The Girl's Guide to Law School®
Get In, Get Through, Stay You
This week we welcome back guest writer Tiffany Lo to talk about starting fresh in the new year with some resolutions.
Being a law student is not easy. There is always room for improvement—to make things more efficient, to grow your knowledge, to hone your legal skills. This year, consider adopting some of these new year resolutions:
This week we welcome back guest writer Hillary Vaillancourt to talk about managing some difficult topics at the holidays – including politics!
Several months ago I applied to work as a contract attorney for a bankruptcy firm. I needed to be admitted to a federal bankruptcy court, however, and another attorney in the firm offered to sponsor me for admission to the federal bankruptcy court. For over an hour, I chatted with this attorney, and we had a lovely conversation. He sponsored me for the court, and we said goodbye.
A few weeks after I was admitted to the bar, I had a legal question in this attorney’s jurisdiction. I called him, he took the time to talk with me and answer my question, and then out of the blue, he asked, “What’s your opinion on wearing masks?” [Read more…]
This week we welcome back guest writer and 2L Tiffany Lo to talk about keeping up with your law school connections.
Making and maintaining connections during law school are important. The legal profession is a small universe, and you may encounter your classmates as the opposing counsel, as a client, as a judge, as an academic, or as a public servant. Having a personal connection with people in the legal field can help you develop business, craft a litigation or negotiation strategy, and find new career opportunities.
Making connections might be easy, but maintaining them takes work. Here are my thoughts on how to do that: [Read more…]
This week we welcome guest writer and tutor Raneta Mack to talk about getting help from professors with work projects.
You’ve just finished your first year of law school, and you’re about to embark on your first legal job: a coveted summer clerkship. You did well in your first year classes and now you’re eager to make a good impression on everyone in the office.
On your first day, shortly after getting comfortable in your new office, you’re given your first research project. You vaguely remember hearing something about the research topic in your Contracts class. Or was it your Torts class? During the meeting, you were a bit too intimidated to ask the senior attorney any questions, and if you go back now with questions, maybe she’ll think you’re not up to the task. [Read more…]
This week we welcome guest writer Emily Carter to talk about managing your kid’s remote schooling and your own law school responsibilities.
As I type these very words, I am remote schooling my children. Now, rest assured, I say this with no pride, no smugness, not even a hair of belief that I am succeeding in this balancing act that somehow, the confluence of a virus, parenting, and work responsibilities has loaded on me and many others.
No, please, be assured, my floor is dirty (macaroni, cheerios, and freshly snipped paper cuttings from an elementary schooler’s project are in the current floor assortment). My meal choices lack nutritional value (hot pretzels for lunch, anyone?). And my oldest son, having just emerged from the bathroom at this very moment, reports that the hand towel is soaking wet, soap scum coats the sink, and, in his words, “it stinks in there.” I blame the toddler, who having quickly graduated from potty training to mostly independent bathroom use, lacks a full respect for cleanliness. [Read more…]
This week we welcome back guest writer Cathlyn Melvin to talk about her morning routine to get ready for law school.
My earliest class this semester is 9am. Hallelujah. I like to have time to myself in the mornings: I’m happiest when I can accomplish a few things before I get started with my work or school obligations.
Oh, and also: before I look at my phone (gasp!).
That’s right: when I go to bed at night I plug my phone in and put it face-down on my nightstand. And in the morning, I try not to touch it until my “morning routine” is complete, and I’m ready to work.
So here’s what I do instead.
This week we welcome back guest writer Hillary Vaillancourt, to talk about how you can still work on your networking skills, even when you’re stuck at home during COVID-19.
Most of us know how important networking is, particularly when you’re in law school and aspiring to a legal career. Having good grades and published law journal articles will absolutely make a difference in your job prospects. But, having quality connections is a significant advantage.
If you are looking to get hired by a firm, agency, nonprofit, or other employer, having connections may help you learn of unposted job openings. Your connections may provide meaningful letters of recommendation. Your connections who are “in the know” may help steer you away from employers from whom you wouldn’t want to work. Or, they may help you and mentor you even after you get hired. [Read more…]
This week we welcome guest writer Cathlyn Melvin to talk about developing empathy as a law student.
Law school is competitive.
Shocker, I know.
Put 75 mostly-Type-A personalities into a “small section,” tell them that the students who score the highest reap the rewards, and see what happens. (Hint: there won’t be a lot of meditative chanting and handholding going on).
The competitive culture of law school is strengthened by the structures it upholds: the on-the-spot Socratic method makes us judge ourselves and others, “relentless public competitions” rank students from “success” to “failure,” and there is a severe lack of feedback and growth-minded communication. And then, of course, the culture “is locked in by its resonance with the currency of success—money.” [Read more…]
This week we welcome back guest writer Tiffany Lo to talk about how to still socialize during a global pandemic.
Many law schools have announced that the upcoming term will be fully remote or partially remote—or what is called “hybrid instruction.” In light of this, students are understandably grappling with many decisions: whether to take a hybrid course, whether to move to the area of their school, how to ensure a stable internet connection during live classes, and whether they can fully focus on their studies in their family home. [Read more…]
This week we hear from current law student and guest writer Tiffany Gee Ching Lo about how to approach applications to law school scholarships.
It is no secret that attending law school is a massive financial undertaking. While many schools provide need and merit-based scholarships, most students still need to pay a large sum of tuition and living expenses. As a student, I feel this pressure acutely, as do many of my classmates. During the summer before starting law school, I was curious to see whether there were scholarships I could apply for. I started with a simple google search, but quickly ended up with tens and tens of tiny tabs in my browser. I realized that many law firms and legal organizations offer awards ranging anywhere from $100 to $30,000, averaging at $2,000-$2,500. Many scholarships are recurring on an annual or semesterly basis. There were so many opportunities that I created a document to store all the hyperlinks and to organize them. I now call this list my money maker. [Read more…]
