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What Is The Billable Hour? An Overview And Practical Tips For New Lawyers

December 6, 2022 by Leave a Comment

What Is The Billable Hour? An Overview And Practical Tips For New LawyersThis week we welcome guest write Marissa Geannette to talk about an overview of the billable hour.

When I was a law student, I had no idea how law firms operated. One of the biggest mysteries to me was the billable hour. I’d heard that most law firms required their lawyers to track their time, but I didn’t really know what that meant.

If you feel similarly confused, hopefully, this post will make things clearer for you. While it takes a little while to understand the billable hour, with these practical tips, you’ll get the hang of it in no time!

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Time-Saving Tips for Law Students

November 22, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Time-Saving Tips for Law StudentsThis week we welcome back guest writer Julia Gourary to talk about some ideas for saving time as a law student.

In law school, it sometimes feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day for everything. Whether you’re juggling school with a part-time job, a relationship, parenting, or just trying to find time for healthy habits like exercise, sleep, and eating right, time can be tight. Assuming you’ve already gone for low-hanging fruit like putting your phone on Do Not Disturb, avoiding social media, or staying out of Internet rabbit holes in order to avoid distraction, what else can a busy law student do to save time? Read on for some time-saving tips for law students. [Read more…]

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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?

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First Few Weeks of 1L as a “Non-Traditional” Student

September 27, 2022 by Leave a Comment

First Few Weeks of 1L as a "Non-Traditional" StudentThis week we welcome back new 1L Stephanie Gregoire to discuss what it’s been like transitioning from a career to starting law school.

The first few weeks of 1L can be a lot. If you’re someone who, like me, had a career before law school and wonder what those first few weeks are like from that perspective, look no further!

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Coping with Divorce in Law School

September 13, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Coping with Divorce in Law SchoolThis week we welcome law tutor Sara Beller to talk about what it was like getting divorced in law school.

I started my 1L year newly engaged and ready to conquer law school. I could already see it – I was going to finish the year with a Law Review invitation and one of the top rankings in my class, all while planning the wedding of my dreams. Check, check, and check!

Next it was time to master being a 2L. No big deal, right? I mean my “to-do” list for the year was relatively short … just finish the year in the top 10%, make Law Review editor, land a summer internship, oh and did I mention get married?!

I crushed my 2L “to-do” list and was ready to tackle my last year of law school as a newlywed and newly minted Law Review editor. I had 3L year in the bag, or so I thought. Right before midterms of my Fall semester, life happened. I got divorced. Instead of studying for midterms, I was moving out of the apartment I shared with my now-ex-husband, figuring out where I was going to live, and getting further and further behind in my classes.

That year, I went from wondering if I would even pass my classes to *spoiler alert* graduating with honors. Here’s how I survived getting divorced in law school and the lessons I learned along the way:

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The Six Best Pieces of Advice I’ve Received as a 0L

August 30, 2022 by Leave a Comment

The Six Best Pieces of Advice I’ve Received as a 0LThis week we welcome back Julia Gourary to discuss the best advice she’s been given before starting law school.

For incoming 1L students, or “0Ls”, the summer before school starts can be full of nervous excitement and anticipation. As a 0L, I’ve been making an effort to talk to current and recent law students for advice on everything from preparation to academics to social life. If you know anyone in law school, especially the law school you’re planning on attending, it’s definitely worth reaching out before you start. Everyone I’ve talked to has a unique perspective, emphasizing different things, including aspects of law school life I had not previously considered. In this post, I’m passing on some of the best pieces of advice I’ve received. [Read more…]

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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:

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Five Things I’m Doing Now to Prepare for 1L Year

July 5, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Five Things I’m Doing Now to Prepare for 1L YearThis week we welcome guest writer and incoming 1L Julia Gourary to discuss how she’s preparing to start law school soon.

As you prepare to start law school, everyone will give you different advice on how to spend your pre-1L summer, from going on a relaxing vacation and not thinking about school at all to taking a weeks long prep course and doing lots of advance reading. It’s hard to know what the “right” way to prepare for 1L year is, but the truth is that there is no one one-size-fits-all approach.

After listening to advice from current and past law students, I’ve decided the best way for me personally to spend these months is a mix of the fun and the practical. Read on to find out what I’m doing now to prepare for 1L year. [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…]

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Intern Turned Prosecutor: How My Internship at the DA’s Office Led to a Career

March 29, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Intern Turned Prosecutor: How My Internship at the DA’s Office Led to a CareerThis week we welcome guest writer and Law School Toolbox tutor, Sara Beller, to discuss how she turned an internship in the DA’s office into a career.

By the end of my internship at the DA’s office, I felt like a full-blown prosecutor. As an intern, I conducted numerous preliminary hearings, drafted and argued countless motions in court, and even completed a real jury trial from start to finish (by myself!). Everything was going according to plan, and I was about to receive a snazzy job offer…or so I thought.

I’ll never forget the day a supervising attorney told me that the office wasn’t able to make any job offers because the county was in a hiring freeze. To say I was heartbroken is an understatement. My Type-A brain went into immediate panic mode. Did all of my hard work go to waste? Should I have invested my time at a private firm instead? Was it a mistake to put all of my eggs into the DA office’s basket? The short answer is absolutely not. Here’s how my internship led to a career as a prosecutor: [Read more…]

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