Browse Topics
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, Advice on Passing the 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…
Come to the “SITIE” of Seattle!
By Rachel Sindorf • April 18, 2019 •Careers, Legal Academia, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics, Other Law School Issues, Issues, •Mentoring and Networking
Innovate Your Summer in the "SITIE" of Seattle! This is an open letter to all my Ms. JD law school colleagues. I would like to invite you to enroll in Seattle University School of Law’s Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE), in Seattle, Washington. As one of the student co-founders of the forthcoming Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law, and a past student of the Immersion Course, I am excited to help spread the word about a new academic collaboration between the law school and attorneys at many of Seattle’s most cutting-edge technology companies, including Microsoft, The Allen Institute for…
Pipe Dreams and Pumps: One Public Interest Law Student’s Two-Sided Story
By Jessica Skocik • March 14, 2019 •Careers, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
When I decided to go to law school, I knew I wanted to help people. I wanted to be what they call a “public interest student.” For me, law school was a magic place where I could acquire a particularized skill set in order to help more people more effectively. It never occurred to me (a first-generation law student from Missouri) that people attended law school to do anything else. I capitalized on my experience studying and teaching abroad and working with juvenile sex offenders to create the most compelling personal statement I could dream up, and I was off…
Webinar: Speak Up: Finding Your Voice and Taking Charge of Your Career
By Katie Day • March 08, 2019 •Ms. JD, Conference, Careers, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Internships and Clerkships, Issues, Features
On March 6, 2019, Ms. JD Board Member Katie Day sat down with Jodi Flynn, Executive Coach and Founder of Women Taking the Lead for a webinar on speaking up. In this webinar, Jodi shares three stumbling blocks to speaking up and provides practical solutions. Want to learn more about speaking up? Join Ms. JD on March 14-15 at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law for "Speak Up" our 11th Annual Conference on Women in the Law. Have questions about the stumbling blocks Jodi discusses? Want to pick her brain? Shoot her an email at jodi@womentakingthelead.com. About Jodi Jodi Flynn of…
LinkedIn Success in 3 Easy Steps: Job Hunters Edition
By Diana LaMorie • February 03, 2019 •Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
Happy New Year dear readers! I am happy to report that I am back on the blog. In fact, after such a rewarding experience blogging as a 2018 Writer in Residence for Ms. JD, I have accepted a position on its Board of Directors. I am really excited about getting more deeply involved and helping Ms. JD bring exciting programs and opportunities for young women everywhere. My latest blogging inspiration manifested itself during a recent alumni women's circle I joined. I heard from several women recognizing the value of having a LinkedIn presence, but saying they were intimidated by how…
Making A Choice: Is Law School Right for You?
By Dennis Hung • January 07, 2019 •Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
Going to law school is a popular decision among those looking for a prestigious career path. Motivated by what they've seen on television and the movies, many go to law school only to quickly find out that the reality of practicing law is much different than what they've seen in fiction. If you are considering law school, you'll want to ask yourself the questions below before you send in your application. Do You Want to Go to Law School? The most important question to ask yourself is if you really want to go to law school. Don't go because you…
A JD Preferred Career Cocktail Recipe & Toast
By Diana LaMorie • December 28, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
Sigh, this is my final post for Ms. JD as a 2018 Writer in Residence. I want to close with a dose of good cheer and optimism for your career, in 2019 and beyond, by offering up a career cocktail recipe and toast to send you off merrily into the New Year! First, allow me to give due credit to the source of my inspiration for this post. I have not met or spoken with Cheryl Rich Heisler, who runs Chicago-based Lawternatives (a career consultancy), but I watched her entertaining and insightful webinar from the ABA Alternative Career Advice Series entitled ‘Pouring Over…
When Is a JD NOT Preferred?
By Diana LaMorie • December 05, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
I've been extolling the virtues of alternative legal careers for the past 10 months, so it's about time I introduce a contrarian element. My goal with the 'JD Preferred' theme of this blog is not to gloss over the hardships for folks who are facing six-figure debts and limited job prospects. What I am advocating, in all cases, is a deliberate approach. So whether I am reaching you in anticipation of enrolling in law school or in the throes of a post-JD career transition, allow me to share some thoughts on when touting your JD will not get you what…
What To Do When Your School Can’t Help You Get a Policy Job
By Kate Miceli • December 04, 2018 •Careers, Politics and Government, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
In law school, I had an amazing party trick. The first month of school everyone was asking the three standard questions. “What’s your name?” “Where are you from?” And finally, “what do you want to practice?” The first two elicited pretty typical responses. But, the third was my astounding trick. Instead of saying I wanted to be a prosecutor or a civil litigator, I said I wanted to work in policy. Brows furrowed. Jaws dropped. Panic flickered in their eyes. They could not understand why someone would suffer the three-year torture of law school to never see the inside of…