Categories: Advice
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This marks my 200th blog post on LawSchoolExpert! (That deserves an exclamation point, right?) It’s been an amazing year and I want to thank all of my readers. Your comments and e-mails motivate me to keep writing, even when I’m knee-deep in law school personal statements.
In celebration of this occasion (and the holiday weekend which begins in a few hours) I’d like to point out my 5 very favorite Law School Expert topics:
1. Any and all posts written by my former law school admission consulting clients, including this one about “T-14 Not Necessary for BigLaw“
2. I want to help law applicants keep things in perspective during this stressful process, and this is one post I like to re-read when things seem unruly.
3. I get the most encouraging e-mails from readers when I post tangible tips for success in law school applications. You guys seem to love when I tell you what mistakes to look for before submitting your law school applications and common mistakes made on law school applications.
4. Taking the LSAT and Re-taking the LSAT – these issues are HUGE for my readers. In fact I have posted 22 times on various LSAT issues.
5. The only subject more popular than the LSAT is law school rankings with 23 posts. I do enjoy helping people keep things in perspective on this issue. Rankings have a purpose, but unless you know there are limits to the rankings then the importance of a school’s ranking can be vastly over-emphasized.
Thank you for joining me for the last 200 posts, and please let me know what I can do in the future to keep your interest!
Have a wonderful labor day, even though this means it’s officially fall and time to start applying for law school for Fall 2009 admission.
Categories: Uncategorized
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I’d really appreciate it if you’d go to technorati and list LawSchoolExpert as one of your favorite blogs. You can simply click on the “Make LawSchoolExpert A Favorite Blog” box on the right hand side of my blog (scroll down just a bit if you don’t see it immediately).
Thanks so much!
Categories: Public Interest/Pro Bono
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My good friend and the person who served as my mentor when I was in law school (more than ten years ago!), Marni Lennon, is the Assistant Dean for Public Interest and Pro Bono at the University of Miami School of Law. Because so many law school applicants express a desire to use their legal education in the public interest, I asked her to provide some insight about comparing opportunities available at different law schools. There are also some great tips here for prospective law students who do not plan on working in the public interest, but hope to incorporate pro bono efforts into their law school experience and law practice upon graduation.
Are you looking to find a way to give back through your legal career? Good news! The opportunities for service learning, civic engagement and hands-on training are growing at law schools. Finally, the world of legal education is embracing the notion that hands-on training opportunities in the public sector are good for everyone. Legal education is a privilege — with that privilege comes a responsibility to give back. Not only do students gain the chance to develop critical lawyering and advocacy skills through pro bono work, but law schools get to celebrate the efforts of their students. WIN – WIN!
One of the challenges you face is figuring out what the campus culture and programs are like on each of the campuses you are considering. So, how can you learn about pro bono efforts at the law schools you are researching? Do your homework!
1) Look on the law school’s website. Compare the schools. Make lists of the programs you are interested in and which schools have them. (From Ann: Also great to mention these programs in your personal statement!!!!)
2) Speak to the folks in the recruiting/admissions office. Ask them what they perceive as the strengths of the school. Do they mention public interest? If not, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there aren’t wonderful opportunities, but it might not have permeated the campus culture yet. Keep digging and ask them to refer you to faculty/administrators in clinics or public interest programs. (From Ann: a great question to ask at LSAC Forum events too.)
3) Get in touch with student leaders who are involved with public interest/pro bono. They are on the ground floor. Keep in mind that students choose many paths – some will get involved in clinical programs, some will be involved in externships and others will be very active on campus and with community outreach efforts. Ask for a few names and get a feel for the school.
So, you are going to be a law student and you want to gain some experience? Great idea! There are many ways to get involved on a volunteer basis. Contact local legal services/legal aid agencies and see if they are open to having you volunteer. Sometimes, just by giving a day a week, you can find yourself working alongside an attorney who is thrilled to have an extra set of hands and you can gain experience at the same time. Great ways to get involved are to volunteer for clinic intakes, know your rights presentations, community talks and research projects.
Any community involvement which helps you to get to know the face of an issue is a good step. Check with your local volunteer organizations for opportunities to work with varying populations. Large cities like Miami, Atlanta, San Francisco, New York and others have volunteer organizations where you can take part in several different projects. Google your way to your local community opportunities for volunteering.
Are there attorneys in your community who have been recognized for their pro bono work? Contact them and see if you can shadow them to court, meet them for coffee and gain a glimpse into the world of practice. Their guidance could be invaluable.
Once you are at law school, take the following steps to ensure that pro bono advocacy can be a part of your path:
1) Make a beeline for the student groups with advocacy and outreach projects. They might be the public interest law group, the criminal law society, the society for human rights or others, but be sure to find your way and ask folks what they do through their groups.
2) Meet with the clinical faculty and regular faculty with practice experience in the areas in which you are interested. Don’t wait; they are real people – human, interesting, dedicated and usually receptive to the eager students who want to make a difference through law. If they aren’t, don’t be discouraged – there are many more around the corner. Keep going!
3) Get advice about the courses which will put you in a position to gain experience. Ask about courses with field components, opportunities for externships, certified legal internship status (which allows you to speak in court!) and skills training courses such as litigation skills, mediation, mediation-advocacy and more.
4) Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you – seek them out! Speak to your career planning folks, current students, faculty and attorneys about the best ways to get involved. Make the leap! It will be rewarding, fulfilling AND practical as you develop your lawyering skills.
Thank you so much to Dean Lennon for taking the time to share her passion and information with readers of LawSchoolExpert. Here is more about the incredible opportunities available through the University of Miami School of Law’s HOPE Program.
Categories: Re-Applying to Law School, Reapplying to Law School
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Each year, I work with people who were either unsuccessful in their attempts to apply to law school previously or were unhappy with their options at the end of the admission cycle. There are absolutely things you can to to bolster your applications, but here are some common mistakes people make when reapplying to law school:
1. Sending the same personal statement and letters of rec to the same law school that rejected you last year.
2. Thinking that simply getting an internship/paralegal position in a law firm will make all the difference in the world, even when you have a letter of rec from an attorney.
3. Attempting to “go back to undergrad” to improve your UGPA. It doesn’t work. And getting a paralegal certification isn’t going to impress anyone. But do take care to update your transcripts (see this post about reapplying to law school).
4. Not Retaking the LSAT when you didn’t prepare adequately the first time. (See this previous post for more about how the LSAT factors in when you are reapplying to law school)
5. Failing to evaluate your schools list with a candid view of your credentials.
Re-applicants get into law school all the time, but the trick is overcoming any weaknesses you may have (inadvertently) shown the school in the previous admission cycle. Here’s more about reapplying to law school.
Categories: Low LSAT
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My most-read blog topics are those dealing with very low LSAT scores; there are a lot of you out there. So, what constitutes a “low” LSAT score? This is not a discussion for those of you who find yourselves disappointed with your 158s. Let’s aim this conversation at those of you below a 147 LSAT.
I get a lot of calls from people in this category. There are certain people whose chances will not be helped even with advice from a law school admission consultant. We are not, after all, miracle workers. If your LSAT score is in the 130s or low 140s, it’s very hard to find an ABA law school anywhere in the US that will offer you unrestricted acceptance (especially in the increasingly competitive environment of our c. It may be possible to gain acceptance to a conditional program at an ABA law school (especially with scores in the low to mid 140s) but even that has its problems. You may get yourself to Appalachia or somewhere to try the conditional course, and then they may only offer acceptance to 2 of the 100 participants. The problem is that once you are unsuccessful in gaining acceptance through a conditional admission program, other law schools will be hard pressed to find a reason to give you a chance at their own school, even with a slightly improved LSAT score.
If you haven’t exhausted your opportunities to take the LSAT, then take it again. However, you must prepare differently than you did before. And don’t rush the process; it’s too late for October. Wait until December. Make improving your score your focus; without it, the world’s best personal statement, most impressive resume, and illuminating letters of recommendation won’t make a bit of difference.
Those of you who know me know that I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I will always give my honest opinion…..
Ann K. Levine, Esq., former director of law school admissions for two ABA approved law schools, is a law school admission consultant and owner of Law School Expert,
