The Girl's Guide to Law School
Get In, Get Through, Stay You
Much of your law school education will take place outside of the classroom. Although rankings are important, if you can find a school that supports your interests, your time in law school will be a lot more rewarding.
Before you commit to a school, it’s important to look at what activities are offered, and how widely available they are, so you can ensure you’ll have something interesting to do (other than go to class).
Congratulations, you’ve survived law school exams! (If you’re still working on them, just bookmark this for later reading, and keep studying.) What’s next?
If you’re like most law students, you envision a restful, relaxing holiday break, full of catching up with friends, family, and loved ones and just generally chilling out. If that happens automatically for you, fantastic! At least for me, things never seemed to go quite as planned.
I’m not asking this to be snarky, I really wonder:
What the hell is wrong with lawyers?
Congratulations! All of your law school applications are in, and you’re chilling out, waiting for the acceptances to roll in. Naturally you should take some time off, relax, and catch up on all the things that fell by the wayside while you were stressing over your applications.
But, what else? Committing to a law school is a big deal. Here are 10 things you can do right now, while you wait, to ensure you’re making a wise choice:
Today’s interview is with Radhika Singh Miller, program manager for Educational Debt Relief and Outreach at Equal Justice Works. If you’re considering public interest work, Equal Justice Works has your back!
They’ll help you chose the right law school, get the in-school experience you need, and fund your work after you graduate. In addition, they’re on the front lines of the education debt fight, helping ensure that important public interest work can continue, even in the face of crippling student debt loads.
Without further ado, here’s Radhika!
Yesterday, I went to a really fantastic event, the TEDxBayArea Global Women Entrepreneurs conference. (Seriously, if you’re in the Bay Area, try to go to this next year. It’s great.)
Kara Swisher, who is apparently very famous in certain circles, gave a fascinating talk about work and life, in the context of having recently suffered a stroke while on a business trip in Hong Kong.
In it, she talked about her grandmother, who was fond of telling her to work less, because:
The graveyards are full of indispensable people.
This wording struck me, because it echoed the advice I once gave a friend who was starting her first BigLaw job:
If you want to maintain some semblance of a life, make sure you don’t become too indispensable.
I’ve been mulling over this idea of being “indispensable” since yesterday, and I’ll share with you what I’ve realized.
Lots of people start law school thinking they’d eventually like to do public interest work. Unfortunately, many of them soon encounter the harsh financial realities of such a path.
Today’s guest post, from Susan K. Gurley, Deputy Director of Equal Justice Works, outlines what Equal Justice Works is doing to help young lawyers stay on the public interest path, despite the obstacles.
BigLaw, or Heroin?From the outside, it looks kind of glamorous.
It sucks you in, from the very first hit.
It destroys your social relationships.
It’s physically destructive.
It takes over your life.
It’s hard to quit, even if you want to.
It’s eventually going to kill you. Or at least make you wish you were dead.
Where’s Nancy Reagan when you need her?!?
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Image by snazz_de via stock.xchng.
If you’re concerned about finding a job after law school, today’s interview is for you! We’re talking to Philip Guzman, Director of Public Service Programs at North Carolina Central University School of Law.
After an extremely varied career, as a teacher (high school and law school), prosecutor, law firm associate, solo practitioner, and more, he’s turned to career counseling — a job for which I’m sure he’s uniquely suited!
He’s got great advice on evaluating whether law school is right for you, and for finding a job when you graduate. Take it away!
Philip: First of all, thanks for having me on The Girl’s Guide to Law School. I love what you are doing on your blog and on Twitter!
In the past, students made the decision to attend law school for varying reasons, not simply to practice law:
#1: Are You Passionate About Being a Lawyer?
Now, given the state of the economy and changing employment hiring patterns in both BigLaw and the public sector,
Law school should only be for those who can articulate a true reason for attending — the desire to become a practicing attorney!
A student needs to be able to say, “This is my passion, this is what a really want to do!”
I have no idea if this story is apocryphal, but I like it.
Someone once asked Napoleon how he decided where to assign soldiers.
His reply:
Soldiers are either smart or dumb, and lazy or energetic.
And what about the dumb and energetic? “Those people,” Napoleon replied, “I shoot. They just get in everyone’s way.”
