All Things ALU

[October 18, 2010] I will be teaching at ALU starting immediately. Paul Young, myself and several other alumni will teach on random Saturdays at the school. We will bring in our way of doing it so-to-speak. Showing FYLSX takers how we do essays, how we create and maintain our outlines, etc. I look forward to maintaining my relationship with ALU and I look forward to meeting the new students. Thank you Mr. Park and Dean Drucker!

The October Newsletter will be up sometime today. Click here to view it and remember to refresh or reload your page if it's not ready. Email me at SandraNutt1234@gmail.com to be added to the mailing list. Put OPT-IN in your re line.

CONGRATULATIONS to the following February, 2010 ALU General Bar Exam passers!
Chao, Jack Wei
Gharib, Makram Farah
Hassanpour, Majeed Michael
Honor, Suzanne Paula
Jones, George Harvey
Kahen, Sami Saman
Taheri, Nahal
Toveg, Isaac
Waters, Janell

Welcome to All Things ALU, an unofficial, unauthorized, unscripted student, faculty, staff and alumni site. Because ALU is a distance learning school of primarily working adults located all over the nation, we are necessarily fractured and it's difficult to meet other students and/or stay connected.

I began my studies at Abraham Lincoln University in Los Angeles as a first year law student January 2005 and I finished June 23, 2009. I passed the Baby Bar with a grade of A in 2006. I passed the California General Bar Exam July 2009. I just got my results and I'm still pretty high about it.

I recently met or reconnected with numerous students who graduated before me. Ironically, a young woman from Southwestern University School of Law organized a study group in which I participated. Guess who she brought into the group? A fellow ALUer! I was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face, Jeff Katz. Jeff is a graduate who I had seen in the halls at ALU, listened to while sitting on ALU orientation panels, and always wanted to get to know, but never had the chance. I was happy to connect, but frustrated that it was the result of a third-party.

That brings me to my goal, which is to bring Abraham Lincoln University students, alum, faculty and staff together in one place to share, network and have fun! First year students should benefit from 4th year student and graduate knowledge. Recent passers should be able to tap into the advice and expertise of newly practicing attorneys. We should have events and seminars and get togethers that benefit everyone. I welcome you to sign up for our newsletter, contact me with ideas and volunteer to get connected. Join the mailing list by sending me an email at SandraNutt1234@gmail.com with OPT-IN in the subject line to receive notice of regular updates to this site and planned events, both online and in person.

I have found several Yahoo! Groups for ALUers plus two Facebook groups, a forum and a couple of blogs. Let's be less fractured and join together to benefit everyone. I get tremendous benefit from my University of Michigan Alumni Association. I would like to mimic those benefits here, if only in a small way, for fellow ALUers.

I will be conducting videotaped interviews with anyone who has anything to contribute that will benefit current students. That includes attorneys, passers, non-passers and repeaters, students, staff, alum and even family who support us in preparing for this life-changing event.

I would love to hear from you about:
1. Informal event ideas such as bowling, happy hour, lunch, potluck, hiking.
2. Professional networking events.
3. Mentoring.
4. Facilities or office space for events and networking.
5. Guests. Who would you like to see interviewed? A faculty member? Passers of the California Bar Exam? New attorneys? Someone from the Bar Prep programs such as ThemisBar.com? (I was student Rep for them so you know they're on my list).
6. Updates on what your personal accomplishments!
7. If you're having lunch with a fellow classmate why not invite others?
8. Jobs, jobs, jobs! Hiring? Know a friend who is? A new job link? Post it here. Who better to hire than a fellow ALUer?
9. Profiles and promotion of new attorneys - coming soon!

Welcome! I look forward to hearing from you! Email Sandy at SandraNutt1234@gmail.com.

"Communicate and Collaborate in Real Time" OMG, I wish this software had been available during my tenure at law school. Every time I was invited to join a study group my strange schedule interfered. Had Google Wave existed I might have been able to join and participate online in the most up to date interactive fashion via Google Wave. I'm soooooooo jealous! But not jealous enough not to share it with you! Talk about convenience and putting it all together. Google Wave allows you to meet with others through a single interface where everyone can participate. The beauty of it all is that everyone can contribute, edit, add or delete content in real time. Imagine uploading an outline and your study partner adds a great definition to the outline. If you find a great outline you can share it with everyone and everyone can mark it up. No more emailing back and forth. Same thing with sound files, etc. Google Wave is ideal for distance learners' study groups. It is also terrific for lawyers or any business owner who wishes to share content live with real time interactivity. I will not continue to gush any longer when Google does a much better job explaining their product. Click the links below for more information. Please note: Do not be intimidated by the hour long overview video, there is a shorter version of about 10 minutes. This software is open source and it is in a beta testing stage.

Currently you need an invitation. I suggest you sign up and join the next wave (get it?) of communication.

Read More    |    About Google Wave

I saw a GoogleAd from Abacuslaw.com offering a free start up guide for attorneys who are considering going solo. Abacuslaw.com is an established legal software provider. Been around for years. I hesitated to click on the link because I assumed it was just a marketing ploy to get my email and contact information. Rest assured, it was. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I love the guide and I haven't even read it yet! It's worth the resources and links listed on the first few pages even if you never complete the guide. In order to retrieve the 57 page PDF you must disclose your name, email, address and phone number. I downloaded it yesterday and I received the link immediately in my email. So far I've only received one annoying phone call. Honestly I wasn't even annoyed because I'm so happy with the guide. There are several links to resources on the first few pages that are fabulous. I found myself buried in one particular site called The Home Office Lawyer. Any savvy (or not so savvy) business owner or employee in a law firm may find a large portion of the guide redundant and obvious, but many of the tips and links are invaluable. Good luck!

The Complete Startup Guide    |    More on Abacus