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About Zoila Sanchez

During law school, she served as a Legal Clerk with the federal government at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Counsel to the Inspector General in Washington, DC. Currently, she works for a health and business law firm. She enjoys spending down time mentoring students sitting for the bar exam through the American Bar Association Council on Legal Education Opportunity program and taking it easy with her three poodles.

Ms. Sanchez holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stony Brook University, a Master of Public Health from the University of Arizona and Juris Doctor from Hofstra University.

Experiencing Grief in Law School

February 28, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Experiencing Grief in Law SchoolThis week we welcome back guest writer Zoila Sanchez to discuss surviving grief during law school.

The loss of a loved one can be difficult to process. When loss strikes while you are in the middle of law school, you may want to hit the pause button so that you can properly grieve. Generally, we get a few days to gather ourselves before jumping back into the swing of things, which is a harsh reality as there may be a lot of feelings hitting you all at once.

If you find yourself facing the loss of a loved one as a law student, here are a few tips to help you along the way so that you can feel the comfort and support you need to heal from your loss: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Surviving Law School Tagged With: ,

Is Going to Law School Easier for Some and Harder on Others?

December 20, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Is Going to Law School Easier for Some and Harder on Others?This week we welcome back guest writer Zoila Sanchez to talk about how different people can have an easier or more difficult time getting in to law school and how to handle that.

If you are a prospective law student and in the process of applying to law school — then you know that the path to get into law school is a major commitment and requires several, difficult steps! As a prospective student, you have likely discovered by now that the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) was only the beginning, and that law school can be competitive and takes a lot of hard work to excel.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: 0L, Law School Applications Tagged With: , ,

Law School Depression and Anxiety

November 8, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Law School Depression and AnxietyThis week we welcome back guest writer Zoila Sanchez to discuss dealing with mental health issues as a law student.

Late and long nights of reading confusing case law. Preparing for being called on during the dreaded cold calls. Feeling like you are faking it until you make it. Competition to make it onto prestigious journals and into extracurricular activities. Is law school supposed to feel miserable? Is it normal to feel like you are a failure? Do you experience muscle tension, mood swings, feelings of sadness?

These experiences may be shared across law students and are somewhat normalized. After all, we all voluntarily signed up for this difficult endeavor.

How do you know when your mental health needs attention during law school?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Surviving Law School Tagged With: , ,

Making Moves in Today’s Job Market

October 11, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Making Moves in Today’s Job MarketThis week we welcome back guest writer Zoila Sanchez to talk about navigating the current job market.

The prospects around the legal job market may seem discouraging and even confusing.

On a daily basis, we are hit with ever-changing news about the economy and the job market. Currently, there appears to be uncertainty around a recession. Specifically, we are hearing that the nation is headed toward a recession, and other sources indicating that we are already in a recession.

This understandably leaves concerns for the class of 2023, and for current JD job-seekers as employers are likely faced with limiting their demand to protect their costs in the face of recession discussions, and inflation.

Regardless of job market predictions and prospects, it is always a good idea to make daily progress by:

  • remaining hopeful
  • exercising your networks; and
  • thinking outside of the box

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Jobs Tagged With: , , ,

What I Wish I Thought of a Month Before Law School

August 2, 2022 by Leave a Comment

What I Wish I Thought of a Month Before Law SchoolThis week we welcome back guest writer Zoila Sanchez to discuss what she would have done the month before she started law school, if she had known then what she knows now!

Congratulations on committing to a law school program that you will start very soon! It may feel like a crazy time, with many logistics that need to get done before you begin school.

Aside from the to-do list, here are some potential things to consider—which I personally wish I knew—before law school officially begins:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Preparing for Law School Tagged With: , ,

How to Keep up with the Law

May 10, 2022 by Leave a Comment

How to Keep up with the LawThis week we welcome back guest writer Zoila Sanchez to discuss how to keep yourself informed about what’s going on in the legal field.

If you are interested in going to law school, you have likely learned about the various steps you need to take to successfully get there. For example, you must take the Law School Admissions Test (“LSAT”), write a personal statement, and obtain letters of recommendation.

While you are in the pre-law process of exploring the possibility of attending law school and familiarizing yourself with the requirements to be a successful applicant, it can sometimes feel like you are not engaging with the reason why you wanted to attend in the first place. For example, in my own personal experience, I spent so much time carving out hours to study for the LSAT aside from my full-time job and other commitments, that I did not have the time to connect with the social justice issues that inspired me to attend law school. I discovered through an incredible pre-law program that there are easy ways to quickly plug into legal issues in the world today. [Read more…]

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Following Your Own Law School Timeline

April 12, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Following Your Own Law School TimelineThis week we welcome guest writer Zoila Sanchez to talk about how to focus on your own law school experience and adapt to what you need to in order to make it through school.

As you may have already realized, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to experiencing law school as we are all different and rarely fall into the “traditional” law student mold. For example, some students are parents and attend school full or part-time. Some students are returning for a second or third degree.

You may have experienced feeling “behind” in some way. For example, you may feel late on securing an internship merely because someone else has already interviewed or secured one.

As a law student, I remember representing a bar prep program and promoting a prescribed schedule to help students stay on track. Specifically, there were dates on when to complete the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). While the recommendation seemed to emphasize starting early to set yourself up for success, I came to realize how so much of the real-life law school experience for many is set to a totally different pace than what was on the schedule. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , ,

Carving Your Own Path in the Legal Field

March 1, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Carving Your Own Path in the Legal FieldThis week we welcome back guest writer Zoila Sanchez to discuss how you can find your own, unique area of the law.

When I was an undergraduate, it seemed to me that most students fell into either pre-medical school track, psychology, or business. I recall our career center heavily focusing on business opportunity events, however, none of these paths seemed to spark my interests. We did not hear much about other possibilities.

[Read more…]

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Trailblazing As A First-Generation Law Student

October 26, 2021 by Leave a Comment

Trailblazing As A First-Generation Law StudentThis week we welcome new guest writer Zoila Sanchez to talk about her experience as a first generation law student.

You made it past the LSAT and now you are taking law classes! It seems like a dream come true as you have come so far as the first in your family and/or community to pursue a legal career journey. Maybe your journey has been especially challenging and you left your home country to pursue an LLM, or you are a non-traditional law student. Sometimes the initial excitement deflates at certain points in law school, when you are overwhelmed, struggling to keep up, and/or find students who come from a family of attorneys or have siblings that provided them with tips or outlines. Being a trailblazing law student can be discouraging at times. Here are encouraging tips to embrace being a leader in this respect: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Studying Tagged With: ,