Wondering who’s behind the Law School Toolbox and Bar Exam Toolbox? Meet Alison and Lee, the co-founders.
Believe it or not, Lee and Alison actually met randomly on Twitter! It was a match made in heaven. As it turns out, they lived less than a mile apart and share many typical San Francisco obsessions (including coffee, yoga, and year-round layering). They also found that they shared a passion for helping law students avoid needless stress and be the best law students and lawyers they can be. That was where the Law School Toolbox started and the rest is history.
Alison and Lee are not only the founders of the Law School Toolbox. They also created the Bar Exam Toolbox (a resource for bar exam takers) and the Catapult Career Conference, they host the popular Law School Toolbox podcast, and they’re frequent speakers and contributors at legal conferences, law schools, and around the web. Check out the Press Page to learn more.
More about Lee
Lee Burgess is the only child of two attorneys, so she had little choice but to become a lawyer herself! Perhaps it was because she had absorbed legal jargon with her breakfast cereal for years, but Lee did very well in law school at the University of San Francisco. She graduated cum laude, was a TA for Contracts and Torts, and was the Managing Editor of the USF Law Review.
After graduating in 2008, Lee worked in a large law firm until she received a letter from the California Board of Bar Examiners about being a bar exam grader. Rather than grade for the bar exam, Lee decided her real passion was helping students conquer the California bar exam! So she left her law firm job and became a private California bar exam tutor and law school tutor. Various Bay Area law schools recognized her teaching talent, and Lee has served as an adjunct member of the faculty at several local law schools.
Lee’s advice has been featured in a variety of publications including: Solo Practice University, Ms. JD, ABA Student Lawyer, LexisNexis, Greenhorn Legal, Business Insider, Accepted, Happy Go Legal, Student Appeal, About.com, and I Passed My Bar Exam. She also teaches a course for Solo Practice University on passing the bar exam.
More about Alison
Alison Monahan had a lot of trouble deciding what she wanted to be when she grew up. One day at lunch, she decided to go to law school. Luckily, she was pretty good at it so she managed to graduate from Columbia Law School in 2006 as a Kent Scholar, a Stone Scholar, and a member of the Columbia Law Review. She was also a Civ Pro TA.
After law school, Alison clerked for a federal District Court judge and worked as a patent litigator in a large law firm in San Francisco. She eventually left to start The Girl’s Guide to Law School®, which rapidly became a leading resource for women (and some men) embarking on a legal career.
Alison is featured regularly in a variety of publications including: Above the Law, Bloomberg Law, About.com, LexisNexis, Ms. JD, The Grindstone, Comedians at Law, Student Appeal, Happy Go Legal and others. The Girl’s Guide to Law School was recognized in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 as an ABA Top 100 Blawg. Alison is also a frequent speaker at law schools and legal conferences.
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