Law School

[HelloKitty22]

Generally (although not always), reciprocity tends to be between states that are next to or near each other, like NY and NJ or VT and NH. If you forsee that you are going to be moving across country, like from NY to AZ, it is likely that you'll have to take the bar again in your new state. Unlike other professional licences, bar admission is not freely transferable from state to state. It can be a real bummer if you expect that you'll be moving around a lot.

[GeekyPenguin]

How is everyone in this admissions cycle doing with fee waiverS? I have about 10 right now, and almost all of them are from schools that I wanted to apply to anyway!

Thanks guys! Yea, I know that my life still has a few twists and turns to overcome but I was just asking due to the fact that I am earlybird at "real life". I am only 23.

[AXORissa]

Originally posted by HelloKitty22
Generally (although not always), reciprocity tends to be between states that are next to or near each other, like NY and NJ or VT and NH. If you forsee that you are going to be moving across country, like from NY to AZ, it is likely that you'll have to take the bar again in your new state. Unlike other professional licences, bar admission is not freely transferable from state to state. It can be a real bummer if you expect that you'll be moving around a lot.

actually, your statement about reciprocity isnt entirely true. http://www.crossingthebar.com/Reciprocity-Chart.htm]Here is the list of states that have reciprocity As you can see, its actually random, and some states dont have it at all, and others have it with many. It has nothing to do with closeness of the states.

and NJ doesnt have reciprocity with ANYONE, which stinks, and is the sole reason I am taking the NY bar. Well, not the sole reason, but a big one.

[ShaedyKD]

GP, can you please explain more about these fee waivers? They were sent to you by law schools, or by the LSAC? I'm re-applying to several schools and applying to a few more schools after not getting in anywhere last year. It's going to cost me at least $300 in application fees alone...
Should I contact the schools and explain that I have no money, or what?

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by ShaedyKD
GP, can you please explain more about these fee waivers? They were sent to you by law schools, or by the LSAC? I'm re-applying to several schools and applying to a few more schools after not getting in anywhere last year. It's going to cost me at least $300 in application fees alone...
Should I contact the schools and explain that I have no money, or what?

I got them from schools pretty randomly - I requested information packets from some schools after getting my first LSAT scores (I retook) and some enclosed fee waivers with the guidebooks. Other schools sent me the guidebook and sent me a fee waiver later. Some other schools just randomly sent me fee waivers.

When you register to take the LSAT (or sign up with LSAC) you can also register with the Candidate Referral Service (CRS) on their website by filling out the info with the CRS bubbles next to it. I did that, and that's how some of them got my information. It appears from talking to friends that they sent fee waivers to people with a score of about 160 or higher that said they were interested in attending school in that state.

There are also fee waivers for financial hardship, and there is more information on how to get those on the LSAC site.

[dphies00]

Hey everyone --

Does anyone have opinions about going to law school part time? I have a job with a company that I love and while they're not going to help with tutition, they will be flexible with my time commitments in the office.

People keep telling me that there's no way that I'll be able to go part time and keep up a 40 hour work week. I have other friends in grad school and they manage their time well between a career and school. I feel like I can do it!

Any thoughts?

[kddani]

Originally posted by dphies00
Hey everyone --

Does anyone have opinions about going to law school part time? I have a job with a company that I love and while they're not going to help with tutition, they will be flexible with my time commitments in the office.

People keep telling me that there's no way that I'll be able to go part time and keep up a 40 hour work week. I have other friends in grad school and they manage their time well between a career and school. I feel like I can do it!

Any thoughts?

Law school isn't really grad school, it's professional school. There is a difference in workload.
My school doesn't offer a part time program. However, the other law school in my city does (part time/evening). It takes them 4 years, plus summer, to be done. YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE IN LAW SCHOOL THAT LONG!!! 3 years is hard enough as it is. Even though they are part time, they still end up taken 12 credits sometimes, which is just about a full time workload.

Also, after your first year, you're going to want/should work in the legal field. Unless your current job is law related, you're going to have to go somewhere else.

How flexible is the office, really? 40 hours a week, plus at least 10 hours of classes, time going between the two, studying, getting to know your fellow law students, is going to be tough. Yeah, it's possible (nothing is impossible) but it is not a good idea if you want to keep your health, sanity, grades, and current job.

Is there a part time program even in the same city as where you work? have you been accepted yet? If not, I would strongly encourage you to talk with the people at the law school.

My personal opinion is DON'T DO IT! Pick one or the other.

Right now, i'm working 20 hours a week at a law firm and taking 13 credits. It's NOT easy to do. Not to mention the fact that I have to start trying to find a job for when I graduate and start preparing for the bar next semester.

[AXORissa]

Originally posted by dphies00
Hey everyone --

Does anyone have opinions about going to law school part time? I have a job with a company that I love and while they're not going to help with tutition, they will be flexible with my time commitments in the office.

People keep telling me that there's no way that I'll be able to go part time and keep up a 40 hour work week. I have other friends in grad school and they manage their time well between a career and school. I feel like I can do it!

Any thoughts?

I have a few friends that do this, and its a LOT of work. I say only work if this job will advance your legal career and will substantially help pay for the cost of school. Its a huge committment, and it can be done, but you'll be very busy. It helps if your job is in the same location as your law school. My friend works 5-10 min from her law school, so its not as frustrating as it could be.

but there are plenty of people who do it, so it can be done. Good luck!

[Munchkin03]

Originally posted by kddani
Law school isn't really grad school, it's professional school. There is a difference in workload.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for saying that.

There seems to be a lot of confusion between the workloads of each. You could work part time/rush/etc while getting your MA in History, but you can't in Law, Business, Architecture, Public Health, anything like that.

Professional school should be seen as your JOB, and your top priority. Just take the three years off and devote it to doing well in school. That way, you can get a better job than if you worked and were in school part-time.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

I know quite a few people who have earned professional degrees part-time and have successful careers. Sometimes people cannot afford to take time off from work and go to school full-time.

dphie00, good luck whatever you decide to do!

Is there anyone who is pursuing this area of law at the present time? That is definitely an area of interest for me. I have a question, though. What schools are 'big' on this type of practice? I think the only two colleges I have heard about, as far as ent. law is concerned, are UCLA and N.Y.U. Are there any others? Any info would be very much appreciated. Thanks

[ShaedyKD]

Does anyone have helpful hints for personal statements? I'm on my second round of applications and yet again, I'm stuck on this stupid essay. I am at a loss for what to use for a topic. I'm right out of school so I have no significant work experience. (My jobs have consisted of restaurants, daycare, and filing at a law firm). I did an internship, but have no memorable andecdotes from that. Besides, it was at the State Attorney's Office and I know a statement about "Why I want to be an Assistant State Attorney One Day" will not go over well. I feel so funny talking about myself, and am having a very hard time writing about "what makes me stand out from everyone else."

Any help would be greatly appreciated because this is the only thing standing between me and mailbox, and I want to get these puppies in the mail early this time!

[HelloKitty22]

One choice is to write about why you want to go to law school. A lot of law students have no clue why they are there. If you can write something that is well thought out and pursuasive about why you want to go to law school or what you want to accomplish with your education, that will show that you have the commitment needed to be sucessful in your legal education. You don't have to say that you want to go to law school because worked for a lawyer or that you've wanted to be a lawyer since you were five, just where your inspiration came from or what your ultimate goal is and why.
That's just one suggestion. Try not to concentrate on trying to set yourself apart from others, if that is blocking your writing. Rather, try showing why you would make a great candidate and why offering you a spot would benefit the school and the legal profession.
Hope this helps!

Originally posted by ShaedyKD
Does anyone have helpful hints for personal statements? I'm on my second round of applications and yet again, I'm stuck on this stupid essay. I am at a loss for what to use for a topic. I'm right out of school so I have no significant work experience. (My jobs have consisted of restaurants, daycare, and filing at a law firm). I did an internship, but have no memorable andecdotes from that. Besides, it was at the State Attorney's Office and I know a statement about "Why I want to be an Assistant State Attorney One Day" will not go over well. I feel so funny talking about myself, and am having a very hard time writing about "what makes me stand out from everyone else."

Any help would be greatly appreciated because this is the only thing standing between me and mailbox, and I want to get these puppies in the mail early this time!

Girl, why are we in the exact same boat with regards to job history? I'm working at a law firm filing right now. And instead of the restaurant, I work at a clothing store. The info sent by HelloKitty is very useful, don't you agree? Thanks, HK