Taking the June LSAT?

Categories: Application Timeline, LSAT, LSAT Prep

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Are you signed up to take the June LSAT?  You have about 10 days to decide if you are ready, so don’t miss the latest June LSAT Edition of the Law School Expert Newsletter!!  It has all you need to know to make your best decision about the test.

We’ve also just learned of a great new LSAT resource we want to share with you.  Our friends at Blueprint LSAT Prep are unveiling a new free LSAT help area on their popular website.   The free section includes articles on basic and advanced LSAT topics, as well as a free practice LSAT.  Check it out, and please let me know what you think.

Applying to Law School this Fall? 3 Things to do in May!

Categories: Advice, Application Timeline, Law School Debt, Letters of Rec, List: Law School Admission Advice Books

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For those of you applying for Fall 2013 admission (or even Fall 2014 if you’re taking time off) here are 3 things you can do this month (May 2012) to get things underway!

1. Make your LSAT Decisions: Decide on your date and choose a prep program. Consider your schedule (work, school, family) and budget, how well you study on your own, how much it helps you to sit in a class versus following along online, and how much you struggle with standardized testing. Based on this information, choose whether to do an in-class prep program, private tutoring, a self-study regimen, an online class, or any combination thereof. Prices can range from a couple of hundred dollars for self study programs with materials to several thousand dollars, but there is really no need to spend more than $1500-$2000 on LSAT prep if you choose wisely.

2. Get your Letters of Rec Going: Choose people to write letters on your behalf. Ask them if they can write a “strong” letter of recommendation for you. If so, give them the information they need to include details about you. Prepare them by giving them the form they need from LSAC and memorize everything you need to know about the procedure by reading this page about law school letters of rec. Make sure you are asking the right people, meaning people who law schools will want to hear from. For more about this, you can download Chapter 4 of The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert audiobook for only 99 cents. Then make sure your LORs are received by LSAC by the end of the summer.

3. Explore Career Choices. Make sure to spend some time seriously considering your reasons for going to law school. Read everything about law school – good and bad – that you can get your hands on. Talk to lawyers. Talk to law students. Visit law schools. Get as much information as you can so you make informed decisions throughout the law school application process. If you haven’t already read The Law School Decision Game: A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers then start there. For the realities of starting your own law firm, read Make It Your Own Law Firm. Read articles about recent law  firm hiring trends and student loan debt. Read blogs about different lawyering careers. Lawyers make their best arguments by knowing their facts, so if you do your research you’ll be able to justify your decision to go to law school when people harangue you about it!

Win an LSAT Prep Course from Blueprint!

Categories: Uncategorized

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Our friends at Blueprint LSAT prep are having a video contest on their Facebook page and the winner will get a free LSAT prep course.

Here’s the scoop: Users can submit a video no longer than 2 minutes in length that uses the phrases or representations of “LSAT,” “egg,” and “Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.” It can be a music video, a confessional video diary, anything. Creativity is highly encouraged. (Here’s what last year’s winner put together.)

Videos will be accepted and voted on until March 15. The winning videos will be decided by Blueprint principals and announced on March 19.

The grand prize winner will receive a free Blueprint LSAT prep course, second place will win a $400 voucher for a Blueprint course, and third place will earn a Blueprint t-shirt, keychain and letter of recognition. The complete rules and details are on the contest page.

Visit the contest page on Facebook to enter or get more details.

If you enter, please come back and comment here!!

What I Learn from Law Students

Categories: Advice, Career, Financing a Legal Education, Harvard Law Admissions, Law Careers, Law School Debt, Law School Rankings, List: Law School Admission Advice Books, Practicing Law

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Last week I got to do one of my absolute favorite things: I sat down with former clients and talked to them about law school, their career goals and progress toward those goals, their experiences and their regrets. I wanted to share a few of the things I learned from them . A lot of my posts are geared toward people who are just hoping to get into any law school, but this post is really for those who are deciding between top law schools, or who otherwise intend to practice in BigLaw.

Now, you need to know the make-up of the group to appreciate the diverse backgrounds of these individuals, all of whom I’ve known from when they first started applying to law schools. One of them I’ve known for more than five years, another I worked with twice (1L and transfer), and, for each of them, I am familiar with their background stories, their families, their educations, the weaknesses they brought to law school, the goals they had when they started and how law school has changed them. I think they are a pretty representative group for top law schools based on their work experience before law school, their undergraduate history (one had terrible grades at a great university, the others had fabulous grades at less impressive universities), etc. All of them had international backgrounds, and I don’t think this is a coincidence. One got into a Top law school with a 160 LSAT; the other three hit above 170.

The Group:

• “Jenny” is a second year associate at BigLaw in New York City and a graduate of Georgetown Law.
• “George” is a 3L at a top 5 school (he transferred in from a Top 100). He already has a job with BigLaw set up.
• “Amy” is a 3L at a top 5 school who will practice public interest law. She has a fellowship set up for the next two years.
• “Hope” is a 1L at a top 5 school.

Here is what I learned as this group talked about what matters to them at their respective points in life:

1. DEBT is a killer. It was a major theme throughout the conversation. Even if they plan to make (realistically for these folks) $175,000 next year, between NYC rent and taxes and student loan payments, they will be relying on all of those lunches their firm buys them to get by. When I asked, “Do you go to Harvard or take a full scholarship to [a specific top 10 school with high judicial clerkship and job placement history]?” they ALL agreed you take the full scholarship. Over Harvard! And all of these people applied to Harvard and didn’t get in, and they still say this.

2. BIGLAW is as tough as they say. Senior lawyers are meaner and nastier than you can imagine professionals could be. You are a cog in the wheel. You have no future with the firm once you decide to have children; all of the female partners are childless, but they do make $1 million a year. Salaries are lock-step, not performance or merit based. That’s good and bad. But you’re on call until 10 p.m. every night. However, you don’t have to show your face in the morning until 9 or 10 so there is some comfort there. There was no mention of the work being interesting or groundbreaking, only of “getting through it” and surviving in order to pay back loans.

3. 1L YEAR is challenging, not just because of the work load or adjustment to law school or one-exam-is-all reality. But because, for those who have always been at the top of their class, maintained near perfect GPAs, and known life as a big fish in a smaller pond, finding themselves among the best and brightest is often humbling and depressing, leaving them feeling insecure and less-than for the first time in their lives.

4. BAR PASSAGE is not a concern – they know they will put their heads down and learn what they need to learn, then travel for a few months before starting their careers.

5. SATISFACTION – no one was in love with their school; they agreed it opened doors and there was one favorite Con Law professor everyone mentioned, but I didn’t hear a lot of praise for the school the three were attending.

What is the good news? There is some:

1. No one regretted their decision to go to law school.

2. No one seemed to ‘sell out’ – they are all doing (or on the road to doing) what they told me years ago they wanted to do with their law degrees.

3. The 3Ls helped  Hope, the 1L, offering her advice about where to find good outlines for her specific courses, giving her hints about which professors she should visit during office hours, etc. No one tried to scare her or discourage her.

4. These are all very bright, motivated, and nice people. They are not egotistical jerks. They understand life is not all about what law school they attend.You don’t have to be a jerk to be successful.

5. They have their priorities in order: three of the individuals are married and talked about how supportive their spouses have been throughout their journey into and through law school.

Their opinions echo those of the lawyers I interviewed for The Law School Decision Game: A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers. If you haven’t read it, I have a lot of statistic and anecdotal evidence about areas of law, job prospects, salary expectations, and how to choose what law school to attend. If you are in the decision mode now – weighing offers from schools you’ve heard back from, waiting for others, deciding how strenuously to pursue waiting lists at certain schools, deciding whether to wait and apply next year – I hope you’ll check out the book. It just came out this fall, and if this post interested you, you’re at the right place to read the book.

Law School Expert News!

Categories: Advice
Tags: Fall 2013 law school, law school admission consulting, law school decision
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We have some exciting things going on at Law School Expert and we don’t want you to miss them!

1. FOR FEBRUARY ONLY: Sign up for Option A, The Works, Law School Admission Consulting package working directly with Ann Levine and save $500! Fill out this form for a free initial consultation to get started and take advantage of this very rare discount.  (Now only $3495, this rate will go back up to $3995 on March 1st and to $4,250 on April 1!) This is a great deal for Fall 2013 applicants.

2. NEVER MISS AN UPDATE OR DEADLINE: “Like” Law School Expert on Facebook and use our Facebook page to subscribe to our monthly info-packed newsletter by clicking “Join My List”

3. MAKING YOUR LAW SCHOOL DECISION? Read Ann’s newest book, The Law School Decision Game: A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers, to learn how to choose a law school (it’s not all rankings!), what BigLaw is really like, how to find the career that’s right for you, how much the cost of law school should factor into your decision – all from 300+ lawyers who participated in surveys and interviews!

Birthday Wisdom for Future Lawyers

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: advice
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Tomorrow (or today, depending on when you get this) is my 38th birthday. I share this so that the parents of my clients will stop reacting to my pictures on Facebook by saying, “That 25 year old is the person we hired to help you???” (Yes, this has happened, despite the fact that I remain – for now – Botox-free.) Too much sharing on a law school related blog? Let me then get to the point:

I’m at a place in my life where I have wisdom to share, and not just related to how you can get into your dream law school. I find myself giving my clients and blog readers advice about relationships (how to maintain them while in law school), fashion (what to wear when visiting law schools or on job interviews),  finances (how much to spend on law school), family (do they plan to work throughout their thirties or take time off to raise a family?) priorities (balancing school, work, family, fashion and relationships), and so many other topics.  As I look back on the past 38 years, here is a little sampling of what I’ve learned that I hope interests you more than it bores you.

1. Applying to Law School. For those of you wondering, I did it all wrong. This is NOT where my expertise on law school admissions came from. I decided to take the LSAT one month before the June 1995 test. I had to call LSAC to register on the very last day and was on hold for something like 72 minutes – paying LONG DISTANCE rates. I was so irate when they finally picked up that they agreed to send me a check to cover the cost of the call! (See, I really am ancient). Then, I studied on my own, while working and going to summer school. I wrote a personal statement that included pretty much everything from my resume and had a high school AP history teacher write a letter of recommendation. OY VEY. I chose 3 schools to apply to: University of Miami (where I was attending college) and the two public law schools in Florida (at the time there were only two).  I applied October 1st and by October 8th I’d been admitted to UM, so I sent my deposit in and that was that.

2. How I Approached Law School. I decided to go part time because I was intimidated by the people from my undergrad school who would be attending full time. I wanted some distance, and to be quite honest I hoped to get out of their shadows. Plus, I was also pursing a career in advertising at the time and wasn’t ready to commit to law. The good news is that I really hit my academic stride as a law student. It is the first time I felt confident in my academic abilities, to be honest, and the first time I really  ”got it.” Choosing what was relevant, writing and thinking quickly – that was all stuff that fell nicely within my cup of tea. I soon quit my job, transferred to the full time program, and did even better each successive year. My regrets from law school are threefold: (1) that I placed too much importance on grades and expected everyone else to place importance on my grades; (2) that I spent too much time trying to be president of everything and not enough time really soul-searching about my career and networking with attorneys; (3) that I took the jobs everyone said I should take instead of the jobs that would’ve been good fits for my personality and strengths.

3. How I Approached My Career. I should never have landed in BigLaw. But I did. So I should have paid attention while I was there. Instead of worrying about why there were no women partners and why female summer associates were paired with female mentors but the male summer associates got to pow-wow with the male partners, I should have been asking someone the secrets of billing. How do I bill an hour? How long should things take me? How does this whole thing work? I did, however, end up finding two very good (non-BigLaw) careers for myself, and then a third. After law school, I took my skills from being president of everything in school and worked in higher education. Other than the endless brainstorming meetings, I rather liked higher education. I particularly loved working in admissions, promoting a law school I believed in, talking with students and prospective students, choosing which students would be risks worth taking and calling students to congratulate them when they were admitted, when they were selected for scholarships – that was all fabulous stuff. I really did love it. So, what happened? I got married and moved to Santa Barbara – therefore there was nowhere to be Director of Admissions.

This was the opportunity I needed to – finally – become a litigator. It was a small, boutique firm and I’ve got to say that I thrived. It was a casual office environment. I worked directly with sophisticated clients, got lots of good (and manic) mentoring, and learned how to make money as a lawyer. I loved taking depos, arguing motions, it was good stuff. So, what happened? I had a baby. I worked until a week before my daughter was born, even from the hospital when I had preterm labor symptoms. I worked from home for 8 days after she was born and then set up baby-central in my office. This worked for four months, and then – coincidentally – all of my cases settled and there was no more work for me. (I won’t go into whether I bought any of that, but that’s what I was told).

I took my severance and started Law School Expert. I write (two books to date). I help people make their strongest arguments for who they are and where they are going in life. I advise clients going through a stressful time in their lives. I assure them and reassure them.  Steer them. I get to know them, I get to help them, I get to follow their careers and feel like I am part of their success and future accomplishments. I got a great card in the mail from a current 2L who wished me a happy birthday and told me how much I’ve meant to her. So I have to say, I’m supremely happy with how things have worked out for my career. I think the point is that there will be bumps in the road. You won’t get the job offer you thought you wanted/needed and you may get a pink slip from a job that you think defines you. And you will be able to pick yourself up – if you decide to do so – and create a life and career for yourself that is greater, more meaningful, and enriched by your past mistakes.

4. Revisiting my Attitude. For the person who reviewed my book and hung it up based on my ‘optimistic’ attitude, let me assure you that I know what it is to be a cynic. I had a turning point in law school where I walked into a professor’s office bitching about my clinical work and walked out seeing the sunshine. Why? Because he told me it was my choice. I could see the negative, I could nag at home, I could complain about what I didn’t have the opportunity to do, I could feel slighted and demoralized by not getting BigLaw jobs. Or, I could see that the sun is shining. (After all, I did go to law school in Miami. Why the hell didn’t I ever go to the beach????) I needed to have fun, to be happy, to be nice. And this realization changed my life. I changed my personal life significantly and drastically. I decided to be different from myself. And I was. And I still am. But I feel more like myself as a result.

5. Choosing Friends. This is important. Surround yourself with people who are supportive. Before law school, during law school, and after law school. Find those people who tell you what you need to hear while acknowledging what you want to hear. Who don’t make you feel “less than.” Who don’t expect you to be perfect. Who give you great ideas. Who stick by you, even when it’s inconvenient. Eliminate people from your life who bring you down without good reason. Unsubscribe from their feeds, texts, calls, and stop taking lunch with them. Walk away. And when you find someone who appreciates you without the fancy credentials and when you still drive a crappy car, that’s a good person to keep my your side. Unless the person has a thing against people with nice cars, because then he won’t be a true friend ten years down the road when you pull up in your BMW.

So, how will I spend my birthday? I’m getting dressed up and meeting friends for breakfast. Then I’m hoping for a little walk on the beach alone, but of course I might choose to shop instead. Then I’ll be with my daughters for the afternoon. For dinner, I’ll probably pick up Mexican food and then be forced to politely pick at the gluten-laden, buttercream frosted cake my mother in law will bring over even through I haven’t eaten gluten or dairy in over a year.

If anyone from ATL reads this post, I’m sure it will become viral drivel. But I believe in this stuff. I’d love to hear if you also believe that we can learn from ourselves and from our elders, and -as of tomorrow- I’m one of the later.

Exclusive: Application Fee Waiver for Public Interest Law Program!

Categories: Public Interest/Pro Bono, Scholarships

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This is a Law School Expert exclusive! If you are committed to working in the public interest and you want to attend a law school that supports that endeavor with innovative programs, proactive placement in job opportunities, and a generous scholarship, my alma mater (The University of Miami School of Law) might be the perfect place for you.

The program includes mentoring sessions with upper-class scholars and public interest lawyers, monthly meetings, and individualized course advising and career planning. In addition, Miami Scholars are awarded a partial (significant!) scholarship. Marni Lennon, Assistant Dean for Public Interest and Pro Bono, Lecturer in Law, runs the program and told me this morning that they are looking for dedicated public interest folks with top academic credentials.