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September 8th, 2009 - 12:53
If you want to be a patent lawer, you probably need a degree in engineering. MD and law together is probably more like malpractice law. A patent lawyer and a anesthesiologist are both 50+hours a week job and do not overlap.
September 8th, 2009 - 12:55
It varies by state. In California, you take the basic law courses the first year torts, criminal law, constitutional law, contracts, legal research & writing, etc. You do have to do mock trial, but there is more emphasis on yuor writing than on the oral presentation. The second and third years there are a couple more required classes and then you take electives. You want to focus your electives to what is on the Bar exam or where you have interests. You never have to take trial-type courses if you do not want to. However, I recommend it. Those types of classes also improve your speaking skills, and you may have to do presentations to clients, etc. You never know where the law will take you, and you may change your mind in law school or after. Look at the catalogs online of some of the law schools you are considering attending. They will have the required courses listed and many electives. Also research what subject of questions will be on the Bar exam. Writing is the key to almost all law school classes, and in real life regardless of the type of law you choose.
September 8th, 2009 - 13:06
Nice,im getting my university degree in canada,and my brother is working in boston and i’ll aim for Harvard Law school another good university…all my grades are above 90% since i was 15…
Law is my life.I know i can make it and i hope i’ll get in as soon as possible.Good luck to all possible candidates because we all know it ain’t gonna be so easy.But sometimes,if you’re motivated and put your mind into it,dreams can become true.
September 8th, 2009 - 14:08
Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic! Provided me with the morale boost i needed.
September 8th, 2009 - 15:01
1) Register with the Law School Admission Council. They run the Law School Data Assembly Service, which is how most law schools process their applications. You will fill out applications online through their website, and they will send your transcripts, LSAT scores, letters of recommendation, and personal statement to the school for you. Most law schools will not accept any of these materials from you – they only take them through LSDAS. http://www.lsac.org/
2) Study for the LSAT. If you do poorly and have to take it again, both scores will be sent to the law schools. Some law school take your best grade, but some average the two grades, so you don't want to mess up and then be handicapped by that lower score.
3) Start doing research into law schools. You want to start by casting a broad net – consider rankings, tuition, job placement rates after graduation, bar passage rates, and how many students receive financial aid. If you are a minority, you may want to look at how diverse the student body is, as well as the faculty. Do they have a Dean that oversees diversity issues? Do they have an active chapter of the Black Law Student Association, Latino American Law Student Association, or the Asian-Pacific American Law Student Association?
4) Attend a Law School Forum (hosted by LSAC) – this is like a college fair, but only for law schools. You can talk to admissions officers, and some schools also send current students. This is a great way to talk to representatives from the schools you are considering. This is when the school puts its best foot forward – if they are rude to you as a potential application, this speak worlds as to how they treat their students.
5) If you can, visit the schools. Not entirely necessary, but it can be good if you are having a hard time deciding. Check out the student lounge and library – are the students friendly? stressed out? look overworked? If it is a stressful environment, it may not be the right school for you.
6) APPLY EARLY. Law schools have what is called rolling admissions – you're probably familiar with this from grad schools. Basically, the earlier you apply in the cycle, the better chance you have to be accepted and to receive financial aid.
Good luck!
September 8th, 2009 - 15:41
Here are the differences that I have noticed since enrolling in law school.
1. Amount of work: As the other poster notes, the volume of work in law school is like nothing you have ever seen in undergrad. Law school requires reading about 450 pages a week. The reading is not scholarly works (for the most part). They are cases. Opinions written by judges. Cases are very difficult to understand and many times many cases deal with one principle of law and it can be very difficult to reconcile the court coming out in a different way.
Regardless, the reading is greater in volume and substance. For example, in undergrad (I was also a liberal arts major at a fairly difficult school) I could read 20-30 pages an hour. In law school, especially at first, it is like reading a different language. You have to look up terms constantly and understand many legal concepts before you can understand another more complex one. Reading in law school takes on average (at least your first year) 1 hour per 10 pages of reading.
Furthermore you must be prepared to be called on in class. You may not gloss over the reading and expect to sit through a lecture and pick up the information there. In law school you will be called on and if you are unprepared you will be ridiculed by the professor. Furthermore some profs will asses an absence for being underprepared which is saying a lot as the ABA will only allow you to have 4 the entire semester to sit for the exam.
2. Comprehensiveness: It is much more comprehensive. In undergrad you may take a class that will state some simple legal rules. I once had a friend who told me that he knew everything about negligence in tort law because he had learned the elements in 2 classes of undergrad work. In law school you must take torts and we spent 11 weeks on the elements of negligence alone. In your constitutional law class you will spend 5 or 6 weeks discussing one sentence of the constitution such as free speech. To say it is comprehensive is an understatement. You are learning the law, and will someday advise clients on the law, scholarly reading is just simply not the same as reading opinions.
Furthermore, the analysis that you conducted in undergrad is not nearly as complex as law school will demand. Analyzing a book is a lot different from analyzing legal issues.
The only thing I can tell you is that you would have to experience it to know what I am talking about.
September 8th, 2009 - 20:07
thanks for the tips, i am hopeing to goto law school next year after i get my hs dipoloma after night school, I want to be a defence attorney
September 8th, 2009 - 21:51
You need to take the prep classes to be extra-sure you do well on the LSAT, and then I think you're fine.
Law schools take grade trends into account, so they'll see that, since you've been older and more mature, you've done really well.
I think you'll be accepted multiple places, if that LSAT is competitive.
September 9th, 2009 - 03:45
Emanuel's is a good outline – I liked it better than Gilbert's. Examples & Explanations is also good. For class, you should get High Court Case Notes, which are keyed to your textbooks and summarizes each case in the book. You do not need to purchase any books on the above topics until you get your book list though. The books are very expensive and you do not want to get the wrong book.
You should take it easy before heading to law school. Maybe read 1L or watch the Paper Chase. But, to begin reading textbooks is not something I would advise you do. You will be doing enough of that when school starts!!!!!
September 9th, 2009 - 04:01
The short answer is that it isn't a big factor. Most law schools focus on your LSAT score, your undergraduate GPA, and your personal statement, with each school giving more or less weight to each of those three depending on its philosophy. The vast majority of law students are coming directly from finishing their undergraduate degrees and have had no opportunity for significant employment before they apply to law school. My opinion is that your time would be better spent getting into some additional leadership positions or doing some volunteer work. These sorts of things can help you look like a more "well rounded" candidate to the selection committee. However, one way your job history could HURT you is if you have any kind of negative history, such as having been fired or disciplined by a past employer.
One good reason to consider working part-time in a law office before going to law school would be to see what the nuts and bolts of the practice of law are. Many students choose to go to law school without fully understanding what awaits them after they graduate. Many times these graduates are unhappy with the work they end up doing, but feel stuck because it is the only way they can earn enough to keep making payments on their $100,000+ in student loans.
September 9th, 2009 - 04:12
We’re excited that you chose TJSL!
September 9th, 2009 - 05:24
Great video! I’m starting law school in Aug.(At Thomas Jefferson) Thanks for the info Prof. Steinberg!
September 9th, 2009 - 06:26
It is so true what he´s saying and I´m a Law student in Spain! same applies here!
September 9th, 2009 - 12:24
I’m ans Law School (2nd year) and that’s so true!
September 9th, 2009 - 22:58
Pace yourself, get a good night’s sleep; excellent advice, and not just for law school…
September 10th, 2009 - 03:55
You can’t go to law school until you have a bachelor’s degree.
September 10th, 2009 - 04:37
You should write a book with you ideas!
September 10th, 2009 - 09:06
thanks for the advice..im considering to go into law school but im a little afraid and i doubt if my parents could afford it..
September 10th, 2009 - 16:48
Does your school accept the FAFSA?
You should be able to get financial aid through the federal government. As for scholarships, fastweb is really the biggest database out there.
September 11th, 2009 - 00:21
Well, this is kinda biased since I went to La Salle. But go to La Salle-Dasmarinas they have a brand new Engineering department and their Political Science department is not that bad. Plus it's away from the crowded city (Manila). The mall (SM) is only 15 minutes away from the University. And Tagaytay only 30 min. So there are lots to do on the weekends or after school.
But UP is known for their Law school and Mapua for their engineers (my brother went there).
September 11th, 2009 - 05:37
Not happening.
September 11th, 2009 - 05:58
I know what you mean but these jobs are a lot harder to come by in law school. It is just a numbers thing, most undergrad schools are very large, law schools usually only have about 1000 students in the whole school tops and therefore not as much employment for students. After you start law school you may reconsider working at all as it is very time consuming and you will definetly not have enough time to work your first year.
September 11th, 2009 - 07:28
Hi fellow Criminal Justice major….
I have also pondered at the SAME exact question that you have in my early college years.
The BEST advice I have to you is to keep those grades at 3.5 or higher for a law school to glance at your application. Also, find places that will help you to prepare for the LSAT (the exam you take to get into law school) as soon as your sophmore year in college. Philosophy courses are a Great way to prepare for some of the material found on the LSAT ( & there is room to take these courses under the Criminal Justice major at most colleges)
There are many law schools out there but it is important to evaluate your school for your undergraduate degree. I was told by not 1 but 5 professors that law schools DO look at where you graduated as a factor in determining whether or not you get in. Sad but true. My best advice to you is if you can & are able to transfer to "well-known" college with a great curciculum for your major then DO IT! If you are not able to, make sure that you keep your gpa at the highest level you can. But most importantly, GET INVOLVED! Experience is excellent way to display your skills on paper. It doesn't have to be in the biggest organizations, but even the smaller ones count. College is about getting involved, gaining experience, and learning.
Don't stress about what is ahead of you, just help to prepare for your future by giving it the best you got today.
September 11th, 2009 - 08:37
No, it's not the same. I have two master's degrees, and I know people with three. You are not a "doctor" at that level. I wish.
September 11th, 2009 - 10:46
The joke about med school is clever, but it's probably not accurate (nor is it a good foundation for planning your future). The lowest ranked student at the worst med school in America, if he graduates at all, will probably have a very hard time finding residencies and getting a career started; it'll be some time before anyone calls him "doctor." The post about bar exam passage rates suggests the same is true for law school.
As a current law student, I agree with what earlier posters said: 1) lawyers are snobs who care about prestige, and 2) law schools of different prestige really are very different. Law is so large and complex that there is no one set of information that you could call "the law." There are so many things to learn and so many ways to learn them that different law schools take wholly divergent approaches. Prestige attracts more qualified candidates, who in turn are able to engage material in different ways. Employers know this and hire those who have attended prestigious law schools, both because the law school admissions process has acted as an initial screening mechanism and because they have a sense that graduates from more prestigious law schools have been challenged by more qualified classmates and professors. That being said, employers probably place too much emphasis on prestige rather than getting to know individual candidates, because as the earlier poster said, a dedicated student can get a great education anywhere.
It should be a factor, but only one of many. You may find a school attractive for other reasons.
September 11th, 2009 - 12:42
great vid! even for me that im a lawyer !
September 11th, 2009 - 16:58
Law school is as stressful as you've heard and more so. It's not a good idea. Go try to find law school admissions message boards, just search on some, I think law school discussion and others out there can give you a good picture of it from other students.
Basically all law jobs are more of a research and write than a court room based job. Most cases never make it to trial and many lawyers never go to court. If you think it's going to be making objections and the like at trial do not go to law school, it's 90% reading and writing, maybe 10% oral argument in court. Same at the appellate level really, you draft briefs and rarely argue orally before the court.
The legal job market is awful, google a search on "Above the Law" and look at the blog with all the major law firms laying off attorneys. The market is flooded with lawyers. So specializing in environmental/animal rights law really closes a lot of doors when few are open to begin with. It's probably not realistic to hope to get a job limited to those areas of law you want to work in, the market just isn't there. Sure there are exceptions to every rule, but that is quite a gamble to make. I think animal rights would be a great field to go into personally, but I just don't think there is a market for it. If you decide to ignore the general advice of not going to law school(you can help animals and the environment in other ways and incur substantially less debt and stress) you could consider being a district attorney, because in those offices you might get to prosecute animal cruelty, but at the same time who knows how often that will come up.
Also, If you think going to law school will make you rich don't even consider going. Just do a google search for average law school salaries and average law school debt. You'll get a harrowing picture. The stories about 6 figure salaries you see in the news only applies to students who attend top tier law schools or finish in the top 20-15% of their classes, and even those top law firms now are laying off associates, some laying off hundreds of associates.
If you don't get into a top law school prepare for a cut-throat legal experience, there are people who will stab you in the back, watch over your shoulder etc. luckily these people do see to be fewer than those who arent out to get to the top at all costs, but the general level of competition is always felt. You see in law school you are graded against everyone else, that's the way the curve is. So, even if all of you know the material like the back of your hand it doesnt matter, one person will have a better answer than another and will get a better grade. Most law schools rank their students on a % basis, with 10% up to the top 50 and then %5 increments on up. I'm at a school ranked by U.S. News as in the ~50 range and the job cut offs for our on campus interview program were roughly top 25%. Only 23% of students go jobs through on campus interviewing, the rest have to hit the ground running and it's not easy in an already tight legal market.
The classes are taught in a Socratic method, where you read cases and the professors ask you questions in class. This is pretty stressful as a 1L(1st year law student) and can lead to embarrassment, it rarely affects your grade but the stress is still there. The class also doesn't really teach you the law, you read cases and try to figure it out. Taking good notes in class and relying soley on those notes is a great way to fail in law school. You have to create outlines that line out what you are learning in class, the good thing is a lot of old outlines exist and you should find them. How prepared you are for class and how well you answer questions in class is meaningless and totally unrelated to grades people get. It's all about how well you outline and study for finals and prepare for the exam.
The Final Exam- You get one shot at your grade in law school, normally in a final that lasts from 3-6 hours. rarely less. Most seem to be int he 3 to 4 hour range. Class will not remotely prepare you for the exam, you'll have to figure out exam hypos on your own and be prepare yourself for the way a law school exam works. It's very stressful and a ton of material.
Law school is work 24/7, if you aren't working on the weekends your 1L you are doing something very very wrong. It is not college in any respect, you can't study the night before an exam and have any hope of a good grade. it's a grind all semester.
If I could do it again I wouldn't do it, or at the very least I'd try as hard as I could do have a higher LSAT and GPA. If you must go to law school destroy your self in college to get a 4.0 and an LSAT in the upper 160's and 170's if you can swing it. the LSAT is the most important part though, study early and hard for it. Get a real major just in case, don't major in political science(like I did). I'd suggest getting a chemical engineer degree, that could help with environmental law anyway and
September 11th, 2009 - 18:24
During your 3rd year of law school, and for a few months after graduation.
September 11th, 2009 - 22:08
That’s only true for the US. In Europe, you can start studying law without any degree.
September 11th, 2009 - 22:19