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Ms. Pre-JD: Interview with NY AAG Kristen Vogel
By Nikki Datta • August 02, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Law School, Pre-Law, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
This past Spring and Summer, during my internship in the Attorney General’s Litigation Bureau, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Vogel served as a model for the approach I hope to bring to my professional life. My primary lesson from her about soft skills as a female professional was an unspoken one: there is a delicate balance that should come naturally. Kristen always spoke her mind, but made it clear that her opinions were unbiased. She dealt with everyone in the same way, had patience, and stated otherwise negative things in a matter of fact way. While I may have been afraid…
Sneak Peek of The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert, 3rd Ed.
By Tatum Wheeler • July 28, 2017 •Law School, Pre-Law
Law school applications are just around the corner (some law schools begin accepting applications on September 1!) In order to prepare, you may want to check out The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert, 3rd Ed. by Ann Levine, a law school admissions consultant, founder of Law School Expert, and author of the book. I had the pleasure of interviewing Ann in the past and have read both of her previous books. They provide thorough answers to many law school application questions and include helpful sample essays in an easy-to-read format. Topics in the book include GPA and…
Ms. Pre-JD: Career Trajectory Reflections
By Nikki Datta • July 06, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Pre-Law, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
(First, I hope everyone enjoyed the Fourth – belatedly, Happy Independence Day!) If I’m being honest, I can’t wait for school to start again. I always remember the shiniest parts of the semester, the perfectly organized reading schedules and new, unedited syllabi, my color-coordinated calendar and a refilled set of black gel pens. The glamour lasts for about two weeks of the semester, and then it gives way to a much more havoc-filled (and realistic) mess. On a more typical Monday morning, my reading isn’t done, I can’t find a single pen, and I’ve forgotten to put any of my…
Citizen’s Academy: From a Pre-Law Perspective
By Tatum Wheeler • June 29, 2017 •Law School, Pre-Law
I recently participated in and completed a Citizen’s Academy. For those that are unfamiliar—and believe me, I was unfamiliar before participating—a Citizen’s Academy is a program that provides a deeper look into local government’s inner workings including operations, policies, and services. My local citizen’s academy was a three-hour long class that met once a week for two months. During the program, we received visits from various local agencies including the District Attorney’s office, Shared Hope International (a human trafficking organization), and various Sheriff’s Units including Property Crimes and Street Crimes. We also had the opportunity to tour local facilities such…
Ms. Pre-JD: The Gap
By Nikki Datta • June 05, 2017 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Law School, Pre-Law, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
I had planned to write an extensive article on how to network this month (find another amazing article about networking this summer here), but in line with last month’s post, I’m offering a step back from the constant career talk. Instead of thinking about my career trajectory, I want to extend the definition of pre-law to include the years after undergrad and before law school. Now that I’m headed into my junior year, I have only two types of pre-law friends: the ones ordering copious numbers of LSAT books and the ones still smiling because they plan to take a…
Interview with Nathan Fox, Founder of Fox LSAT
By Tatum Wheeler • June 01, 2017 •Law School, Pre-Law
I am pleased to introduce Nathan Fox, founder of Fox LSAT, a LSAT prep company with courses available in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and online. Nathan earned a 179 on the February 2007 LSAT, started Fox LSAT in 2009, and graduated from UC Hastings in 2010. He is the author of multiple LSAT books including Introducing the LSAT, The Fox LSAT Logic Games Playbook, and The Fox LSAT Logical Reasoning Encyclopedia. He is also a co-host of the Thinking LSAT podcast. Thank you so much, Nathan, for speaking with Ms. JD today. Let's get started. You've mentioned that no one grows up…
“A Time of Considerable Change”: LSAC Updates and How They Affect Applicants
By Tatum Wheeler • May 30, 2017 •Law School, Pre-Law
Slowly, but surely, the Law School Admissions Council has rolled out a series of changes in 2017. I've included a brief description of each and my perspective on how they affect you, the applicant. “Starting with the September 2017 LSAT, there will no longer be any limitations on the number of times a test taker can take the LSAT in a two-year period. LSAC has revised this policy as part of its planning for additional administrations of the LSAT. We will provide more information about the LSAT schedule in the coming weeks.” -LSAC This policy change allows students…
Dealing With Law School Competition: Advice to 1L’s
By Brittany Showalter • May 23, 2017 •Law School, Pre-Law
As my 1L year has come to a close, I have spent time reflecting on the past nine months, which have been the most trying and rewarding year of my life. However, I had not realized that I have become so obsessed with succeeding in law school until I started the Advocacy Board tryouts. We were put into groups and told to complete a group project. Not only I, but my other teammates, struggled to even communicate for the first twenty minutes, we had not been in a collaborative environment in over a year. During those twenty minutes, I self-evaluated and became very conscious…
Ms. JD Pre-Law: Interview with Christina Nguyen, Career Placement Committee Co-Chair, AABANY
By Genevieve Antono • May 20, 2017 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues, Law School, Pre-Law, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, •Internships and Clerkships
Today’s Ms. JD Pre-Law interview is with Christina Marie Nguyen. Christina serves as Co-Chair of the Career Placement Committee at the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY). She previously served as a Co-Chair of the Student Outreach Committee at AABANY, Social Media Coordinator for the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY), and Assistant Editor for the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA)’s NYLitigator Journal. Christina graduated with her JD from St. John’s University School of Law and was recently admitted to the NY bar. She was also featured on St. John's Law 2016 commencement article,…