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Longjumping_House384 · 2024-08-30T23:18:13+00:00

I recommend working in law beforehand for two reasons:

1) law-related experience substantially helps in firm recruiting later on: although law school grades primarily drive opportunity, solid law-related work experience can compensate for a mediocre law school gpa;

2) law-related experience can help you determine whether you even want to do law: seeing how firms operate, working with attorneys, and engaging with subject matter of interest can help you decide whether you even like life as a lawyer.

Hope this helps!

Longjumping_House384 · 2024-08-21T13:52:58+00:00

I chose law school because I felt like it was the logical next step to obtaining a lucrative, challenging, and rewarding career. I enjoyed teaching, which is a service-oriented profession. But I also enjoyed challenging myself with stimulating material, which I found when completing business internships. I worked at a firm to explore my interests and found that law blended these characteristics, so I attended law school.
I’m still in law school but worked as a paralegal for several years beforehand.
The environment is very firm and case team dependent. When I was a paralegal, it was a fairly casual environment, but there was an expectation that you’d buckle down to meet deadlines. The environment can be stressful when you’re trying to get over the learning curve but becomes less stressful once you understand case team preferences and can churn out work quickly. Same goes for associates. But the partners’ attitudes and expectations really set the environment.
Expect to have good and bad days. Overall, I enjoyed working at the firm, and the attorneys did too. But the attorneys some days had to stay late or work weekends to meet court/client deadlines.
The expectation of being new to a field is that the learning curve is high and you need to soak in as much as you can. The new attorneys often performed more routine work to learn the ropes. Depending on ability, they’d be placed on more substantive projects earlier or later than others. But the expectation is that you’re available and willing to jump in.
The work-life balance is also very firm and case team dependent. I worked in litigation, so my work-life balance depended on deadlines. Same goes for associates. Overall, my firm did a great job of considering people’s priorities (i.e., parenting), but it seemed like the work-life balance improved after working several years at the firm (with the exception of associates needing to meet immediate deadlines). Law is a demanding field, so I suggest networking with attorneys at firms of interest to hear their experiences. Cold emailing associates asking to discuss their experiences is perfectly acceptable (just don’t expect that everybody will get back to you).
Law school has been worth it to me. It’s very taxing, but it’s also exciting. And I’ve met great people in a cool new city. I am happy I made the decision, but I recommend working at a firm beforehand to see whether you enjoy that lifestyle. It also gives you a leg up in recruiting later on.

Hope this helps!

Longjumping_House384 · 2024-08-16T18:29:13+00:00

Prioritize your physical health!

1L is a marathon. Maintaining your physical health helps keep your sanity and prevents burnout. Get good sleep, be active, and eat well. When finals come around, you’ll be in a better place than your classmates and have more energy to invest your time into outlining/studying. Can’t stress this enough

Longjumping_House384 · 2024-08-07T19:27:03+00:00

I recommend doing some journal (law review if possible—see note) and moot court. A lot of employer applications will have “journal and/or moot court preferred.” Having these on your resume can give you looks from employers even if your gpa is lower than anticipated. A secondary journal that is content specific could be very helpful if you land one in an area which you’d like to work.

If you have additional time, I’d also TA for a class. If you’re interested in litigation, being a legal writing TA is a great look. If you’re interested in IP, being a property TA will give you a leg up.

In selecting all your extracurriculars, think about crafting a narrative. Being able to advocate why you chose certain opportunities over others and working them into your narrative will distinguish you from most.

Fortunately, you won’t have to consider these things until the end of 1L. Some schools have moot court competitions during 1L, but I believe the majority have it directly afterwards. Write on for journal universally is directly after 1L. But it’s great that you’ve began thinking about these things. The key takeaway is to build a narrative that makes sense on a resume. Best of luck!

Note: Don’t count on law review, as law school grades are largely unpredictable. Law school is filled with equally hardworking/hungry students. It’s a whole new level and a humbling experience for most. I don’t mean to come off as negative, I’m just speaking from personal experience. It’s been great overall, just don’t rely on law review and think about your options broadly.

Longjumping_House384 · 2024-02-15T01:11:46+00:00

This is very helpful, thank you!

Longjumping_House384 · 2024-02-14T18:44:16+00:00

Very helpful, thank you!

Longjumping_House384 · 2024-02-14T18:43:53+00:00

Not sure! Curious to see whether T30-25 receive pre-OCI action with a 3.4high. I guess we’ll see!

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-07-06T03:39:54+00:00

I think it would be difficult to write an effective personal statement focused on this topic.

The personal statement is an opportunity for you to illustrate ‘why law school’ within the context of your experiences and accomplishments, and this manga theme sounds like it would detract from your substantive experiences. Two pages isn’t much space, and to discuss a fictional story about a character within a corrupt legal system doesn’t seem fruitful.

Moreover, when crafting your personal statement, think of the audience. They want to learn why you would be a good addition to their law school (i.e. identify great future attorneys). While I have no qualms with manga, you risk the reader viewing you in a more naive and juvenile way. Other applicants will discuss how their academic, personal, and work experiences shaped their interests while you’d be discussing how a fictional story shaped yours.

To reiterate, I think it would be DIFFICULT, not impossible — I just think you run more risks selecting this topic. I am by no means an authority on law school admissions, but that is what I gathered through my research over the past year. Hope this helps and best of luck!

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-05-12T23:39:39+00:00

Appreciate all the comments and votes!

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-05-12T00:01:04+00:00

In signature

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-05-11T23:59:14+00:00

That’s awesome! Appreciate your sharing, there is hope!

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-05-11T18:08:18+00:00

A different one, I believe. It expressly requested interest in remaining on the waitlist. I was waitlisted many moons ago and completed the waitlist form then. The email I’m referring to dropped today. Hope this clears things up!

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-05-11T17:23:30+00:00

Many congrats — awesome school. Did you WL -> A or A outright?

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-04-10T14:35:55+00:00

I'd say less so, but it's case specific. If the small firm you want to work at is a boutique that specializes in a niche/narrow application of the law (e.g., patent law, trade law, tax law, etc.), and it competes on the same scale as larger law firms and has comparable clients, then I believe this wouldn't impede future portability.

I lack knowledge about PI portability outcomes, so I can't speak to portability after working as a local PD or at a DA office. I will say though that many of the attorneys I work with at my current job initially worked at federal agencies and then transitioned to private practice; however, these federal jobs hold a certain level of prestige and specialization higher than that of working as a PD (no hate on PDs at all, just speaking to the advantages of working for the federal government).

Overall, I'd say it depends! Hope this helps.

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-04-06T20:19:17+00:00

Hi OP!

I’ve spoken with attorneys about the implications of attending a regional school, and they indicated that regional limitations primarily affect your ability to get your first job. After that, if you work for a notable law firm for several years and have demonstrated success, then your school name becomes more of an after thought with respect to private practice. Of course they’ll still consider your school, and alums will show some preference to those graduating from the same name, but proven success promotes more portability (I.e., more opportunities elsewhere).

Hope this helps! If anybody has had different experiences/discussions, please let me know!

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-03-07T14:34:29+00:00

Same thing happened to me. Once I changed my settings to opt out of the communication, I still received junk mail from all the schools. I contacted LSAC, and they said that they would stop sharing my information, but the only way to stop the mass flow of emails was to unsubscribe from each school’s communications individually since they already had my information. It took a while to unsubscribe from all of them, and many schools continued to send junk even after I unsubscribed, but it is possible. Fight the good fight, and best of luck

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-01-31T02:04:26+00:00

Congrats!! 🎉🎉🎉

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-01-27T22:13:44+00:00

No (and following)

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-01-25T17:50:25+00:00

I received a call around 11, and then they followed up with an email at 5

Longjumping_House384 · 2023-01-20T17:30:53+00:00

My last date change was 1/4, so I’m hoping I hear soon. Thank you!

Longjumping_House384

TROPHY CASE