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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
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
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.
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
“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
October is Mental Health Awareness Month, and World Mental Health Day is October 10. We observe this month and day to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to increase support for wellness. This day is meant to provide an opportunity for all those affected to talk about
This first year is a whirlwind. Someone who’s just been there has some tips to make it a success, and even fun.
Many law students are motivated by the desire to make a difference, but how can they hone in on opportunities that align with their personal and professional goals? Host Ashley Baker talks to Gaylynn Burroughs about her work at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human
It's not exactly Game of Thrones. But in OCI, you gotta play to win. And we're here to help you slay at your on-campus interview. We've gathered our the top information on everything that goes into OCI, interviewing tips, help with your resume and cover
Soon-to-be law students, this is your summer reading list. Okay, you don’t need to read all these books—with 30+ books, they’re probably too many for one summer anyway! But they are helpful, inspiring, and empowering picks all law students might consider.
Should you handwrite or type the Multistate Performance Tests (MPTs) and Multistate Essay Exams (MEEs) portions of the bar exam? Do the bar examiners grade the handwritten essays differently from typed essays? Maybe I can’t answer that second question for you, since grading can be
I had a conversation earlier this month with a former director of a state bar Lawyers Assistance Program. This person shared that during regular meetings with the LAP, administrators at law schools in the state often complained, “Students today are just so fragile.” But
For law students aspiring to be on a journal, the satisfaction of finishing 1L year is short-lived. Write-on is just around the corner. As soon as you’re about to regain your life and your sanity, the 3L board members hand you a packet and a deadline.
What are you planning on doing this and maybe the next few summers? If you plan it well, three years of law school can provide you with up to four summers’ worth of work experience in law/related fields. From traditional law firm summer associate roles, to courtroom clerkships,
Editor's note: This post has been updated to clarify a passage in the original version (5/16/19, 10:44 a.m. CDT). As the spring semester comes to a close, many 3Ls are investigating their bar study loan options. Borrowing one last loan to pay
Whether you’re a law student, young lawyer, or transitioning attorney, find out what it’s like to work as an In-House Counsel.
Whether you’re a law student, young lawyer, or transitioning attorney, find out what it’s like to work as an In-House Counsel.
My dad loves to remind me how he paid for his education. He scrubbed toilets during college and worked as a punch card programmer to pay for law school. He is making a point about hard work, but all I can hear is how great things used
After completing law school, it can be challenging to find a job. It can be difficult to know where to begin looking, not to mention how tedious it is to send dozens of applications to potential employers. However, it is essential to understand that there are ways you
There comes a time when you must decide on an area of legal practice you want to pursue. Whether you had an inkling of what you wanted to practice when you went into law school or are now deciding while taking your law courses, here are a few
Want to get your student loans paid off faster? Would you like to retire a bit earlier? What if I told you there was an easy step you could take right now that would help you accomplish those goals? These questions may sound like the beginning
As people start hearing back from law schools, there is much celebration and often some disappointment. However, there is also a third possibility that not much is written on — being waitlisted. I was waitlisted at nine (you read that correctly) law schools, including eight in the top
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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