LAW SCHOOL
The Law. The weird language that only lawyers really understand. I actually took a contracts class in my MBA and found it very interesting but definitely hard. It really requires you to learn specific language, what that language really means and how different rules interact with each other. If you ever watch a lawyer at work, dissecting arguments it is extremely impressive. In many ways it is the art of mental warfare. Law and business interact quite well with each other. Business is a process of utilizing innovation, management and resources to make a profit. However, business requires you to operate independently, protect your own interests and structure agreements and deals. I have seen several J.D.’s do extremely well in the business world. You need to understand a few things though.
Law has several different career fields within its profession. In other words, there are a lot of different ways to be a lawyer. Generally, the highest paid lawyers are people who are either
Going into a family practice
Getting a job in big law (akin to getting a corporate lawyer job, its like consulting but worse)
Law school is really hard to get into. At least schools worth getting into.
I know that I bullshit about how MBA admissions just need you to do well on the GMAT but law school for real is very big on GPA and your LSAT. You can not screw this stuff up
Letters of recommendation are more important
You really need to go to a good law school. Like MBA’s the proliferation of law schools and relaxed standards has infiltrated the educational system. This is important because it can be hard to get a job as a lawyer if you did not go to the right school, even more than an MBA. The legal profession is much smaller than the business profession, and it’s very selective.
Because I am a consultant and not a lawyer, I am not exactly qualified to detail the nitty gritty of going to Law School and a legal career. However, the two guest bloggers do!
Well without further ado, our guest blogger talks about her path in to law school and beyond!
Guest Blog #1 Law School Admissions for Transitioning JMOs
So, you’re interested in going to law school! Maybe you want to make bank working at a BigLaw firm, continue serving the nation as a government attorney or counsel, or fight for underprivileged communities in navigating our complex legal system. Whatever your goals may be, I hope this blog helps you navigate some of the intricacies of getting into law school.
To give you some context, I served on Active Duty in the Army for a little over four years. I made the decision to go to law school only about 14 months prior to actually starting law school and 10 months from my ETS date, completing the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), school visits, and applications all while on Active Duty. I hope my experience can help shed some light on this path!
Law School Timeline
First off, you’ll want to make sure you try to plan some general things out so you don’t fall behind and miss key dates. I know that, especially with deployments, exercises, FTXs, and everything else with Active Duty, it can be hard to plan your transition. Here’s a sample timeline for a student who hypothetically wants to start in Fall 2021.
1. Winter 2020: Create your Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) online account. Here, you’ll find information about applying to schools, registering for the LSAT, and submitting your documents.
2. Spring 2020: Start preparing for the LSAT – I have a section on that later, but your LSAT score will help you scope which schools you can realistically apply to and expect admission and potential merit scholarships
3. Summer 2020: Plan to take your first LSAT – If you do great, then don’t worry about taking it again. If you think you can do better or you want to try to improve to open up additional opportunities, plan to schedule another one in early fall.
a. When registering for the LSAT, be sure to opt-in to the Candidate Referral System (CRS)! List all of your special circumstances, such as being in the military. Schools pull data from the CRS to target specific audiences. Especially once they can pull your LSAT score and GPA, you’ll start getting invitations to apply, merit application fee waivers, and possibly even early scholarship offers. I received application fee waivers to some of the top law schools that I may not have even applied to because I viewed them as “out of reach” for me. With the invitation via the CRS and fee waiver, I ended up applying and getting admitted to some of them!
4. August 2020: Register for LSAC CAS – all law school applications and documents, namely your LSAT score report, academic transcripts, and letters of recommendation, are streamlined through LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service. Once you’ve registered, have any of your undergraduate and postgraduate academic institutions send an official transcript to LSAC for them to process.
5. August 2020: Start asking for LoRs – Letters of Recommendation are big for law school applications, especially for schools that utilize a faculty review. Faculty members like to know about your academic potential, particularly from other academics.
6. Fall 2020: Start visiting – Now that you have at least your first score, you can tailor your law school search. Many schools offer guided tours and information sessions so you can see the campus and ask questions of the admissions staff.
7. September/October 2020: Take the LSAT Again – If you wanna pump up that score, now’s the time to do it.
8. November 2020: Applications Begin – though few schools have application deadlines before February 15th, some have Early Decision or Early Action-type deadlines that are around November 15th or December 1st. In general, applying early may give you an edge with regards to how much scholarship money the school has available. Additionally, you’ll find out sooner, giving you more time to attend Admitted Students Days.
9. January 2021: Decisions – You should start hearing back from law schools, some good and some bad. Most schools give you a scholarship award along with your acceptance, though some come a bit later.
10. February/March 2021: Admitted Students Days – another round of visits, but this time you’ve tailored your list even more. This is also the school’s attempt to wine and dine you so that you pick their school. Schools want to minimize the admittance rate but maximize their yield rate.
11. April 2021: Pick a school – No school is allowed to have a confirmation deadline prior to April 1st and most are April 15th or May 1st.
12. August 2021: Start your law school! Congrats!
Now, I’ll go over the biggest components of getting into law school: the LSAT, your transcript, your LoRs, and your application.
The Big Bad LSAT
The LSAT is a very unique entrance examination for law school. It consists of four sections of three types of questions: Logical Reasoning, Analytical Reasoning (more commonly referred to as Logic Games), and Reading Comprehension. You also have an LSAT Writing portion that you’ll take privately on your personal computer after your actual sit-down test.
The good news:
1. Every question on the LSAT is multiple choice! You’ll have 5 choices for each question and there is only one correct answer.
2. You’re not penalized for wrong answers, so if you run out of time, randomly bubble any unfilled bubbles. Generally, easier questions appear earlier in each section, though you don’t want to dwell and miss out on later questions.
3. The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) sells old versions of the test called PrepTests for you to take for practice. This way, you’re practicing on actual versions of the test, seeing actual LSAT questions and grading yourself. They even give you a grading rubric to convert your raw score (number of correct answers) to your LSAT score (120-180) and percentile.
4. If you feel like you can do better once you get your score back, you can always take the LSAT again! I’d recommend taking the LSAT once in the summer and once in early fall the year prior to starting law school, ideally no later than October, to give yourself a buffer in time to submit applications in November.
The bad news:
1. The LSAT can be very difficult and very competitive. Even scoring around the average 50th percentile will leave you far and away from most competitive law schools. In general, to be competitive for the Top 14 (referred to as T14) law schools, you should be shooting for the 160s, and you’ll likely find the top 7 law schools or so out of reach unless you’re pushing or above 170. That said, law schools LOVE diverse backgrounds (more on that later).
2. Logic Games will seem extremely daunting at first, especially if you start timing yourself. Give yourself time to practice the problem sets, create sketches, and develop your logic and quick analysis skills. There were many a time during my PrepTests that I threw my test book across the room or just mentally shut down, unable to figure out the game and especially not in the time limit for the section. With practice though, Logic Games can be your biggest improvement section and you may even come to enjoy them.
3. The LSAT is transitioning to an online format. Some people may like this, but others may have really enjoyed drawing or highlighting right on the actual questions. The LSAC website has some PrepTests for you to take similar to the digital interface that you’ll have on game day, which includes options for crossing out answers or highlighting parts of text, so definitely get familiar with that.
One final note before some LSAT prep recommendations. Some law schools are beginning to accept the GRE in lieu of or in addition to the LSAT in an effort to expand access. In general, unless you very specifically target your school search to schools that accept the GRE, your list of schools you want to apply to will most likely have at least one that requires the LSAT, so I’d plan on taking the LSAT regardless. In terms of picking one test over the other, it’s largely personal preference and what you’re able to do. Note that if you do take both, many schools require you to send both scores, so you may not be able to really game it and then send the one you think you did better on.
Preparing for the LSAT
As I mentioned in the above timeline, time is your friend. Even if you aren’t the best at mapping out logical challenges, you can develop skills and tricks that will help you. Here are my recommendations for how to master the LSAT:
1. Start with a primer. I loved Introducing the LSAT: The Fox Test Prep Quick & Dirty LSAT Primer. This isn’t for studying but it will give you a good general idea of what you’re getting yourself into.
2. Grab an LSAT study book or register for an LSAT Prep Class. I personally never used a prep class and only used a prep book. Kaplan’s and Mike Kim’s LSAT Trainer are probably the two most popular. These will not only take you through questions with explanations, but also help you develop the basic logical rules and reading skills you’ll need to master many of the questions.
3. As I mentioned before, grab a book or two of PrepTests. Volume VI is the most recent 10-test set, though you can buy individual PrepTests as recently as from last year. My recommendation is to take your first few tests one section at a time and not worry about time. If you stress out about time (35 minutes per section for about 22-26 questions per section, on average), you’ll scare yourself right out of wanting to be a lawyer. After a few tests, as you’ve developed a familiarity with the questions, keep track of your time, but don’t cut yourself off at 35 minutes. That’ll give you an idea of where you’re at. Then, as you get closer to test day, take a few “full” tests: all four sections in one day and limiting yourself to the 35 minutes. That’ll best replicate what the actual test is like.
4. If you take a disclosed test (more info on the LSAC website), you’ll get your results back to the question. This way, you can see what types of questions or what sections you struggled on. If you want to do better, focus on those sections to maximize your improvement.
Transcripts and Grades
Odds are, if you’re in the Army, it’s already too late to adjust your GPA. Some good news though! LSAC automatically evaluates and adjusts everyone’s GPA to a scale of their own because so many schools use so many different scales. This could be good or bad depending on how your school does things, but I got a .09 boost when they reweighted my GPA. Even though that doesn’t sound like a lot, it moved me from many schools 25th percentile GPA to their median, and median to 75th percentile, depending on the school.
Letters of Recommendation (LoR)
Most law schools require 2 LoRs and permit 3 or 4. Most will waive the requirement to have faculty LoRs for those who have been out of school for 2 years or more, though some, especially higher-ranked law schools, will prefer to hear about your academic potential from faculty members.
If at all possible, I’d recommend getting at least one faculty LoR, hopefully from a professor who you took a lot of classes with, did a special project or internship with, or that you’ve kept in touch with. They will be able to speak to your academic ability to complete the rigors of law school.
I’d also recommend getting one from your Battalion or possibly Brigade Commander. If you can’t get a faculty recommender, try to have your military recommender speak to your academic prowess. Maybe you attended a particularly intellectually demanding TDY course and earned an ASI, or maybe you’ve taught classes on special topics or tactics to your company or battalion.
You can also have your military recommender speak to your leadership abilities and experiences while in the Army. Law schools like students with diverse backgrounds, so this is a great chance to highlight that. Also note that, unless you have a personal relationship with a high-ranking officer, getting a fancy rank on an LoR probably won’t be as effective as having a powerful, meaningful recommendation from somebody that can truly and accurately speak to your experiences and qualities.
The Application
You’ll complete every application online on the LSAC website. Some of the admin data will carry over from one application to another, simplifying the process a bit, but you’ll still spend a lot of time answering specific questions for each school. I recommend aiming to complete applications in November if possible. That’ll give you time to sit back and relax during the holidays, then prepare to compare offers and start doing more research in January. As an aside, some law schools, especially top law schools like Yale Law School, don’t even start reviewing applications until after their deadline, so you may have some flexibility. Do the research though and find out how the school completes application reviews to best set yourself up for success.
Other than the generic data included in the application, your true chance to stand out is in your Personal Statement. These will range from 2-4 pages, double spaced. I used the exact same Personal Statement for each school I applied to, but you certainly can adjust if you’d like. Having served in the military should hopefully give you plenty of material to pull from. Ultimately, try focusing on what you hope you to achieve with your legal education and how you are a good fit at that school to get you there. The law school wants to know why you want to go to law school and why you think you’ll be successful at that institution. You can also focus on how you’ll add value to the organization through your unique experiences and goals.
You’ll also have an opportunity to explain some things that don’t look so good. Switched majors during undergrad and got a few Cs as a result? Add an addendum. Academic performance affected adjusting to the rigors of your commissioning source or just college life in general? Slap it on an addendum. Family emergency caused you to withdraw for a semester? Addendum it is. If in doubt about whether or not to do an addendum, give the school a call or an email and tell them about your situation. In general, more information is better, though you don’t want to try to curry favor or present anything that might look poorly on yourself.
Another thing some people worry about is the “Character and Fitness” section. For whatever reason, each school will ask slightly different questions about your past criminal background. This is basically a precursor to make sure you will be fit to assume the bar after graduating law school and your responses here must be truthful, as they can be used in the bar’s review of your conduct. It’s better to be truthful and to disclose all information here. Some schools will ask about all violations, to include speeding tickets. Some specifically exclude moving violations, or some exclude those under a certain dollar amount, or within a certain time period. Basically, read the question carefully and respond accordingly. If you do have a significant criminal charge from your past, addendum it is! Explain what happened, the resulting charges, and how you’ve learned from that experience. Law schools will generally understand if you did something stupid in college and got a fine. They’d be a bit more concerned if you racked up multiple charges on separate incidents or something more serious.
Picking a Law School
As you visit schools and complete applications, you’ll have tons of information to review in making your final decision of where to attend. Here are a few thoughts to consider to help you navigate the process:
A great way to research a school’s employment prospects is to view their ABA Standard 509 report. Every ABA-accredited law school is required to submit this report annually. It lists all of their graduates and what careers they found post-graduation, including the size of the law firm for those that go into private practice. That’s important because a lot of prospective lawyers are interested in working for BigLaw firms at least for a couple of years after graduation.
Working in BigLaw is typically extremely demanding in terms of time, but current market salaries are about $190,000 for first-year associates. It’s a great way to pay off the big student loans from law school if you have them. It’s also a great way to pad your resume before moving from BigLaw to a more relaxed position, such as working for government, public interest, smaller practices, or in-house counsel for business.
Let’s take a quick break and talk about rankings. Generally, the top law schools are referred to as T14, or the Top 14 according to the US News and World Report Law School rankings. If you go there, you’re generally guaranteed a job in a BigLaw firm if you want it, regardless of your grades. At other schools, it’s still possible, but you’ll have to rank relatively higher in your class and be selected for prestigious academic roles, like serving on the school’s law review journal. Now, for those that don’t care so much about grinding their way to the top, the rankings may not be the end-all-be-all. If you want to serve in public interest or for local or state government (as opposed to competitive federal or top corporate positions), then going to a lower-ranked school may be the fit for you. The higher you go though, the better connections you’ll make and the more doors you’ll open.
Not looking forward to the grueling hours of BigLaw after having just slaved away for Uncle Sam for a few years? Many law schools offer merit-based scholarships, usually up to full tuition. That’s why I recommended applying earlier in the application cycle. You’ll get a decision earlier and the school will have their full fund of scholarship money available. I actually had some schools come back to me after their initial offer and up their scholarship offer. Many top law schools also offer a loan repayment and forgiveness program for graduates who work for lower paying government or public interest jobs. Do your research and ask about them during tours or admitted students days. Also, many law schools offer unlimited Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, so if you have that 100% benefit eligibility, you may be attending for free. If you’re planning on attending a state school, check out if they waive tuition for veterans, as some do. Others may waive tuition for members of their state’s National Guard if you plan on continuing as a militia officer.
Other things to look for in law schools: clinics! Clinics provide you as a student an opportunity to “play lawyer.” You represent real clients in real courts and for real cases, all under the supervision of a law professor. Clinics vary widely by school and even by semester sometimes, but odds are they’ll have something that sparks your interest. Clinics can be on immigration rights, housing, taxation, criminal justice, and so much more.
Another item to check out is journals, which I mentioned before. Law is a unique field in that law students review scholarly articles written by law professors for academic publication. Most law schools have their trademark (Insert Law School Name) Law Review and being selected to serve on the journal is a big resume boost. It shows you have the academic, research, and writing prowess needed for serious legal work. However, check out other journals that the school may offer. This way, if you don’t get selected to serve on that journal, there may be others to allow you to showcase your skills. Also, the school may offer a journal specifically on an area of law that you’re interested in, perhaps on Intellectual Property or International Law, as examples.
A lot of schools offer On-Campus Interviews (OCIs) when firms, agencies, and non-profits come on campus to offer interviews, either for post-grad jobs or summer positions. Many times, law students end up working for the firm that they got a summer associate gig at between their second and third years of law school. The more access you have to summer opportunities, the easier it will be to line up a job after graduation, oftentimes as early as the start of your fall semester.
Finally, check out clerkship opportunities. A great way to set up your career for success is to get a mentor in the form of a local, state, or federal judge. Each clerkship lasts one year, generally for not a ton of money, but it’s a great way to set yourself up long term. Some people clerk more than once, and, increasingly, lawyers are clerking after working for a year or two. Federal clerkships are of course the most competitive, but geography may play in your favor. If you want to do a clerkship in a major city, it’ll be more competitive, but you can maybe swing a federal clerkship in a more remote location that isn’t quite as competitive. Also, if your goal is to work in state or local government as opposed to federal, then clerking for a judge in that system may suit you better. In general, the higher-ranked school you attend and the better you do at that school will improve your clerkship opportunities.
Overall, as you explore your passion for being a lawyer, whether that’s a particular cause or area of law that you’re interested in, you’ll be able to tailor your school search and application process to that. In the application process, you’ll definitely stand out as a veteran and officer. You’ve demonstrated a commitment to doing what’s right and following precise regulations and doctrine, qualities important for being a lawyer. Law schools want people like that, so attempt to highlight that in your application.
I hope you’ve found this blog helpful! Bottom line, prepare for the LSAT, crush it, and then apply early to give yourself plenty of time to receive responses and research your schools. For those still on Active Duty, use those Staff Duty shifts for LSAT PrepTests. Take a section during your 0730-0900 break between PT and work. If you break up your studying and sprinkle some out during every day and stay consistent, you’ll find your mind churning and thinking logically, essential to crushing the LSAT. And ultimately, stay positive! The process can be frustrating, but remember what your goal is and stay focused on achieving it. Good luck!
Guest Blog #2 My Path to Law School and Beyond
I studied Business Administration in undergrad, and one semester out from graduation all I knew was that I hated business and wanted nothing to do with it. At that time, I was working for the Green Bay Packers in their email marketing department (Go Pack Go!). I knew if I didn't enjoy doing marketing work for the Packers, I was going to absolutely hate working in marketing for anyone else.
Business Law was a prerequisite for graduation, and I put it off until my last semester of college (mostly because I heard it was difficult and I didn't want it to tank my GPA). From the first class of the semester, something in my brain clicked. I loved memorizing rules and applying them to fact patterns. I loved writing with no frills. I asked my professor, who, at the time, was also a judge in the county where I went to college, what I should do if I was considering going to law school. Honestly, he blew me off and told me to try taking the LSAT and go from there. After the first test of the semester, the professor called me up to the front after class and told me he thought I could actually be a very successful lawyer. So I graduated college in December, took the LSAT in February, and applied to law schools in March.
I graduated college summa cum laude but did not study for the LSAT. I ended up with a 157 on the LSAT, which is absolutely and completely average. I hated feeling average and went into application season very nervous. I applied to about 30 law schools, none ranked higher than number 20. I was offered a full scholarship to attend Michigan State University's law school, and I took it. I figured I could go back to business if I hated law school.
I loved my first year of law school. It was, though, without a doubt, the hardest year of my life. I faced a lot of challenges personally, and no one really prepares you for just how dumb law school makes you feel. I was shocked when I ended up ranked number one in my class.
I clerked for a Sixth Circuit Court judge after my first year of law school, and one of his clerks encouraged me to transfer to a T-14 law school. If you want to work at a big law firm after law school, you should attend a T-14 law school. I had no idea if big law was what I wanted, but I wanted to excel at something and really challenge myself. I applied to the University of Michigan's law school and got in.
Transferring law schools was also a very difficult time in my life but transferring is not a decision I regret. An important thing to note is that transfer students do not receive any financial aid in the form of scholarships. This is common across all law schools. Deciding to attend Michigan was deciding to incur over $200,000 in debt. I would never have gotten the job I have now had I not transferred to Michigan, though.
My first week on campus was On-Campus Interview week ("OCI"). OCI happens at most top law schools, and during the week, top employers interview hundreds of students starting their second year of law school. I had 20 interviews over 2 days. Many firms have grade cutoffs and will not interview candidates who fall below a 3.5 GPA. OCI is exhausting, but it's absolutely essential to participate in if you want a career in big law. Firms offer you call-backs, where you fly to the city you're interviewing in and get wine-and-dined by the firm interviewing you. You get offers for summer associate positions by the end of September, and your job is secured for the summer after your second year of law school.
The summer after my second year, I worked for the firm I work at now as a summer associate for 11 weeks. At the end of the 11 weeks, I was given an offer to return as a full time associate after I graduated law school. Firms generally hire summer associates with the intention of offering them full time positions at the end of the summer. This means the offer for the full time job is usually yours to lose (those who lose the offer generally do so because of poor work performance or a lack of judgment at social gatherings).
I accepted the offer to come back to the firm and currently work in big law in Chicago. The hours are rough, the swing from super busy to bored out of your mind is harder, but the paycheck is nice. My starting salary was $190,000, which has allowed me to pay off my loans rather aggressively. This salary is standard across most big law firms, as are year-end bonuses if you hit the firm's billable hour requirement. To be honest, without this salary, I would be drowning in student loan payments. I'm fortunate to have the job I do.
In hindsight, the biggest change I would make is waiting to go to law school. I was the youngest person in my graduating class and the one with the least life experience. Now, I'm the youngest person in my class at my firm. Law is a second career for a majority of my classmates at Michigan and a majority of my colleagues at work. I attended school with, and also currently work with, veterans, former PhD candidates, former members of the peace corps and people who had no idea what they wanted to do with their lives for years after graduating college. It is not the norm to go to law school right after graduating college, and it is not the norm to have law as your first career.
At the end of the day, law school rankings matter, and T-14 law schools like students with real life experience. If I could go back, I would work for at least a year before applying to law school. I would save money. I would study for the LSAT. I would have hopefully received a scholarship to a T-14 school. I wish I had done many things differently, but I don't regret where I am now. I love the law. I use my brain every day, and I feel like I'm part of something important and bigger than me. I wouldn't change that for the world.