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Preparing for Law School Finals
It’s almost that time. Stress level is probably at an all time high. You may be behind in some classes, trying to get all your reading done; finalizing your legal writing class memos; editing writing samples and resumes for your job applications; maybe even working on cites for journal, on top of everyday life. First, I’m sorry. Second, have you started preparing for finals? Because it’s time. I know if you’re a 1L, it may seem like an impossible task, and as an upperclassmen, it’s just another layer of work you have to dig through. But before you know it, you’ll be sitting for your tests so it’s vital that you…
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Slaying Goliath II: Saving Money for Law School
I started law school immediately after college. This means I jumped into professional school without really understanding the nuances of loans, finances, or how to pay for my cost of living when I had only ever had small part-time retail jobs/work study. Now that I’m years removed, there are quite a few things I would do different, but the main thing I would change is my approach to paying for law school. Since I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer, I should have started taking the financial aspect more seriously and started planning and saving from the beginning. Of course, hindsight is twenty/twenty so instead, all I…
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If You Didn’t Pass the Bar
It’s hard to talk about failing the bar. First, because nothing we say will really remove the sting for those that didn’t pass. Second, because it’s so unfair how not passing upends your life for another six+ months, and even if you have a clear head now that the news has settled, it still doesn’t change the fact that you have to put in more time to pass this test. If you receive bad news like this, it’s important to give yourself time. Don’t make rash decisions right away (unless you really have to)–you need the time to bounce back mentally and emotionally. Slowly, you’ll come to terms and you’ll…
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Deciding on Appropriate Interview Attire.
On Monday we talked about preparing for your summer applications. Now let’s talk about looking the part during your interviews. The look you’re going for, regardless of the legal sector (private, public, government, etc) is: conservative. And the only real rule that applies to everyone, is that you have to wear a suit. Other than that, I’m a huge believer that as long as you look presentable, professional, and clean-that’s all that matters. Too bad I don’t run the world… In reality, there are a lot more “rules” imposed on women and how we should dress when interviewing. If you want to truly play it safe, most schools will…
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Prepping for your Summer Job
My 1L year, the month I was supposed to start looking for summer job options, I received bad news after bad news involving my family– all of which culminated when I was told that my dad had just been diagnosed with cancer (he’s fine now, thankfully!). With all this added stress, guess who never made it to career services, or even knew that deadlines for jobs starting in MAY were approaching in December? Me. It was me. By the time I could actually focus on finding some type of summer employment, I was scrambling to find any agency that was still looking for help. Luckily, after cold-calling a few nonprofits, a…
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Finding Your Voice In Law School
To talk or not to talk in class– that is the question. No one wants to be a gunner, and I won’t encourage people to talk in class just to show off–that’s not my jam. However, the unique thing about law school is that almost always there’s a forced participation by way of the socratic method. Sometimes you know it’s coming if the professor goes in some type of order; other times, you’re waiting (dreading) to be called. Because participation is inevitable, it’s important to have confidence in how you convey your opinion in class. Nothing screams timid and weak like someone that gets easily flustered and rolled over by…
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Study How You Study
We previously discussed how to prep for 1L week and –surprise–the main focus was getting prepped for studying. But it’s worthwhile to delve into “how to study” a little deeper. I say this a lot, but it’s actually really important to realize that you will be most successful if you study how you study. Think back on all the college classes where you excelled and mimic those study habits. Note that I wrote excelled, not: barely put in the work but somehow still passed–that won’t fly in law school. The reason why this is important is because law school has the tendency to push people into doing the same thing. According…
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Breaking Law School Barriers I: Finding Guidance
This series, Breaking Law School Barriers, tackles the big and small issues that come into play when you’re deciding if you’ll even attend law school. The purpose is to give practical advice for college students, and for current law students and attorneys to give suggestions about their real world experience. So you want to go to law school? Felicidades! I think it’s great and we need more women of color in the profession. There are a lot of questions that you’ll have to answer before you can take the right steps to get into school (finances being a big part), but before you even get to figuring out how to…
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A Little Help From My Friends
When I started law school there were maybe 15 latinos in my class, “the largest ever!” my school proclaimed. They put most of us in the same section as well, which I actually did not mind. Since then, however, throughout the U.S. the number of hispanic students entering law school continues to decrease. The impact of few people of color earning J.D.s will have long-reaching ramifications. A J.D. is empowerment. If the people in power continue to only come from the same type of background, with similar forms of privilege, then real change will be a slow and dismal. Despite all of that, perhaps right now, you are in school,…
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When Offensive Comments Happen
At some point most of us will encounter someone spewing out something ignorant about our ethnicity or our gender. You would think that once you reach the esteemed halls of law school that it would stop. Unfortunately, there are people seemingly so steeped in privilege that law school is one of the first times they are “forced” to interact with people of color. But for the rest of us, we have to often be the only or one of the few people of color or Latinas-period-in our section or class. By being so isolated we are given an added burden of being the voice for our people, and having to…