Like many Americans, you may be reading the torrent of terrible news in the morning and feel the urge to do something important with your life, like defending justice with the help of a JD (that’s what is stands for, right? Justice Degree?).
But there’s much more to becoming a lawyer than increasing your proficiency on logic games and landing a near-perfect LSAT score. If you want to work in the law here is a quick breakdown of the process of becoming a lawyer.
Undergrads with dreams of eventually attending law school often wonder if there are certain majors that will better prepare you for law school (or that will make your application look better). I’ll go ahead and end the suspense now: There’s definitely no mandatory major if you plan to head to law school. With that said, you can definitely do some thinking and maneuvering to put you in the best position when it comes time for applications. Here’s some general tips and advice for when you’re deciding:
The most important thing is to do something that you know you’ll do well at. With law schools being a numbers-oriented business, that’s the most important piece of advice I can give.
Results are starting to trickle in from the July 2015 bar exam, and a first glance at the numbers shows that they’re not encouraging – the average score on the multiple-choice section of the exam has reached its lowest levels since 1988.
This news comes on the heels of last year’s results, when bar exam results had the single biggest drop since the bar exam started. Those results led to lots of finger-pointing – the National Conference of Bar Examiners stated that the people who took the July 2014 bar exam were “less able” than their predecessors. (More on that in a second.)
A) A Berkeley law student advises you to consider how much you enjoyed high school before applying to law school. Daily Californian
B) Law School Toolbox‘s Allison Monahan joins Lawyerist’s podcast to discuss what success means in law school. Lawyerist
C) Learn to be a good law student from an elementary school teacher: limit distractions and foster energy. And don’t pick your nose (in public). Ms. JD
D) Updating yesterday’s post: Katy Perry’s lawyers still say she has a trademark on Left Shark. But can anyone truly own a miracle? Mashable
E) “The Cave Church of Garbage City” sounds insulting, but it’s actually both technically correct and exceedingly impressive. Slate
Yuko Sin is an instructor and blogger for Blueprint LSAT Prep. He is starting at Columbia Law School this fall, and will be writing a series of law school-related posts about his experiences. Here’s part one and part two.
After sending out applications to 15 law schools, I would like to share with you what I’ve learned about law school admissions.
But first, a disclaimer:
First, I’m extremely happy with and feel fortunate about my admissions outcomes. Second, these are just my own takeaways; your experiences or opinions might vary.
Lesson #1: You can get waitlisted/rejected even with great numbers.
The number of people taking the LSAT has dropped yet again.
If it seems like you’ve read that sentence before, it’s because you probably have. With the exception of a slight uptick in February 2014, the number of people taking the LSAT has steadily declined since October 2010. As I wrote when the December LSAT numbers were released, the decrease in people taking the LSAT is likely good news for people applying to law school now. Fewer people taking the LSAT means fewer law school applicants, which means less competition both for admittance and for scholarships. The good news, however, doesn’t stop there.
According to an article published in the Winter 2014 issue of PreLaw Magazine, though estimates of the exact time-frame vary, there could be more jobs than law school graduates as early as 2016.
A) June LSAT test-takers were down 9.1% from last year. Law.com.
B) Law school enrollments are also down, but salaries are up. US News University Directory.
C) Non-traditional students shouldn’t have a tougher time applying to law school. Above the Law.
D) Any lawyers want to take on John Boehner’s suit against President Obama? Here’s his case. Vox.
E) Drones aren’t all bad. In fact, some take pretty rad photos. NPR.
You may have seen the Slate article that made the rounds on social media last week with the catchy title “Apply to Law School Now!” The premise of the article is, not surprisingly, that if you’re considering law school you should apply now. Why? Because the number of people graduating from law school has decreased, meaning that there’s less competition for entry-level legal jobs; if employment numbers for recent graduates hold, the percentage of recent graduates who find full-time, long-term employment will increase. Slate does point out a couple caveats – namely, that not all JD programs are created equal – but concludes that, due to the general upward trend, it’s a good time to be applying to law school.
While other news outlets are a little more cautious in their optimism than Slate, Slate’s article is consistent with the good news that we’ve been hearing about law school for months.
A) Bored while waiting for your June LSAT score? Maybe you should apply to law school. Above the Law.
B) It’s easy to get a degree from New Hampshire School of Law. Just be Bob Dole. Greenfield Reporter.
C) Luis Suarez’s lawyer is ready to take a bite out of his client’s suspension from the World Cup. ABA Journal.
D) For a guy who doesn’t want people to pay attention to him anymore, Shia LaBeouf sure is making a lot of noise. Huffington Post.
E) All the familiar faces are morphing. Digg.
A) Apply to law school right now. Slate says so. Slate.
B) Online law degrees may not seem reputable…and that’s why so few schools offer one. US News & World Report.
C) Helpful tip for law students: Don’t sue your law school because you flunked. Above the Law.
D) Thanks to the Supreme Court, the police now need a warrant to search your cell phone (sorta). MSNBC.
E) Man’s best friend has found a new pal: the robot spider. Huffington Post.