Mission Statement

The overall goal of the Academic Success Program is to present to Whittier Law School students a coordinated program over the entire academic year which incorporates various programs to achieve the following goals: (1) improvement of student skills in studying, preparation, class participation, writing, and exam taking; (2) development and coordination of all resources to be made available to students in improving students’ academic success; (3) teaching students skills to a point where they are more comfortable in employing those skills, and thus, more comfortable as law students; and (4) increasing the performance level of students on objectifiable measures, such as exams, retention rates, and bar exam performance.

As students begin Law School, it is important that they quickly adjust to the Law School method of instruction, grading, and culture. All of these differ greatly from the methods students may have encountered in undergraduate, or even other graduate, education. Intelligence alone is not enough to succeed in Law School. Many students who do not perform up to their potential do not do so because of lack of timely access to the “information stream” that is so essential to Law School performance, either because they have not had that “information stream” made available to them, or because they have not been shown how to access that “information stream.” The purpose of the Academic Success Program is to do both.

Whittier Law School’s administration and faculty are primarily concerned about assisting students and meeting their special needs. Whittier Law School is the second most diverse A.B.A. Law School in the United States, and as part of our effort to diversify the Law School community and profession, the Law School makes a concerted effort to recruit and educate students from a variety of backgrounds. We recognize that, because traditional legal education has often served students with a particular background, many of our students, who are from non-traditional backgrounds, may have a particular need for assistance in meeting issues of legal education that might affect their ability to perform to their capacity. Historically, this has included students of color, students with physical and learning disabilities, students from economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds, students who have been out of school for a period of time, and students who have graduated from very small colleges and have low LSAT’s.

While I encourage all students to take attend the first-year Academic Success Program classes, which consist of biweekly seminars and small group sessions teaching study skills and exam preparation and exam writing skills, if you are a student from a non-traditional background, and you are at all concerned or unsure about your exam-taking, study and writing skills, I particularly urge you to attend those classes every week, because those classes have been designed with assisting non-traditional students in their transition to Law School.

Whittier Law School’s first-year Academic Success Program is an introduction to the method of instruction and testing employed in Law School. In the biweekly classes, attention is focused on the study skills, note-taking skills, outlining skills and exam preparation and exam taking skills you will need to succeed in Law School. While these skills are taught in relation to one substantive law course (Torts), they can and should be applied to all substantive law courses throughout the first year and, indeed, throughout Law School.

Whittier Law School’s Academic Success Program includes several programs designed to improve access to the “information stream” and consequently, students’ adjustment to the Law School experience and their performance in the Law School environment. Among the programs are:

In addition, you can link directly from this page to downloadable written discussions of note taking, outlining, and time management skills, exam preparation and exam taking skills, and taking multiple-choice examinations.

My door is always open for academic counseling and exam review, and anything else touching on the Academic Success Program, and I am usually here five days a week, starting at about 8:00 a.m. I am at (714) 444-4141, extension 230, and, appropriately, my office number in the faculty building is room 230. If you have any questions about any aspect of the Academic Success Program, please feel free to call or stop by, or e-mail me at mmainero@law.whittier.edu. I would be delighted to assist you in any way I can.

Professor Mario Mainero
Director, Academic Success Program