Go Premium for $25 and get
Already a member? Log in here.
Information about your student loans is reflected on your credit report and will influence your credit score. A high credit score based on a positive credit history helps you qualify for favorable terms on mortgages and other loans. A low credit score can make it hard to get good interest
Students listen to lawyers present on career panel. The end. Students attend class with lawyer as guest presenter. The end. Students attend a Student Bar Association event and mingle with lawyers. The end. Does your story end with being in the same room as a lawyer and never following up? Ignoring chances to
Law school is a social and cultural world unto itself. Like all societies and cultures, it has its own set of norms and rules. Understanding and employing proper etiquette will help you succeed. “We had an incident in a student’s first week at school,” recalled
The stereotypical career trajectory for an in-house lawyer begins at a midsize to large law firm. As corporate legal departments have not traditionally been equipped to tackle the intensive training and development that new attorneys require, many are happy to leave associate training to the firms. The corporations underwrite the
Although law school is expensive and most law students graduate with significant student loan debt, reducing the costs that are within your control, choosing federal over private loans, and understanding your repayment options will go a long way toward successfully managing your debt. Ideally, your total debt would be less than
Realize that law school requires a different commitment to your studies. For many law students, prior college courses were not essential to their futures. They could cram at the end of the semester, “brain dump” for a good grade, and then forget what they learned because they never planned to
Get Focused In a tight job market, law students in need of experience will often say, “I will take any job anywhere.” While flexibility and adaptability are critical qualities, casting your net too wide results in an unfocused job search taking an incredible amount of time and that is ultimately less
Taking courses that will give you an edge in your (so-far) chosen specialty is just one smart way to choose electives.
Part Four of Four in a Series by Heather Jarvis In the final installment of her series, student debt expert Heather Jarvis discusses which student loan repayment strategies best fit your existing financial circumstances and your employment expectations. Law graduates work in a variety of positions earning a range of salaries, and
The summer is the perfect time to rediscover your true self, renew relationships, and return to favorite pastimes before school starts again in the fall. If you are attending summer school for part of the summer or studying for the bar, then use the time wisely before and after those
Life balance in law school is tough. Most law students will study more hours than ever before in their lives. Here's how to maintain balance.
Graduating law students have a lot to think about. You’ll need to pay attention to your student loans while you are studying for the bar examination and conducting your employment search. An organized approach can keep your payments affordable, protect your credit rating, and help you avoid fees
Realize that everyone’s grades can improve each semester by honing study strategies. Students who did well can do even better. Students who ended up in the middle of the class can improve. And students whose grades placed them on academic probation can turn things around.
Clinic Serves the Community Walking across the stage to receive her diploma might be only the second-most memorable experience of Larisa Bowman’s graduation day from Stanford University Law School in 2009. Earlier that day, she had received a call from Juliet Brodie, director of Stanford’s Community Law Clinic in impoverished East Palo
As a legal writing instructor, many students bring me cover letters to review. Often after I help a student rework a letter, employers start to respond.
Résumés have two stand-out moments in the application process. The document’s first job is to generate an interview. The second is to serve as a springboard for questions and conversations during the interview. Approach résumé creation with an eye toward both. All formatting and content decisions should be filtered with
Election law is not just practiced by government employees. The public interest world also provides opportunities for lawyers who are interested in the electoral process.
Law professors expect students to understand the basic concepts through their own class preparation. Undergraduate professors typically lecture and tell students everything they need to know. Law professors rarely explain everything in cases because they expect students to have thought extensively about the material prior to class. They discuss only
Rebecca A. Clark admits she was stunned into tears by a three-student panel discussion on handling family life during her law school orientation. “It was not a positive presentation,” says the 2008 graduate now employed at the Law Office of James B. Palmquist III in Medina, Ohio. “It was very dark,
“So, why’d you go to law school?” Oftentimes, the answer to this question is “to make a difference” or “to promote justice.” Every year, scores of people are led to law school by a desire to make a difference in the world and to give back to their communities. However,
There are techniques to improve your exam results in May. If you implement them diligently, your grades can increase with any exam format.
Law students must answer interview questions in the hopes of impressing someone enough to get a job offer. There is fear, anxiety, and, overall, the need to impress.
For the past several years, students at Hamline Law School have been invited to participate in a “Six-Word Story” contest on the topic of the first six weeks of law school. Six-word stories are intended to capture the essence of an experience in just that many words.
Fear of failure is common for students preparing for the bar exam. Put that nervous energy to good use with smart bar exam preparation.
Judicial clerkships have a lot to offer: They hone research and writing skills, provide great exposure to practicing lawyers, create an opportunity to develop a mentoring relationship with a successful member of the bar, and generally look fabulous on a résumé.