Law school advice

Should I go to law school?

I have thought about this a lot over the years. Moreover, I have discussed this issue with a number of students who struggled with the decision of whether or not to go to law school. I understand why -- some students went to law school who should not have gone and now regret the entire experience. But at the same time, I have had students go to law school who enjoyed the experience and are now enjoying the practice of law. I have worked with lawyers who hated what they were doing; I have worked with lawyers that couldn't see themselves doing anything else.

So how is someone supposed to know? Short answer is that there is no right choice -- the fact is that you can be happy no matter what you do (or don't do). I can tell you some of the things that you should think about first.

I would start with this: most people who go to law school become lawyers. That may seem obvious, but it's more than that. Being a lawyer means practicing law. Many people believe that a JD is a good entry point into management. It's not. Yes, there are many businesspeople who have JDs, but their success is in spite of the law background, not because of it. If your goal is to be in business, then go get an MBA.

Law school takes time. It's three years and, because of the nature of law school, it is difficult to work and go to school at the same time. Therefore, when you think about the cost of school, remember that there is an opportunity cost -- that's three years when you could be doing something else for more money.

Law school can be expensive. You have to be very careful to balance the costs of the school with your expected income after graduation.

There is a hierarchy to law schools. The fact is that when you choose a law school, there are a number of jobs that are foreclosed to you. Some law firms will only hire from certain schools. Much of this is based on geography -- OCU grads will get jobs in OKC, but may struggle if they take that degree to Dallas and try to get a job there. Law school rankings are important. It does not change your education -- you can get an excellent education no matter where you go. But unfortunately it matters to law firms. From now on the first important thing on your resume is going to be the law school you went to and you will be judged accordingly. The old saying was "go to the best law school you can get in to" and that is probably good advice. But remember, rankings are not absolute -- if you want to live in a certain region, your chances are increased by going to law school there.

But it's not all bad news. There are many reasons to go to law school. I enjoyed my time there and have no regrets about law school or practicing law.

Law school is a meritocracy. When you go to law school, it does not matter where you went to undergrad or what you majored in. You and everyone in your class are starting at the same level. I went to a small commuter school in Louisiana; one of my best friends went to Princeton. In law school we were all the same. All grading in law school is blind. Professors don't know who you are when they are grading your exams. Everyone is truly equal.

Law school is interesting. Learning about the law is really learning about the framework that society rests on. I felt like I understood for the first time how the world works.

You can make a difference. If you see a problem in society, being a lawyer empowers you to do something about it.

Being a lawyer is prestigious. People are impressed with it. That goes a long way in life.

I know this is all a lot of information. If you want to discuss it further, I would be happy to visit with you, either in person or on the phone. Law school is a huge decision so I would be happy to give you my thoughts.

Hope that helps! Griffin

Drafting your personal statement

General thoughts

In drafting your personal statement, you should keep in mind that law schools are primarily interested in who you are, why you want to go to law school, and why you want to go now. Above all else, law schools are looking for students who will do well in law school and in life.

Personal statements usually go in one of three directions: how I overcame adversity, how my past experience motivated me to attend law school, or how I will use my law degree in the future. I think the best statements come from those applicants who can combine two or three of those.

Your essay should begin with a strong image. This statement will become the theme of the statement. As you write, remember to keep that theme prominent. Yes, you can divert away to illustrate another aspect of your life, but remember to come back to the theme.

Don’t recycle an essay that you used to apply for undergraduate admission.

Make your voice authentic. Don’t make up a story or even embellish one. Everyone will have moments in their life that resonate. Law schools will see (and reject) a thousand “why I want to help the downtrodden” essays. Make your statement unique by making it about you and your life.

Writing tips

Work on your writing. Write multiple drafts. I believe the key to writing well lies in three concepts: structure, strength, and excitement. As you write a paper (and especially when you revise it), you should keep these ideas in mind.

First, structure. I like to outline a paper first, creating headings and subheadings and then filling in the details as I delve further into the paper. Investigate the outline view in Word – it will help you build a structure and maintain it throughout the paper.

Second, strength. To make writing strong, avoid adverbs. I see the overuse of adverbs everywhere, especially in legal writing. I understand where it comes from. We use adverbs in our conversation and it seems natural to use them in our writing as well. Moreover, we believe that adding an ‘-ly’word will strengthen our point, but it does not. Often, the adverb weakens the phrase. I had a boss once who hated the world ‘clearly’ (which you see in legal documents all the time). I understood his frustration – clarity does not require a word indicating its clarity. Try it yourself: “The plaintiff is clearly mistaken” versus “The plaintiff erred.” Which is the stronger statement?

You can also make your writing stronger by reducing compound sentences. Law schools do not provide bonus points for lengthy sentences. Two short sentences with appropriate transitional phrases will prove stronger than a lengthy compound sentence held up with ands and buts.

Finally, excitement. Writing requires excitement to entice the reader into reading the entire paper. You should think excitement as you write. Avoid the passive voice. But beyond that, remember that we can make writing exciting by reducing (or eliminating!) forms of the verb ‘to be.’ I know that sometimes we must use the word (“I was born” is better than “my mother bore me”) but still, keep it to a minimum. Too hard, you say? Review everything I wrote in this text – how many forms of the verb ‘to be’ do you see?

The same holds true for the past perfect tense (have as a helper word). Use the past perfect only if it is necessary to clarify when something took place. Otherwise, prefer the past tense. Compare “I have slept ten hours” to “I slept ten hours.” You should find that the latter makes for a stronger phrase, which makes for a more exciting read.

I hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Admissions interviews

You may have the opportunity to interview with an admissions officer of a school that you are applying to. In that case, you should prepare some questions in advance. This will indicate not only your interest in that particular school, but also your seriousness about law school as the next step in your career path. There are lots of sources online about what to ask, but here are my suggestions:

Potential questions

Questions about admission

• what are some of the characteristics you look for in applicants?

• how much impact does the personal statement carry?

• when can I expect to hear a decision?

• what is your acceptance rate for in-state/out-of-state students?

Questions about finance

• are there scholarship opportunities? [Scholarships are tricky. A school may offer a large scholarship, but it still may not be the best value. At my law school (University of Texas), the school offered mostly need-based scholarships because of the belief that the lower tuition compared to its peers already served as a merit-based scholarship.]

• what is the typical debt load for a law graduate? [It's easy to borrow money but you should begin your legal career by having an estimate of what you will owe at the end of law school.]

• what are typical first year salaries? [this will differ based on type of law -- public/big law firms/small to medium firms/geographic locations.]

Questions about the school

• what is your incoming class size?

• what is the typical size of a first year section?

• can I take a tour/attend a class? [Taking a class was a good way to get a feel for the school.]

• what resources do you have to assist in the transition to law school?

• what opportunities are there for me to meet and interact with my peers?

• what opportunities are there for me to meet and interact with professors?

• which courses are required?

• what is the grading curve for first year students?

• what percentage of students participate in moot court/mock trial?

• What is the competitive environment like? [law school involves competition against your fellow students -- a mandatory curve means that, the worse your friends do, the better it is for you. My experience was that UT students were extremely supportive of one another, though that could have changed. I have heard horror stories about other schools.]

Questions about jobs

• what is the placement rate for students that graduated last year? What is your typical placement rate?

• how many students find jobs through on campus interviews?

• what is the on-campus interview process? [UT traditionally required employers to interview a certain number of people who sign up for interviews instead of being solely based on invitation, like most schools.]

• Are there clerkship opportunities for first years?

• How many second-years receive clerkship offers?

• what kind of services are provided by the Career Services office?

Hope that helps a bit!
Griffin

Low cost LSAT prep

As I am sure you are aware, the LSAT is a very different sort of test. It is definitely not one that lends itself to “studying” in the regular sense.

I don’t know of any particular book that will help. My usual recommendation for students is to purchase a logic puzzle book. You can find a number of them on Amazon and pretty much all of them are less than $10. Those logic questions, which take up so much space on the LSAT, are the types of things that most of us don’t have any experience with. So just getting used to the types of problems that you will see is important. And if you decide to take a formal LSAT prep course later, you will be prepared for the types of questions that you will see over and over.

Reading comprehension is important on the LSAT. One of the best (and least expensive) means of prepping yourself is to download some of the college level reading comprehension worksheets that you can find online. You should be able to find many free worksheets that contain answers and an explanation for the answers.

The LSAT is a time-sensitive test. Thus, anything you can do to improve your reading speed can pay off. In my case, I think one of the reasons I did well on the LSAT is that I read quickly. Reading fast is a skill that you can practice and get better at. Again, just spend some time with Google to locate helpful sites. For instance, you can find some tips here: How to Read Faster: 10 Ways to Increase Your Reading Speed.

I am not sure what to think about LSAT prep courses. I know that the prices for these things can range from free (for Khan Academy) all the way to $1800 (for Princeton Review). I just had a former student come by my office this morning to tell me that he had gotten into OU law. I asked what he did and he had taken LSAT Demon course. He said that he had taken the $100 month-long course and that he believed that he scored higher because of it.

In terms of strategy, I would utilize your free and inexpensive resources first. You can then take a sample LSAT test, which would give you some idea as to whether you need the additional practice that a prep course could provide.

And remember that, at the end of the day, the LSAT is an aptitude test. It is designed to measure potential success in law school. I believe that there is a high correlation between a high LSAT score and law school success. You may want to take a minute after getting your LSAT score and weigh whether or not you want to pursue law school. There are many paths to happiness in the world and law school is just one of them.