Welcome to episode four of Widener Wordsmith, a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast.

In this episode, Widener Wordsmith host and Adjunct Professor Pam DeMartino sits down with Director of Academic Success Professor Amanda Sholtis. The two discuss the legal writing process.

Read the transcript from this episode. (PDF)

Music by runfirestop (Pond5)

Welcome to episode three of Widener Wordsmith, a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast.

In this episode, Widener Wordsmith host and Adjunct Professor Pam DeMartino sits down with Director of Legal Methods Professor Anna Hemingway. The two review what 1L students should have learned in Legal Methods I and what they can expect to learn in Legal Methods II.

Read the transcript for this episode. (PDF)

Music by runfirestop (Pond5)

Welcome to the fourth episode of Things I Wish I Knew (a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast) hosted by students Jonathan Nace along with cohosts Connor Behrend and Mark Uriarte. In this episode, host Jonathan interviews Rebecca Ross, director of student accessibility services at Widener University, and Molly Acri, Assistant Dean of Administration and Registrar at Widener Law Commonwealth. They discuss the process of requesting academic accommodations. All three cohosts discuss their opinions on brief writing in the 5 minutes of unsolicited advice segment. 

Things I Wish I Knew podcast subseries is about learning from your mistakes and progressing in your law school careers. The hosts and guests will be having candid discussions about many topics including anxiety, test taking strategies, technical difficulties, and much more.

Subscribe to the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and other third-party podcast players so you don't miss an episode. We hope you enjoy hearing about law school from the people who know best - law students. For more information about the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast, visit commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/podcast.

Music: Bob Birthisel (Pond5)

Welcome to the third episode of Things I Wish I Knew (a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast) hosted by students Jonathan Nace along with cohosts Connor Behrend and Mark Uriarte.

In this special Veterans Day episode, hosts Jonathan and Connor interview Emily Ishler and Michael Bradley about the annual Wills for Heroes event held on campus each spring and is organized by the Public Interest Law Society student organization. Next, Jonathan speaks with veteran students Tadd Turczyn and Michael Cooper as they reflect on their military experience and their journeys to law school.

Things I Wish I Knew podcast subseries is about learning from your mistakes and progressing in your law school careers. The hosts and guests will be having candid discussions about many topics including anxiety, test taking strategies, technical difficulties, and much more.

Subscribe to the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and other third-party podcast players so you don't miss an episode. We hope you enjoy hearing about law school from the people who know best - law students.

For more information about the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast, visit commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/podcast.

Music: Bob Birthisel (Pond5)

Happy Halloween!

Welcome to the second episode of Things I Wish I Knew (a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast) hosted by students Jonathan Nace along with cohosts Connor Behrend and Mark Uriarte.

In this special Halloween episode, hosts Jonathan and Mark interview Professor Robyn Meadows about how to write an essay answer for a law school exam. Among other tips, they review the acronym I.R.A.C. (Issue, Rule, Analysis, and Conclusion) as a method to follow when answering exam questions. Next, all three cohosts discuss their opinions on and experiences with study groups in law school in the 5 minutes of unsolicited advice segment. Finally, hosts Jonathan and Mark recap what listeners should take away from the interview with Professor Meadows. 

Things I Wish I Knew podcast subseries is about learning from your mistakes and progressing in your law school careers. The hosts and guests will be having candid discussions about many topics including anxiety, test taking strategies, technical difficulties, and much more.

Welcome to the first episode of Things I Wish I Knew (a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast) hosted by students Jonathan Nace along with cohosts Connor Behrend and Mark Uriarte.

In the first half of this episode, hosts Jonathan and Connor interview fellow student Matt Bugli about how to present yourself on social media. Next, all three cohosts discuss sleep in the 5 minutes of unsolicited advice segment. Finally, hosts Jonathan and Mark interview fellow students Deanna Wagner and Eric Quiroz about how to dress for class, externships, and interviews. 

Things I Wish I Knew podcast subseries is about learning from your mistakes and progressing in your law school careers. The hosts and guests will be having candid discussions about many topics including anxiety, test taking strategies, technical difficulties, and much more.

Coming Monday, October 21, 2019...

Things I Wish I Knew Podcast (a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast) hosted by students Jonathan Nace along with cohosts Connor Behrend and Mark Uriarte.

This podcast series is about learning from your mistakes and progressing in your law school careers. The hosts and guests will be having candid discussions about many topics including anxiety, test taking strategies, technical difficulties, and much more.

Welcome to a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast called Widener Wordsmith. 

In episode two, Widener Wordsmith host and Adjunct Professor Pam DeMartino sits down with Professor John Dernbach. The two discuss the story behind how Dernbach wrote and published A Practical Guide to Legal Writing and Legal Method and Writing Essay Exams to Succeed in Law School: Not Just to Survive.

Read the transcript for this episode. (PDF)

Music by runfirestop (Pond5)

Welcome to a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast called Widener Wordsmith. 

In episode one, Widener Wordsmith host and Adjunct Professor Pam DeMartino sits down with Visiting Professor Dionne Anthon. The two discuss the story behind how Anthon wrote and published The Bluebook Uncovered: A Practical Guide to Mastering Legal Citation.

Read the transcript for this episode. (PDF)

Music by runfirestop (Pond5)

Host Julie Sheldon sat down with podcast producer Steph Engerer on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, to discuss the changes that are coming to the Widener Law Commonwealth podcast.

Music Credit: LeChuckz

2019 John Gedid Lecture Series

The speaker this year was Gillian Metzger of the Columbia Law School. She will present, 1930s Redux: The Administrative State Under Siege, which was recently published in Harvard Law Review.

In the article, she addresses the fact that the national administrative state is under attack today to an extent not witnessed since the New Deal. In particular, constitutional challenges to key features of administrative governance are surfacing in the Supreme Court. Taking a historical perspective, the lecture will argue that the current constitutional challenges are fundamentally misguided. These challenges not only risk the institutional legitimacy of the Court, but also they ignore the extent to which the national administrative state is constitutionally beneficial and even obligatory.

Gillian Metzger is the Stanley H. Fuld Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, where she is also a faculty co-director of Columbia’s Center for Constitutional Governance.  She writes and teaches in the areas of federal courts, administrative law, and constitutional law, specializing on separation of powers, federalism, and privatization. Click here to read more about Metzger.

Music Credit: LeChuckz

Host Julie Shelton sits down with Professor of Legal Methods Amanda Sholtis and 3L student Sarah Rothermel to discuss the live critique method. The two recently presented on the topic at the high impact practices fair on main campus in Chester, PA. 

Music Credit: LeChuckz

This lecture entitled, Bail: Risk Release & Reform, was be presented by Chief Magistrate Judge Susan E. Schwab, United States Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The following individuals served as experts on the lecture panel:

Hon. Richard A. Lewis 
President Judge 
Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas 

Heidi Freese 
Federal Public Defender 
Middle District of Pennsylvania 

David J. Freed 
United States Attorney 
The United States Attorney's Office 
Middle District of Pennsylvania 

Nyssa Taylor, Esquire 
Criminal Justice Policy Counsel 
ACLU of Pennsylvania

Judge Susan E. Schwab was appointed Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in 2012.  She assumed the role of Chief Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in 2017.

She spent 11 years in public service with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as Deputy Chief Counsel for the Auditor General, Deputy Chief Counsel and Deputy State Treasurer for Administration for Treasury, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration and Deputy Chief Counsel for the Democratic Caucus of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Prior to that, Judge Schwab was in private law practice with Rhoads & Sinon, LLP in Harrisburg and Semanoff, Orsmby, Greenberg and Torchia, LLC in Huntingdon Valley.

Judge Schwab is from Wilkes-Barre, Pa. and graduated summa cum laude from Wilkes College. She was a member of the inaugural class of the Harrisburg campus of Widener University School of Law, where she served as an Internal Editor of the Widener Journal of Public Law. She graduated magna cum laude and was the law school’s first valedictorian. 

Judge Schwab has been a member of the Board of Overseers of Widener University School of Law and the Chair of the Widener University School of Law Harrisburg Campus Diversity Advisory Board. 

For more information about Widener Law Commonwealth's podcast, visit commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/podcast.

Music Credit: LeChuckz

Host Julie Sheldon sits down with Widener Law Commonwealth's Assistant Dean of Students Randi Teplitz and students Gabriella Romeo and Shannon Costa to discuss what to expect during the first year of law school. They provide some tips on how to not only survive but thrive as a 1L. This episode is helpful for anyone considering applying to law school or who is already in the process of preparing for law school.

Mentioned in this Episode

Student Life and Wellness at Widener Law Commonwealth

Office of Student Affairs

Law Library's Reading List 

Music Credit: LeChuckz

Host Julie Sheldon sits down with Widener Law Commonwealth's Associate Dean of Admissions and Administration John Benfield and Director of Admissions Tom Foley to review helpful tips and information for accepted applicants.

Mentioned in this Episode

Financial Aid Office

Cost of Attendance

Accepted Applicants Page

Music Credit: LeChuckz