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So You Are Thinking About Law School?
By Caambridge Horton • May 30, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Pre-Law
If you browse the internet, you will find many sources providing information on topics from “things you should know before going to law school” to “things I wish I knew before law school” and many of these articles seem to all have a common theme where they stress the importance of doing your research. While there are many sources including entertaining YouTube videos where you can follow a law student in “A Day in their Life,” I thought I’d provide you with one more informative article on what you should know if you are thinking about attending law school. 1.…
Just in time for graduation, the ABA tightened its bar pass standard for law schools
By Jen Reise • May 21, 2019 •Law School, Pre-Law, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Other Law School Issues, Features, Bar Exam
Thousands of new lawyers celebrated their graduation this weekend and, in time-honored tradition, celebrated for approximately one day before turning to studying for the bar exam. On Friday, the ABA announced that it was tightening its accreditation standard for law schools’ bar passage rates. The new standard will require law schools to have a bar pass rate of at least 75% within two years of graduation. Overall, this rate was 88.57% for the most recent year, but bar passage rates are highly correlated with LSAT scores. This change puts the pressure on bottom-tier law schools, i.e., those that admit the…
Considering a Career Switch into the Legal Industry?
By Vanessa Stephens • March 26, 2019 •Law School, Pre-Law
One of the most challenging and rewarding decisions I made in my career was enrolling in law school after working for several years. At the time, I reached a point in my career where I started to build credibility and expertise in my field, but I found myself increasingly interested in the laws impacting the healthcare industry. I also knew getting back into “school-mode” would be an adjustment. But because I didn’t have family or close friends that were attorneys, I had to learn what attorneys did and what I would learn in law school. To those of you reading…
Preparing for Law School? Check out these do’s and don’ts.
By Paige Marie Robinson Greene • March 25, 2019 •Law School, Pre-Law
This post was written by Mackenzie Koppenhofer, a 2019 Ms. JD Fellow. The year before beginning law school is a difficult one: you have a lot of fears and doubts based on rumors and articles about the difficulties of law school, you don’t quite know what to expect, and trying to juggle the application process alongside your other responsibilities can be overwhelming. All of these things definitely bogged me down during my application process: I was working full time as a restaurant manager, had just graduated from undergrad, and no one in my family had ever gone to law school.…
Choosing a law school: Four factors that matter, besides the U.S. News rankings
By Jen Reise • March 13, 2019 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Law School, Pre-Law
With the 2020 U.S. News rankings of law schools finally out, there’s a lot of discussion about the winners and losers this year. But as an individual applying to law school, rankings don’t tell the whole story. Here are four factors to consider in order to identify what the best law school is – not in general, but specifically for you. Location You’ll make important connections in law school, and most will be in the surrounding legal market. You’ll clerk at a local firm, network with local attorneys, and learn about the business and legal landscape of that community. In…
What’s a “good” LSAT score?
By Jen Reise • February 11, 2019 •Law School, Pre-Law
January 2019 LSAT scores are coming out Friday. What does your number mean for your future prospects? I remember studying hard for the LSAT and waited in fear to hear how I did – but when I finally heard, I still wasn’t sure what that meant for my law school prospects. Here’s what I wish I had known: A perfect score on the LSAT is 180, and the lowest is 120. The average score of LSAT test takers is right around 150. But the LSAT score you need to get into law schools is generally above that average – and…
Dear Future Lawyer: Advice for Minority Women Law Students From Author Neena R. Speer, Esq.
By Roberta O. Roberts, Esq. of Grace for the Grind™ • January 17, 2019 •Careers, Law School, Pre-Law, Issues, Mentoring and Networking, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
In 2018, the American Bar Association reported that less than 40% of lawyers in the United States are women, and that less than 20% of lawyers in the United States are people of color. As the statistics make clear, women of color are overwhelmingly outnumbered in the legal profession. Having experienced this isolation herself, lawyer, author, speaker, and nonprofit founder Neena R. Speer, Esq. seeks to help provide solace for this underrepresented population by sharing her experience with other women of color on their journeys to becoming lawyers. As a minority woman lawyer myself, I am happy to share this…
Why You Should Take A Break From School Before Going To Law School
By Dennis Hung • December 17, 2018 •Law School, Pre-Law, Other Law School Issues
If you’ve worked hard to prepare for law school, the idea of taking a gap year might seem a little crazy. It took all you had to get this far, and if you lose momentum now, how will you ever be prepared for the demanding schedule required by your future school? While it may seem counterintuitive, a break can sometimes be just what you need to refresh your mind and prepare for a rigorous course of study. Time Off to Explore: Who Said a Break Was a Bad Thing? According to data from the Associated Press, up to 40,000…
LSAT Haters: Listen Up!
By Susan Smith Blakely • October 29, 2018 •Law School, Pre-Law
Everyone hates the LSAT, and that is the way we like it. Hating people is not good --- in fact it is very, very bad --- but hating tests is OK. So many former LSAT takers are very happy hating this ridiculous test (which only predicts success in the first semester of law school), and we want our bad memories left in tact. But, now we are told that the LSAT has a benefit beyond giving some people an edge toward law school acceptance. The benefit approach is just plain not fair or productive in the hating process. Here's the scoop. …