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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: ,

The Dos and Don’ts of a Law School Diversity Statement

January 14, 2020 by Leave a Comment

The Dos and Don’ts of a Law School Diversity StatementWe welcome back guest writer Christen Morgan to talk about working on your law school diversity statement.

Looking for ways to boost your law school admissions packet? I assure you you’re not alone. During the time I was applying to law school, this was something I was frantic about. My LSAT score wasn’t very high, so I became fixated on assembling an admissions packet that would hopefully be sufficient for the reviewer to simply overlook my score or at the very least not give it too much standing. I mean, a girl can dream right? Ultimately, however, I knew I needed to provide documentation that would support my score and somewhat provide an explanation for why it was so low. Thus I completed a LSAT Addendum and Diversity Statement as the emblems of support I would use to supplement my personal statement and boost my overall packet. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Preparing for Law School Tagged With: ,

Three Things I Learned in Law School That Weren’t in the Curriculum

January 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Three things I learned in law school that weren't in the curriculum.As we start off a new year, please welcome back guest writer Christen Morgan, attorney and Real Estate Specialist at a wireless infrastructure company, to discuss what three major lessons she learned from law school (and no they were not on any class syllabus).

It has almost been two years since I’ve graduated law school, and I kid you not, my experience is beginning to become a blur. An experience that was essentially the cornerstone of my life for three years, is beginning to become nuggets of memories that I struggle to piece together. I’m forgetting the names of former classmates and don’t even get me started on the course curriculum, that vanished right after taking the bar exam.

Now don’t get me wrong, my faded memory is by no means an indication that law school was a waste of time. While I can’t recite the Rule Against Perpetuities Theory, law school completely restructured the way I think. Law school taught me more than the nuts and bolts that were embedded within the 90 credits of coursework I completed. It taught me more about myself and the personal limits I had to institute for survival. It taught me that law professors aren’t necessarily the dry, authoritative characters that are portrayed in tv/film, but that they are in fact normal human beings with incredible minds and great senses of humor. Law school taught me that it is in fact possible to balance a social life in what seems to be a period of optimal stress and it gave me the inexplicable feeling of what it means to be an advocate for someone regardless of whether it was in a mock simulated setting or just a one-line contribution to a successful motion during a summer internship. It’s probably evident that I could go on and on with this list, but I’ll spare you and just cover my three favorite takeaways that weren’t included in the curriculum.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , ,

Social Life SOS: I Have No Social Life Because I’m in Law School

November 14, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Social help SOS: I have no social life because I'm a law studentPlease welcome back 2L guest writer, Shirlene Armstrong, to discuss how law school has impacted her social life, and how she has managed to find (some) balance.

Forgotten are the days of fun and excitement. Forgotten are the late nights with friends and bar nights. Forgotten are going out and enjoying other’s company. Forgotten are the days of making memories and trying new experiences. Forgotten are the days and nights of youth and undergraduate. This is the life of a typical law student. Hopelessly searching for ways to break the chains that tie them to their casebooks and escape the confines of the law school library. It is a sad and tragic time in the law student’s life. But, does it have to be? One of the most common complaints of law students is that they have no time for what they want to do – that they have “no social life.” This is attributed to the law school experience (re: craziness). However, law school and your social life are not mutually exclusive. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Time Management Tagged With: , ,

Why Mental Health and Sleep Are Important for Law School Success

November 7, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Why mental health and sleep is important for law school successPlease welcome back 2L guest writer, Shirlene Armstrong, to discuss why self care is so important in law school (she learned the hard way)!

So it’s the start of my 2L year, and I’m really excited to get the year going. I’m in my “work to death” year at law school, so I knew that I would be busier than last year and I would have to strategize how I tackle my work-school-life balance. However, I didn’t do a great job of that in my second week of 2L year. Unfortunately, I neglected my health and wound up sick. I hope you learn from my mistakes and realize that your health (and sleep) are important in order to be successful in law school. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Surviving Law School Tagged With: , , ,

Advice for First Generation Law Students

October 31, 2017 by 5 Comments

Advice for 1st Generation Law StudentsToday we welcome back Shirlene Armstrong, 2L guest writer, to talk about her experience as a first generation college and law student and to offer some advice to other students in the same situation!

I’m a first generation college student, meaning I am the only one in my immediate family (and in my situation, most of my extended family as well) to have gone to college and get a degree. Thus, I’m also the only one in my family who is in law school and (pending passing of the bar) will be a lawyer. As a first gen in her 2L year, I have learned some of the challenges and benefits of being a first gen in law school and how to work it to my advantage. Here is some of my overall advice for first generation law students! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Surviving Law School Tagged With: , , , ,

2L Perspective – 1st Week Back (Round 2!)

September 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment

2L Perspective on the first week backToday we welcome back guest writer, and now 2L, Shirlene Armstrong, to discuss her first week back to law school. It’s a totally different experience than 1L year, and she’s sharing it all with us.

The days are getting shorter, the leaves are beginning to change, and the weather is starting to get a bit colder. That’s right, back-to-school season is upon us. This year instead of starting my law school journey, I am continuing it with my 2L year. The year they say that you are “worked to death.” This is a recollection of how my first week went and how this year and last year are already much different. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2L, Surviving Law School Tagged With: , ,

5 Things I’ve Learned as an “Older” Law Student From My Younger Colleagues

August 1, 2017 by Leave a Comment

What I've Learned as an "Older" Law Student from my Younger Colleagues.

Today we welcome back Jaclyn Wishnia, rising 2L at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and aspiring entertainment law attorney, to discuss the generation gap at law schools and how to work together at any age.

Like most law students, I felt both nervous and excited on my first day of law school orientation. I also shared many of the same thoughts my colleagues have mentioned as well, such as would I make friends easily? Or would everyone be as cold and competitive as the rumor mill suggests? They were the typical questions of doubt anyone entering a new social situation, would ask themselves. Unlike many of my colleagues though, one major concern was dominating my nerves that day: my age.

It took me six years to finally apply to law school after college; the bulk of my twenties. I had lived through almost a decade of failures and triumphs, worked for prominent firms and attorneys, networked with top CEOs of reputable companies, and best of all, was now certain that I belonged in law school. Why was a petty number destroying my confidence? [Read more…]

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

Perspective on Being a First Generation College Student and Lawyer

June 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Being a First Generation College Student and Lawyer: A First-Hand Perspective

Today, we welcome back Shirlene Armstrong, guest writer and now rising second-year law student to share her personal reflections on her experience as a first generation college and law student.

From a young age, my parents encouraged my sister and I to work hard and be successful at school. Ever since I can remember I knew that I would eventually go to college and get a degree, no matter what obstacles I had to overcome. With the love and support of my family, I became a first-generation college student. [Read more…]

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

Pen and Chisel Q&A: A Quick Intro To the Law School Diversity Statement

August 25, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Eileen ConnerAre you looking for help with your law school diversity statement? Please welcome back law school admissions essay expert Eileen Conner, founder of Pen and Chisel, who has a quick intro to the diversity statement.

If you missed any of her other admissions Q&As, check them out here.

In addition to your personal statement, you’ll likely need to write a few supplemental essays for your application to law school. One supplemental essay that often raises questions among applicants is the diversity statement. Let’s take a quick look at what the diversity statement is and why you might write one. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Law School Applications Tagged With:
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