Seeking Freeper advice on law school?

Me | 8/22/03 | Me

[Callahan]

I just started law school (packed with liberals, of course) in an evening division program. Combined with my day job, it's alot of work, so I want to do things right. Do any Freeper attorneys out there have advice for me as I embark on my legal career?

[Xthe17th]

Paging ya John.

[Larry Lucido]

The first two organizations I joined were Christian Legal Society and the Federalist Society. Turned out the memberships overlapped by about 90%.

[gridlock]

Find your local chapter of the Federalist Society. They won't help you with time pressure or your job, but they will help you keep your sanity!

If you don't have one, start one!

[Porterville]

Go to the registrar office and get your money back.

[paul51]

Find an honest way to make a living.

Sorry. Couldn't resist. Flame retardant suits on. I'm outa here.

[Servant of the Nine]

Being a Freeper won't help.
Before you are allowed to enter the third year of Law School you will have to present a medical certificate proving your Ethics have been surgically removed.

So9

[Callahan]

I'm trying to keep the negative thoughts out of my head. Otherwise, I'd end up swallowing a bottle of pills.

[Callahan]

Is anybody buds with Nino? A Supreme Court clerkship would be nice.

[Porterville]

Just kidding, I'm not a JD anyway. Just couldn't resist.

[Phlap]

What do you call 5000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?

A good start.

Go to med school. The world needs more doctors.

[AnAmericanMother]

Work hard. Be sure you either read the casebooks intelligently OR faithfully attend every class session (it's better to do both, but you absolutely have to do one or the other to pass.)

Try not to get bogged down in the minutiae of the older cases in the casebooks. Look for the overarching principles in each area of law. That's what your professors want to see on the exam.

Find a congenial small group to study with. It helps.

And don't worry if you hate law school. Law practice is much nicer (you don't have to be a blood-sucking hot-McDonald's-coffee-suing plaintiff's attorney. You can defend McDonald's and get paid regularly too!) :-D Clerking for a judge is great, I clerked for 2 years right after law school. Try to get a summer or part-time internship in a court after first or second year (trial or appellate). Don't forget to look at state and local courts for internships as well as the Feds.

Of course, I graduated law school in 1980, so some of this info may be just a trifle out of date . . . :-D

[afraidfortherepublic]

Get used to "lawyer jokes."

[linear]

Develop a thick skin and memorize lots of lawyer jokes. This is the only profession where people feel automatically compelled to denigrate you from the moment they meet you. As soon as someone tells you a lawyer joke, tell one back, that usually makes them stop.

Your first-year grades mean everything, and job searches will be doubly difficult since you are in night school. Since your time is precious, evaluate every activity you contemplate undertaking as to whether or not it will increase your chances of getting a job. One or two leadership/merit positions mean much more than a string of organizations in which you are simply a member. Law review is your top priority - it will open many doors to you.

Finally, never compromise your values, regardless of what the consequences may be. The only clients worth having are the ones that respect that.

[Bohemund]

I just started law school (packed with liberals, of course) in an evening division program. Combined with my day job, it's alot of work, so I want to do things right. Do any Freeper attorneys out there have advice for me as I embark on my legal career?

Study guides are your friends. Don't be shy about using Emanuels' or Gilbert's. Also, try to get your hands on bar review prep materials. These give a good overview of the basics.

Good luck!

[Callahan]

You're correct about not getting bogged down in the minutia. I wasted time on a practice exam tracing the evolution of alcohol liability law. The professor wasn't looking for that all.

[Congressman Billybob]

I trod your exact path, my friend. Went to law school at night, while being married, having two children, and working 50-hour weeks for an advertising firm that required national travel.

Advice? You want advice? Give up TV. Give up everything except wife, children, job and school. Forget the very definition of the word "weekend." For four years that will be an irrelevant word to you.

If need be, pace yourself. Carry a lower course load in regular semesters and make those up in the summer -- if your law school offers that option. You can forget the phrase "summer vacation," also. Always keep your eye on your goal, which is to graduate (roughly two-thirds of your classmates now will not make it), pass the bar, and then (shudder) enter the practice of law.

If I can be helpful, you can call me at home in Highlands, N.C. I'm in the book. (On the other hand, you can't call me right away 'cuz a lightning strike knocked out my phones yesterday. I'm in town at the library. But I'll be available soon.)

Congressman Billybob
(aka, John Armor, Esq.)

[pogo101]

Try to get your hands on some cram-for-the-bar-exam materials, perhaps castoffs from someone who just took the exam. If I could take law school over again, I'd actually TAKE the cram course BEFORE MY 1L YEAR. I'd've aced my law school grades.

[Callahan]

I don't have kids so I can't claim that cross. I am getting married next summer to a girl who is also in graduate school. I'd be interested to know how you dealt with the stress to your relationship.

[Dog Gone]

Look into this program.

It will help a lot.