myAU | AU Library | myWCL | Library Home | myLEAGLE Library Account

Pence Law Library Guides

Library Home | Research Guides | LEAGLE Catalog | E-Journals & Articles | Library Databases | Frequently Used Resources | Ask a Librarian

Skip to Main Content

AUWCL Orientation 2023

Welcome to AUWCL! All orientation information is available on this site.

Orientation Week Activities

All sessions are required unless specifically noted as optional

Dates and times for all sessions can be found on the daily schedules

Full-Time Schedule

  

Part-Time Schedule

Small Group Assignments

Some of your required sessions at Orientation will take place in Claudio Grossman Hall (Yuma Building, Terrace Level). Many will take place in various classrooms in the Yuma and Warren Buildings, and you will be split into smaller groups for these sessions.  Small groups are based on your first-year section and the first letter of your last name

Group Doctrinal Section Alphabet
Group A Section 1 A - K
Group B Section 1 L - Z
Group C Section 2 A - L
Group D Section 2 M - Z
Group E Section 3 A - H
Group F Section 3 I - Z
Group G Section 4 A - L
Group H Section 4 M - Z
Evening Section 5 A - Z
Complementing Your Education:
Mental Health Resources & Accommodations  
By the end of this session, students will understand the resources available to them for mental health and disability support and the process by which they can access them. This session equips students with the tools they need to seek out support in advance, so it is there should they need it.
Cross-Cultural Competency & Bias Mitigation for Lawyers
By the end of this session, you will understand the role of cross-cultural competency and bias mitigation as part of your professional development and gain an awareness of American University policies and resources to address bias and discrimination on campus.
 
Dean's Welcome & Professional Oath

Dean Roger A. Fairfax, Jr. will welcome the incoming class to the American University Washington College of Law.

Judge Gerald Bruce Lee (AUWCL '76), United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia (Retired) will administer the Professional Oath to the incoming full-time class.

Magistrate Judge Katherine Wiedmann (AUWCL '01), Superior Court of the District of Columbia will administer the Professional Oath to the incoming part-time class.
Demystifying the Law School Classroom

By the end of this session, students should be able to define Socratic teaching, situate it within legal education’s teaching techniques, name its pedagogical goals, and critique its strengths and weaknesses.

Extracting, Synthesizing, and Applying Rules
By the end of this session, students should be able to identify the key components of legal reasoning, explain how legal reasoning is used in doctrinal and skills courses, and situate rule synthesis and legal reasoning as a bridge from classroom to learning to exam performance. 
Faculty Big Ideas
Dean Roger A. Fairfax, Jr. will lead a session underscoring the importance of faculty scholarship at AUWCL. A few of our world-renowned faculty – recently rated in the top-50 for scholarly impact – will share a “big idea” explored in their research and explain why it is relevant to the world in which we live.
Fireside Chat with Dean Fairfax and AUWCL Alumni
Dean Roger A. Fairfax, Jr. will moderate a conversation with several distinguished AUWCL alumni, highlighting their diverse pathways and journeys from the American University Washington College of Law and through the legal profession and beyond.
Growing into a Lawyer: Professional Identity Formation

Lawyers enjoy satisfying, rewarding careers when they dedicate themselves to work opportunities that align their interests with the skills valued by employers, clients, and the profession. By the end of this session, students will be able to contextualize law school in this regard as they begin forming their professional identity. 
Learning the Law: Reading and Briefing Cases
 “Thinking like a lawyer” starts with learning the law. That requires purposeful reading and methodical information management. By the end of this session, students will understand useful critical reading techniques and the process of case briefing.  
  Legal Research & Writing/Skills Labs
By the end of this session, students will be able to compare the expectations for doctrinal classes to their Legal Research & Writing I course, identify the structural set-up of this course in the first-year curriculum, and name the categories of skills taught.
Meet your 1L Faculty
Meet your Civil Procedure, Contracts, and Torts professors over lunch.
Overview of Orientation Week
Learn about the student-facing departments that will assist with your journey, including academic support and advising, personal support and counseling, and career development. Learn about library resources and study aids available to you.
Student Ambassador Peer Session

These informal sessions will be led by upper-level AUWCL student ambassadors – no faculty or staff allowed. This is your opportunity to get information from and ask questions to current AUWCL students who have recently been in your shoes.
Success, Not Stress: Winning Study Strategies

Law school is a unique challenge that demands a strategic approach to learning well. By the end of this session, students will be trained in proactive approaches to information and time management, class preparation and participation, and course outlining.

The US Legal System

By the end of this session, students should be able to understand the tripartite design of the U.S. legal system, the nature of common law, define the three branches of government, the basics of federal vs. state jurisdiction, and identify the types of authority that each branch of government produces.
 
Types of Legal Authority

By the end of this session, students will understand the types of published and unpublished sources of law and how they are used as the basis for legal decisions and black letter law. They will be able to distinguish between primary and secondary sources of law, identify which sources are mandatory primary authority versus persuasive primary authority, and identify when and why lawyers use secondary sources.
What's Your Dream Job?

By the end of this session, students should be able to identify various types of legal practice, be able to identify some areas of law they’re interested in exploring during law school and understand how the Office of Career and Professional Development works with students to develop and then achieve their career goals.  
The Work of Lawyers

By the end of this session, students will be able to list the skills that lawyers use in practice and identify how their doctrinal and skills courses in law school prepare them for practice, including a preview of the professional norms and expectations in practice and how they relate to first-year student expectations.