requires discipline and preparation. This is the way it will be when you are an attorney. So, look at law school not only as learning to think like a lawyer, but also view it as practical preparation for being a lawyer in the real world. If all of this sounds horrendous to you, please run, do not walk away from your law school application…and save your time and money for something you really want.”

This post shows how even the busiest person can successfully attend and complete law school. This is the kind of talent and dedication we are looking for at the Rick Zimmer Law Firm.

The post Part-Time Law School appeared first on The Rick Zimmer Law Firm.

source http://www.rickzimmer.com/part-time-law-school/