Law Student

A new website called EtherPad allows you to take notes during class with a friend. You both edit the same page. You can see your friends notes and save the final version. It’s called real-time document editing collaboration. Why would you want this? Here are a couple examples. Read the rest of this Law Student article »

A law student from Arizona State University College of Law recently made the news when a burglar broke into the law student’s apartment.

The law student awoke, and the burglar threatened to hurt him with a baseball bat unless the law student turned over his possessions. The law student freely turned over his wallet, guitar, and other items. But when the burglar went to take the laptop, he went too far.

“I was like, ‘Dude, no — please, no!” the law student said. “I have all my case notes…that’s four months of work!”

“I’m going to smash your head in,” Read the rest of this Law Student article »

Want a chance at $500 by writing an essay on any topic related to legal history, rare law books, or legal archives? The American Association of Law Libraries announced its first annual Morris L. Cohen Student Essay Contest. Read the rest of this Law Student article »

I recently came across a great blog called Student Bloggers. It features blogs by law students and all other types of students. If you are a student who blogs, you may enjoy seeing other blogs by students.

A high school student recently asked:

What major should I get before law school to improve my chances of getting admitted into law school?

Here was my answer:

Years ago, certain undergraduate degrees were preferred by law schools. Today, law schools consider all degrees to be equal, with a possible exception for a Read the rest of this Law Student article »

A person considering law school recently asked:

What law school scholarships are available?

This person was concerned about her ability to pay the cost of law school. Here was my answer:

Of course, you can get law school loans to help defray the cost of law school. That’s how most law students pay for law school. Setting loans aside, law school scholarships are available to some students to help cover the cost of law school and reduce the overall size of your potential law school debt.

There are three types of scholarships: academic based, Read the rest of this Law Student article »

A student preparing to take the LSAT recently asked:

How long should I spend preparing for the LSAT?

The LSAT is designed so students can’t prepare for it. That is, it will not test your knowledge, it will test your ability to analyze and comprehend what you read in the test.  As a result, people spend far less time preparing for the LSAT than other advanced degree exams (e.g. GMAT or MCAT).

To prepare for the LSAT, I suggest you practice by taking old LSAT exams (some are posted for free on the LSAT website and others can be purchased as part of LSAT preparation books) once a week for 6-8 weeks before the exam.

This time period will help you become familiar with the LSAT’s format. Also, you should be sure you know how to write out the puzzles/games presented in the LSAT.  If you need help with this, an LSAT prep book can be useful.

How long did you spend studying and practicing for the LSAT? If you have any advice, please add it here for other students.

This video begins by presenting the honest reality about the law school job hunt: you are on your own. No one is going to find the job for you, even your school’s career services office.

The video then suggests that you get your resume/CV out to as many law firms as possible. While I agree with this advice, I think students who have a lot of connections in the legal industry would be better served by first focusing time on those connections before mass-mailing law firms. For law students without connections, it is simple math: the more firms that received your resume, the more chances you have of finding an employer who likes Read the rest of this Law Student article »