Other than that, my recollection of orientation has been whittled down to only two other memories: 1) a spoof done by the dean and a few upperclassmen, in which we were taught the dire consequences of failing to turn off our cell phones prior to class (and, I suppose, an underlying lesson on Respect); and 2) the importance of “professionalism” in the legal . . . profession.

The first point was well-taken . . . for about two weeks. After that, we were treated, daily, to 30-second interruptions by an ever-varietal ringtone, be it The Hatdance, Bach, or the Black-Eyed Peas.

The second point was, fortunately, more or less respected by members of my 1L class (that is, no one tore pages out of library books). (As a sidenote, perhaps the effectiveness of ethics “training,” as you called it, Dan, has a lot to do with the continual emphasis on ethics and professionalism. A one-time seminar on ethics probably isn’t enough to drive the point home.)

I have only a vague and hazy memory of discussing case briefs (and how to write them), but from what I can recall, this exercise probably wasn’t of much use — issue-spotting and case analysis aren’t easily taught in a day, or half-day, as the case may be.

I’m not sure that orientation should be done away with completely. I think it’s important to set the ground rules prior to the first day of classes. It’s also important for students to have a chance to meet other classmates and make their initial acquaintances before being thrown into the lion’s den. But perhaps this introduction to law school needn’t be covered over a span of 4-5 days. 2-3 days may suffice.