Client Counseling

Baylor has a large number of required classes. You take them when they come up in the cycle. You take them from whichever professor is teaching it then. And because there is no choice (other than to drop out) you just have to hope for the best and suffer through if you don't get your wish.

Client counseling was the first elective I've taken in law school. I recommend it without reservation to anyone more outgoing than me. If the prospect of role playing in front of the class intimidates you, then I only recommend the class if you're willing to be uncomfortable to improve at something you find intimidating and don't mind being at the low end of the class's high curve.

The early part of the course was primarily text and the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, and assignments to critique an interviewer and to generate some letters and a fee agreement for your firm. After a few weeks we began spending class time in small groups doing role playing. Throughout the course we did two written critiques of the attorneys in the in class exercises. The last part of the class was spent giving everyone an opportunity to role play in front of the class. The final was a taped interview done on one of the reading days.

While it isn't necessary to have any substantive knowledge in order to do well in the class, a lot of the fact patterns come from family law. I think I would have found it helpful to have taken family law before taking client counseling.