The competition to secure a post-graduation legal job – not to mention the personal and financial pressure – can be intense. As a result, you may feel obligated to accept any job available even though it’s far from an ideal position for you. As a new lawyer, getting practical experience of any kind is important, so you definitely don’t want to be too picky during your job search. But even at the beginning of your legal career, you should start thinking about the qualities you want your workplace to promote. Finding the best firm for you may ultimately be less about the area of law practiced and more about finding a place that is supportive of your career goals and shares your core values. As you’re searching for your first legal job (or considering a change), consider whether any of these workplace qualities are a priority for you. [Read more…] about Finding the Best Law Firm for You
Making the Jump from College to Law School: New Skills
Although it may not always seem like it as a 1L, law school is about more than just reading cases and surviving cold calls. Law school is, ultimately, about preparing you to pass the bar and enter the legal profession. And, as you might expect when training for any new job, there are several new skills that you will need to master in order to be successful. While your undergraduate background laid some of the groundwork, there’s still a lot to learn! Part 1 of this series noted some of the key differences between college and law school and part 2 suggested some ways you can adapt your college study strategies to effectively deal with those differences. This article concludes the series by describing some of the new skills you need to develop in order to successfully make the jump from college to law school! [Read more…] about Making the Jump from College to Law School: New Skills
Making the Jump from College to Law School: Study Strategies
Every law student is a successful college student, but that prior academic success doesn’t necessarily translate into future academic success. Study strategies developed in college don’t automatically lead to good results in law school because legal education is a different animal, with unique teaching techniques, assessment methods, and expectations. Part 1 of this series discussed some of these differences so that you will know what to expect when you start law school.
But if law school is so different from college, how exactly are you supposed to study? Well, you don’t have to completely abandon all of your undergrad study strategies. Instead, you need to adapt your current methods to law school’s demands while also developing a few new skills along the way. If you relied on any of the following strategies during college, consider incorporating these adjustments to maximize their effectiveness during law school:
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Making the Jump from College to Law School: The Differences
If you were admitted to law school, you likely did well in college. You may have even done well (or excelled) in your college classes without putting in a lot of effort. Given your prior academic success, you’re probably expecting (or at least hoping) that you will do well in law school. Of course you’ve heard that law school is different than college – it’s more challenging, more time consuming, and more competitive – but you’re prepared to work harder to achieve your desired results. That’s good, because law school does take a lot of hard work, but it requires more than just putting in some extra study hours to be successful. So what, exactly, does it take to succeed in law school? Read on to gain some insight into how law school will be different from college, then check out part 2 of this series to learn what you can do to successfully adapt your college study strategies to law school and part 3 to learn what new skills you will need. [Read more…] about Making the Jump from College to Law School: The Differences
Beyond Outlining: 3 Additional Strategies to Help You Prepare for Finals
It doesn’t take long for even the greenest law student to discover that a good course outline is important in law school. Law school hallways are often filled with gossip about who has a great outline, where you can acquire outlines from top students, or which commercial outline is best for a particular class. Outlining is indeed essential to law schools success, but it shouldn’t be the only strategy you rely on when preparing for finals. In addition to creating, reviewing, and practicing with your own course outline, you should plan to incorporate some additional strategies into your finals preparations in order to ensure that you have fully mastered the material and skills you will need to succeed on your exams. Here are three additional strategies that go beyond traditional outlining to help you prepare for finals: [Read more…] about Beyond Outlining: 3 Additional Strategies to Help You Prepare for Finals
Not Sure You Want to Be a Lawyer? Consider Some Alternative Ways to Use Your J.D.
Becoming a lawyer is a huge investment, and not just financially. In addition to the cost of tuition, you’re also dedicating 3+ years of your life to go through the mentally and emotionally challenging process of graduating from law school. Then, you still have to make it past the bar exam! Because it’s such a huge commitment and such a long process, admitting that you may not actually want to be a lawyer can be difficult. Maybe you’re a 3L engaged in the post-graduation job search, and you can’t find yourself getting excited about anything with the word “attorney” in it. Maybe you’re a new lawyer who just started practicing and you’re feeling remarkably unfulfilled by the day to day work. Or maybe you’re a 1L or 2L, still in the middle of law school, but already starting to feel like practicing law isn’t your passion. Realizing (and accepting) that you don’t want to be a traditional attorney can be disquieting – you may feel like law school was a mistake or like you’ve been wasting your time going down this path. Well, don’t despair just yet! There are many alternative ways to take advantage of your J.D. and put your law school experience to good use. Check out some of the options below to see if anything seems right for you. [Read more…] about Not Sure You Want to Be a Lawyer? Consider Some Alternative Ways to Use Your J.D.