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As law school exam season approaches, the tension in academic hallways thickens like soup. Over the past few weeks, as I’ve met with students in office hours, I’ve seen worries etch into their furrowed brows right before my eyes. Everyone seems to be ahead of me in their outlining. I still don’t
Remember that everything on your resume is fair game during the interview. Pull out your resume. Read through it carefully, think about every line, every accomplishment. Why is it on your resume? What technical qualification or “soft” skill does it convey? What is the story behind it? What did you learn?
Learning from seasoned lawyers truly helps law students gain perspective on where they want to take their legal career in the future. In this edition of the Law Student Podcast, New ABA Law Student Division Chair Johnnie Nguyen talks with Colorado’s U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn about his career experiences and how he came
Study groups can be helpful for test preparation, but relying heavily on others in law school is not always the greatest strategy. This article will provide tips and tricks on figuring out if study groups will help or hurt you as a student, beginning with five
Find out how the ABA is helping immigrant families get due process at the border and survivors of natural disasters recover through the YLD's Disaster Legal Services program. Plus, students tell their pro bono stories and offer their advice on how you can begin making your own legal
Amy Dickinson is a syndicated advice columnist. In a recent installment of “Ask Amy” she responded to a letter from “Chatty-Sister.” Sis complained that her brother, who was living at home while preparing for the LSAT, demands absolute silence in
Good legal writing is a lawyer’s stock-in-trade. Use these tips to up your writing game. Make it easy for your reader Legal readers are busy. They don’t want to have to stop and think to figure out what you mean or
Our student leaders are the the voice of law students in the American Bar Association. The opportunity to learn leadership skills, advocate on behalf of your peers, and make connections with attorneys encompasses the main role of those that serve on the Law Student Division's Council. Applications
Rachel Gentry, Kennedy LeJeune, and KyMara Guidry join host Ashley Baker for a roundtable discussion of law student mental health issues.
It’s never too early or too late to start thinking about paying off law school loans. In some cases, if you go to the right school, make the right amount of money, and follow confusing steps that may go horribly awry at any point, you
When I made the decision to go to law school, I honestly gave serious contemplation to leaving my two fur-babies behind. I wasn’t sure that I could fit them into my already stressful student budget. I had to account for monthly pet rent, food, cat litter, and medical
I started law school in one of the most difficult ways I could have ever imagined starting law school. Six days before 1L orientation, I suffered a trimalleolar fracture of my ankle—basically, it was broken in three places—which required surgery for two plates and nine screws. That’s how
Asking for—and getting—letters of recommendation is not as hard as you think. The law professors and practicing attorneys you’re nervous about won’t be surprised by your request. They know jurisdictions can require bar candidates to submit these letters as part of their bar application. They were in your shoes once too—they all applied for bar admissions, and likely they had to collect similar letters from people they didn’t feel they really knew well.
In June, sports apparel giant, Adidas, had its stripes thrown back at it by the European Union General Court in a shocking decision ruling against the arguably deserved
Law school students continue to graduate and enter the job hunt, sometimes carrying massive debt, only to find that the job market is not at all what they were told to expect. While some law schools are starting
Dionne Smith offers guidance for law students to manage their personal well-being throughout the rigors of law school.
Self-driving cars, literature produced by computers, autonomous military armaments, robotic child companions – and more – are already here. These developments and those to come all pose important legal issues, some of which are unprecedented. Luckily though, you don’t have to be a Silicon Valley wiz kid to enter this essay competition.
Just about this time last year, as I was facing the world as a newly-minted 2L, I wrote my first blog article for the ABA Law Student Division. I picked a topic that I had grown up with my entire life: legalized sports betting. This past summer, I remember
“The worst part of having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don’t.”—Arthur Fleck, "Joker" Shockingly, I found some time in my 2L schedule to see “Joker” over the weekend. It’s a gritty commentary on society,
As a first-generation lawyer, I really didn’t know what to expect from the practice of law. I wasn’t prepared for the pressure and the stress, and I didn’t know how to overcome the need for perfection and validation that I’d inadvertently nurtured through a lifetime focused on academic performance.
August 2018, on a late Thursday afternoon, I received a call asking me if I was available to come up and meet with a chief assistant state attorney. I was an assistant state attorney in Miami-Dade County, Florida, handling mental health cases, so these requests were common. I
You’re on the path to join a profession in which you will spend most of your life advocating for others. But if you hope to be an effective advocate for others, you must first learn to be an advocate for yourself. Today, on Law
For decades, virtually every state required bar applicants to answer invasive questions about their mental health diagnoses. In 2014, the Survey of Law Student Well-Being revealed the effect of this practice: nearly half of all law students were dissuaded from seeking mental health treatment for fear that such treatment would have negative
“Dear Ms. Leader, Thank you for your application. Unfortunately, at this time, we are not able to offer…" Sound familiar? Some version of this email has started to grace my inbox as frequently as the latest J. Crew discount code or law school lunch talk
If you have ever picked up a free banana smoothie or granola bar from your law school’s wellness week booths, you are not alone. Free food is great, and law schools do seem to care more about wellness than they used to, but I still find myself asking: how
Before the Bar is the blog of the ABA Law Student Division. It brings together a diversity of opinions, experiences, and voices from those associated with the law anywhere in the world and is targeted to law students, current, past and future.
Unless stated, the opinions shared by our writers do not reflect the official position of the American Bar Association.
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