LSAT Prep Has Staggering Costs for Certain Students
By Shanti Brien • June 14, 2018 •Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Pre-Law, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
Recently a young Native American woman and aspiring lawyer asked me if I knew any free or low cost LSAT prep courses. I had previously tried to dissuade her from law school--just as my grandfather had given me 29 Reasons Not to Go to Law School before I enrolled--but alas, she, like I, was determined. I didn’t know much about LSAT prep but soon felt the shock of the $1300 price tag. Soon thereafter, the $1300 grew much more significant when I realized the enormous negative impact of high-cost prep courses, especially on low-income people and people of color, but…
My Bar Exam Journey: From Pregnant to Pissed to Passing
By Shanti Brien • November 18, 2017 •Law School, Other Law School Issues, Features, Advice on Passing the Bar Exam
It felt good to have the Bar Exam on the calendar, even if it was four months away. Lilli was nine months old; she had slept through the night about three times. I looked forward to using my brain to master legal subjects I never learned in law school. And then I discovered I was pregnant again. So began the winter of endless, excruciating, pregnant drudgery. I pulled myself out of bed and spread Cheerios on the high chair so I could get dressed. I schlepped to the conference room on the second floor of a beige building next to…
“They is starting law school next week:” Gender-neutral pronouns are awkward at first but worth it.
By Shanti Brien • August 23, 2017 •Law School, Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
My Law and Public Policy class begins next week. But before we jump into reading cases and writing briefs we will introduce ourselves and share our preferred pronouns. I prefer “she/her/hers.” Every year I have two or three students who prefer “they/them/theirs.” At first I thought this was a ridiculous waste of everyone’s time. We have legislative processes to learn! Executive orders to scrutinize! But, I’ve come to appreciate the practice. It reminds me to be mindful of people unlike me and I hope it signals to the students that our class values inclusion. In 2015, the press was already…