Law School Confidential · A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience · by Students, for Students by Miller, Robert H. -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Title Copyright Contents Dedication Author’s Note Foreword Part One: So You Wanna Be a Lawyer …

How to use This Book

I am a college student thinking about applying to law school, or I’m thinking about changing careers and applying to law school I’ve already been admitted to law school, and I’m nervous … But I’m already in law school… I wish I’d found this sooner I’m the parent, friend, sibling, or significant other of someone going to law school

Thelaw School Confidential Mentors Chapter 1: Thinking About Law School? Think Again …

My relative the lawyer made me do it I can’t ignore this amazing LSAT score, can I? I don’t have a mind for science, so … It’s the economy, stupid This ain’t Hollywood, son A Realistic Evaluation of Your Fitness for Law School The reading load The discipline The atmosphere The writing The commitment Taking time off before you apply Plan Your Application Process in Advance Recommendations Essays Your criminal history The Lsat The big picture

Chapter 2: Your Five Most Critical Hours: How to Beat the LSAT

So What is This “Lsat” Anyway? The reading comprehension section Logical reasoning Logic games The minutiae and related suggestions So what about the test prep courses? I bombed it—I know it—Should I cancel my score?

Chapter 3: Applying to Law School: Bait the Hooks Carefully and Cast the Nets Wide

Interview with Richard Geiger, Cornell Law School Additional strategies Strategy 1. Try to decide where you want to practice before you apply Strategy 2. Apply Early Action wherever possible Strategy 3. Proofread everything Strategy 4. Visit your top schools and keep in touch with the admissions office

Chapter 4: Choose Your School Wisely

The school’s regional and national reputation Pay the greatest attention to a school’s placement record The harsh reality Philosophy But what about…

Chapter 5: An Investment in Your Future: Funding Your Legal Education

Sources of funding General suggestions Some terms they’ll throw around in your aid package Federal loan programs Stafford Loans (formerly the “Guaranteed Student Loan “) Perkins Loan (formerly the “National Direct Student Loan “) Private loans Grants and scholarships Federal work-study Your day of reckoning

Part Two: The First Year, They Scare You to Death

Chapter 6: The Ten Things You Must Do Before Classes Begin

Before you Arrive on Campus 1. Read this book from cover to cover 2. Arrange for housing 3. Use the summer to get in shape 4. Read now, sign up later 5. Buy a computer and become computer literate 6. Check in with the registrar After you Arrive on Campus 7, Set up “headquarters*’ 8. Learn the “lay of the land” 9. Update your résumé 10. Get your books, study aids, and other supplies Recommended commercial outlines Bonus: Go to orientation! Contacts for commercial outlines

Chapter 7: So What Is a Tort Anyway? A Brief Overview of the First-Year Curriculum

The Subjects Civil Procedure Contracts Torts Property Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Constitutional Law Administrative Law

Chapter 8: Getting Out of the Gate—Applying the Lessons of Futures Past

Case briefing—their way Case briefing—my way (The five-step plan to success) Step One: Start each night with a lesson from your commercial outline Step Two: Brief in Technicolor Step Three: Supplement your notes and tab your statutes in class Step Four: Write your own outlines Determining your work schedule A word about study groups

Chapter 9: The Unspoken Code of Law School Etiquette

Things you Should Do It is your duty to follow the honor code Share your class notes, hornbooks, and outlines with anyone who needs them Phrase in-class comments as questions—not statements The wrong way to make a point A better way to make the same point When you’re speaking, speak up, and when you’re not, shut up! When referring to cases or statutes, provide page or section numbers Reign in your electronics Maintain a sense of humor Things you Shouldn’t Do Resist the urge to make unsolicited, tangential, or politically charged comments during lectures Don’t boast about your study habits Safeguard your reputation Adhere to your school’s recruiting guidelines Avoid all postmortem discussions about exams Never discuss grades

Chapter 10: The T-Minus One Month Checkpoint: How to Arrive Ahead of the Competition

I’ve missed a couple of classes, a couple of reading assignments, and I’m two weeks or less behind in outlining for each class I’ve fallen way behind in my outlining—what do I do? Panic button Read Legalities to catch up, and find four good student outlines for your courses What Else Do I Have to Do Between Now and Exams? Acquire old exams Clarify exam rules with each of your professors Send query letters to potential employers

Chapter 11: Making Your Summer Plans: How to Win the IL Recruiting Lottery

The firm Interning for a judge Working for a public-service organization Researching for a professor Working it

Chapter 12: Your First Semester Endgame

It’s time to find an off-campus location to study Mapping out the law How to create a “case map” Creating a bullet outline Taking sample exams Review sessions The final hours Exam day Examsmanship But wait… my exam is closed book! The “doomsday scenario” The Performance Self-Examtnation: Part One First-Semester Performance Evaluation: Part One

Chapter 13: Looking Behind and Looking Ahead: Assessing the Damage and Charting the Course for Your Second Semester

I got straight As, mostly As and B+’s, or I am ahead of the curve in most classes One grade is widely disparate from the others All grades at or below the mean The Performance Self-Examination: Part Two

Chapter 14: First-Year Endgame: Succeeding in Exams and the Law Review Competition

The law review competition So should you do it?

Chapter 15: Working for Free or Working for Pay, Your First Summer Paves the Way

For those clerking for a judge For those going to a firm For those going into public-service jobs Thoughts about your IL summer

Part Three: The Second Year, They Work You to Death

Chapter 16: Charting a Course for Your Upper Years

The bar exam preparation approach The survey approach The major or career-focus approach Majors The clinical approach Other considerations

Chapter 17: Your Survival Guide to Recruiting Season

How to decide where to interview How to prepare yourself for the screening interview Know your audience Be prompt and polite Dress conservatively So what are they going to ask me, anyway? When a “stunner” goes over the line What you should ask The things you should avoid A few horror stories to calm you down

Chapter 18: Everything You Need to Know About Callback Interviews

So what the heck is a “callback” anyway? Scheduling appointments Tackling the callback interview How to handle the recruiting meal When the callback is over Some horror stories to calm you down

Chapter 19: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Law Firm Hiring: An Interview with Douglas H. Meal of Ropes & Gray and David W. McGrath of Sheehan, Phinney, Bass & Green

The Summer Associateship Itself

Chapter 20: The Future Is Now: Using the “Relevance Calculus” to Choose a Firm

How to compare starting salaries Salary Comparison Chart Choosing a firm using the “relevance calculus” Description of factors in the relevance calculus The Relevance Calculus

Chapter 21: Back on the Chain Gang: Advice About Journal Membership

Writing your note or comment The case note The comment Choose a topic that fascinates you Find a mentor on the faculty Stay organized, and stay on deadline

Chapter 22: Restoring Balance: Moot Court, Public Service, and How to Reclaim the Life You’ve Lost

Public-service opportunities Moot court Inns of Court Law school committees

Chapter 23: Keys to Ascension: Turning 2L Summer Employment into a Permanent Offer

When you arrive Handling assignments Managing your workload Billing your time Using Westlaw and LEXIS at the firm Getting the work you want Getting feedback on your work Escaping the clutches of a possessive partner Confront problems immediately Getting along with the other summer associates Proper etiquette at firm social events Some closing thoughts

Part Four: … and the Third Year, They Bore You to Death …

Chapter 24: Demystifying Judicial Clerkships: Hie Thee to the Chambers

State Court Clerkships State trial and intermediate appellate courts State supreme courts (highest court) Federal Court Clerkships Federal district courts Specialty courts Federal circuit courts of appeals The United States Supreme Court Why People Clerk How to Apply for a Judicial Clerkship Choosing your judges What to send The cover letter Your résumé Your writing sample How to choose your recommenders Navigating the new law clerk hiring plan Preparing your applications When you return to campus Scheduling interviews The interview itself Accepting an offer

Chapter 25: Opportunity Knocks Again … A Second Chance at Recruiting

How to handle phone calls from people at your old firm If you didn’t get an offer from your 2L firm

Chapter 26: Last Semester Cross-Checks

Ensure that you have enough credits to graduate Ensure that you’ve taken and passed all required courses Cocurricular or extracurricular requirements Verify that your tuition has been paid Register for the bar exam and get your firm to pay for it Register for and take the MPRE Arrange a start date with your firm, judge, or placement Make advance accommodations in your new place of employment Make arrangements for your move well in advance

Chapter 27: The Final Hurdle—Strategies for the Bar Examination

When exam day nears Final thoughts

Chapter 28: Parting Thoughts

About the Author

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