Minimalism in Law School: How Paring Down Can Help You Succeed

Minimalism in Law School: How Paring Down Can Help You SucceedPlease welcome back guest writer Jennifer Warren, attorney and Academic Achievement Coordinator at Oklahoma City University School of Law, to discuss how minimalism may help you to succeed in law school.

In college I often joked that I could fit all of my possessions into a single duffle bag. It wasn’t much of an exaggeration – between relocating each summer, traveling, or moving to new apartments, I had definitely learned to let go of nonessentials. Limiting the items I was sentimentally attached to didn’t just make it easier to move, however, it also brought a sense of simplicity and orderliness to my life that I found gratifying.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve definitely acquired more possessions – a house, a car, a million items for my kids! – but I still make a concerted effort to limit the clutter as much as possible. I’ve also learned that my natural instinct to pare down and simplify is actually part of a bigger lifestyle movement: Minimalism. Numerous books and blogs have been written about minimalism in recent years, and, as I’ve learned more about the concept, I’ve started to embrace its principles in a more deliberate way. During my most recent minimalist motivated clean out, it occurred to me that many law students could benefit from incorporating a little minimalism into their lives.

[Read more…]

Law School is Expensive, Not Impossible: How to Navigate Student Aid

matt lenhard headshot

Please welcome Matt Lenhard, Co-Founder at LendEDU. LendEDU is a marketplace for student loans and student loan refinancing. Today he is sharing the different ways to pay for your law school education. 

Welcome, Matt!

[Read more…]

My Federal Debt and Me: The Truth About Income Based Repayment

Marina ModlinPlease welcome Marina Modlin, wills and trusts attorney and author of The Independence Track — a resource for freelance attorneys. Today, Marina is sharing her student loan story and what she’s learned about Income Based Repayment (IBR). 

Welcome, Marina!

So, the other day I called the people who are servicing my consolidated federal law school loans, with a vague hope of finding out the terms of IBR, or Income Based Repayment, in which I am enrolled.

Now, I’m not usually the kind of person to be enrolled in something that I don’t understand — but with these loans, I felt like I had no choice: I couldn’t afford a regular payment, yet I couldn’t find any coherent documentation online, and the servicing company back at the time when I first enrolled was not able to explain it to me (they have since gone out of business. Can you even imagine what it’d take to go out of business in this industry?!) [Read more…]

How Do I Keep From Declaring Bankruptcy After Law School? An Interview with Bankruptcy Lawyer Jeena Cho

jeena choLet’s face it — law school is expensive (very expensive) and most students graduate with a ton of debt. Pair that with a lousy job market, and it’s easy to start thinking about ways to make your student loans go away.

Today, I’ve called in San Francisco bankruptcy attorney Jeena Cho of JC Law Group PC to offer her counsel.

Take it away, Jeena!

I’m getting ready to start law school, and I’m very concerned about the loans I’m taking out and my overall finances. What are the three most important things to keep in mind as I go through law school, to avoid finding myself in your office declaring bankruptcy?

[Read more…]