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Law School & Lawyer GAF

Everytime I read this thread I always have that feeling that I can't wait to go to law school. Of course I still have to do those damn LSATs in October just so I can hit the ED deadline.

What the hell about this thread makes you want to go to law school!?!?!

O and that interview looks like it isn't going anywhere :( Turns out the woman I interviewed with had no idea why I was there outside of knowing the professor that recommended me. Applying for their internship program now, but I'm not sure if I can do it.

Going back to my old office on Monday to start my school's "cheat US News' statistics" program. I think eventually this could actually turn into a job though. That would be nice. I really enjoy the work I do there.
 
What the hell about this thread makes you want to go to law school!?!?!

I don't know what it is but I do enjoy stressful situations. And working at a law firm now and seeing what the attorneys do for me is pretty fascinating and it re-affirms that I do want to go into the field. I think its more I want to hit that end goal rather than endure the process of getting to it more than anything.

I'm sure that once I get to 1L I'll be singing a different tune.
 

Tex117

Banned
I don't know what it is but I do enjoy stressful situations. And working at a law firm now and seeing what the attorneys do for me is pretty fascinating and it re-affirms that I do want to go into the field. I think its more I want to hit that end goal rather than endure the process of getting to it more than anything.

I'm sure that once I get to 1L I'll be singing a different tune.

HA, the fact you think its that easy to just get law firm job.
 

Balphon

Member
The only part of law school I really disliked was the fact that I was constantly beset by the feeling that it was a colossal waste of time.
 
The only part of law school I really disliked was the fact that I was constantly beset by the feeling that it was a colossal waste of time.

Amen. I'm going to try to do no work at all this semester (first of 3L year). I have a research job, and I'm looking to extern full time in Spring (all required classes will be taken care of by end of year). That's more than enough work without having to worry about such piddling concepts as "remedies" and "evidence."
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
woo hoo just finished my last exam and paper!

It was a harrowing experience too. I forgot to bring the evidence rules card I was supposed to bring and had to literally sprint to a friend's house to find another one.
 

PBY

Banned
Just finished OCI. 4 callbacks so far, can't put in to words how lucky/grateful I feel, this year is looking down from last year.

Anyways- any advice for callbacks? Thanks, really appreciate it.
 
Just finished OCI. 4 callbacks so far, can't put in to words how lucky/grateful I feel, this year is looking down from last year.

Anyways- any advice for callbacks? Thanks, really appreciate it.

Those New York minutes, I tell ya. Everyone down here was getting quick replies from NYC, all still waiting on most of DC. Good stuff man!
 

YoungHav

Banned
I wholeheartedly regret going to law school. What a waste, nearly $200K in the hole. I might as well sell drugs now the economy is so bad. I am doing an internship right now making $3.30/hr.
 

PBY

Banned
I wholeheartedly regret going to law school. What a waste, nearly $200K in the hole. I might as well sell drugs now the economy is so bad. I am doing an internship right now making $3.30/hr.

Year/School range/location? Also.... im assuming the internship money range is like a stipend? Man that sucks. I wanna say keep your head up, but I know that shit just seems condenscending given how bad things are right now. Keep on trucking.
 

mre

Golden Domers are chickenshit!!
I wholeheartedly regret going to law school. What a waste, nearly $200K in the hole. I might as well sell drugs now the economy is so bad. I am doing an internship right now making $3.30/hr.
Jesus, man. Pick up a doc review gig. They pay $20-$30 / hour, depending upon the market.
 

PBY

Banned
Anyone have any advice for callbacks? I've been verrrry lucky considering my stats, wanna stick the landing and wrap this process up.
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
Callbacks are often more about cultural fit than rigorous examination. I can only speak from experience in terms of what people were dinged for when I used to do firm callback interviews:

-Not being prepared. It's sort of a matter of calibrating yourself properly. Overdoing your prep can lead to awkwardness, but underdoing it or seeming disengaged means you're wasting everyone's time.

-Not having a good idea of where you would like to fit in at the firm. If the firm does lots of energy-industry work, don't play up your passion for Internet law. On the other side, it's all about calibration again. Your interviewers know you have no clue wtf actually working as a lawyer at any firm, especially theirs specifically, really entails, so don't feel too gunshy about that. Just give them the impression that you are a confident, engaged, and capable person and you'll have done everything you can.

Also don't forget interviewing is a fickle beast and numbers game sometimes. There were times when I absolutely loved a candidate and was pretty shocked at first when they didn't get a summer offer. Then with experience I saw just how common it was and how many places really do have the numbers where they have to turn down lots of good candidates. It happens a lot.
 

PBY

Banned
Callbacks are often more about cultural fit than rigorous examination. I can only speak from experience in terms of what people were dinged for when I used to do firm callback interviews:

-Not being prepared. It's sort of a matter of calibrating yourself properly. Overdoing your prep can lead to awkwardness, but underdoing it or seeming disengaged means you're wasting everyone's time.

-Not having a good idea of where you would like to fit in at the firm. If the firm does lots of energy-industry work, don't play up your passion for Internet law. On the other side, it's all about calibration again. Your interviewers know you have no clue wtf actually working as a lawyer at any firm, especially theirs specifically, really entails, so don't feel too gunshy about that. Just give them the impression that you are a confident, engaged, and capable person and you'll have done everything you can.

Also don't forget interviewing is a fickle beast and numbers game sometimes. There were times when I absolutely loved a candidate and was pretty shocked at first when they didn't get a summer offer. Then with experience I saw just how common it was and how many places really do have the numbers where they have to turn down lots of good candidates. It happens a lot.
This is really, really useful, thank you so much. I completely hear you on the numbers game stuff; its weird, because some of the interviews at the screener stage that I thought went amazing were a rejection, and vice versa. Such a crazy process.

edit: 2 questions-
1- How much input did you/the jr associates have in rejecting/offering a candidate at the callback stage?
2- How many callbacks would you say would allow one, not to relax, but to feel okay about their odds?
 

ggnoobIGN

Banned
Just wondering, is 159 good on the lsat? Girlfriend got that with a 3.8 gpa. She wants to go to one of the Chicago schools, DePaul, Kent, Loyola. Any chance at northwestern? She can check the Hispanic box which I'm sure helps.
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
This is really, really useful, thank you so much. I completely hear you on the numbers game stuff; its weird, because some of the interviews at the screener stage that I thought went amazing were a rejection, and vice versa. Such a crazy process.

edit: 2 questions-
1- How much input did you/the jr associates have in rejecting/offering a candidate at the callback stage?
2- How many callbacks would you say would allow one, not to relax, but to feel okay about their odds?

1. I think it varies by firm. You'll usually be speaking to one managing-partner type and one senior/mid-level partner type. Those are the guys you want to impress. :p With everyone else you basically want to hit it off well and make a decent connection if possible. Don't talk ONLY about their work but people do generally enjoy talking about what they do if asked about it in a reasonably intelligent manner.

2. Hehe, well don't most firms give offers to at least ~30-50% of people they interview? I thought that was it but I don't have any hard data or anything.
 

PBY

Banned
^So useful, you're the best man. Maybe I'll have time to get back into videogames when all this is done. That does seem to be the offer rate...so we shall see.


Just wondering, is 159 good on the lsat? Girlfriend got that with a 3.8 gpa. She wants to go to one of the Chicago schools, DePaul, Kent, Loyola. Any chance at northwestern? She can check the Hispanic box which I'm sure helps.

Close to zero chance at NU, but what do I know; shoot for it if she wants it, especially if she has work experience.
Good shot at depaul, loyola, and kent.
Check the schools' averages: http://www.top-law-schools.com/rankings.html

Also- hispanic from where if you don't mind me asking? I think it actually does make a difference.

Question- what does she want out of law school? I ask this only to help, because if she wants a biglaw job I'd seriously recommend her take a hard look at her chances or retake. I saw too many people getting crushed at interview week this year/ know of many ppl in Chicago not at UChicaco or NU that are in bad shape big-law-firm wise.

Disclaimer- I'm only a 2L.
 
After some kindly worded rejection emails and snail mails (one even asked me to consider them as a 3L. Fuck you, EAD), I got my first invite for a callback. I'm pumped!
 
Just wondering, is 159 good on the lsat? Girlfriend got that with a 3.8 gpa. She wants to go to one of the Chicago schools, DePaul, Kent, Loyola. Any chance at northwestern? She can check the Hispanic box which I'm sure helps.

3.8 is good, but she likely needs to get in the mid 160's for a good boost.
 

Pollux

Member
Does anyone know ANYTHING about the legal profession in Europe? And is there any way for a JD to be applied to a legal job in Europe?
 

mre

Golden Domers are chickenshit!!
Does anyone know ANYTHING about the legal profession in Europe? And is there any way for a JD to be applied to a legal job in Europe?

Might want to PM Onkel.

You should look into doing a study abroad next summer if you really want to try to practice in Europe. Are you fluent in any other languages?
 

Pollux

Member
Might want to PM Onkel.

You should look into doing a study abroad next summer if you really want to try to practice in Europe. Are you fluent in any other languages?

Haha not really, I'm thinking of mainly the UK or Sweden (because apparently from everything I've looked at all their LLM programs are in English).

Obviously this is just an idea and nothing more serious than that but I have a friend who did this and now works at a large firm in London and loves it.

Figured I would at least bounce the idea around now before I had to start seriously thinking about it.
 
Does anyone know ANYTHING about the legal profession in Europe? And is there any way for a JD to be applied to a legal job in Europe?

Re: UK, I don't think you can directly. As far as I know you can sign up with a large US firm and try and transfer to London, do the GDL course followed by the LPC and a Training Contract since the JD could be treated the equivalent of a non-law degree (the first two courses are very costly but large firms do sponsor you through them if they offer you a Training Contract) or do the QLTS (formerly QLTT) - Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme, which would qualify you to practice in England and Wales. But that is only available to qualified lawyers (which I guess would be an 'attorney' over there).
 

Pollux

Member
Re: UK, I don't think you can directly. As far as I know you can sign up with a large US firm and try and transfer to London, do the GDL course followed by the LPC and a Training Contract since the JD could be treated the equivalent of a non-law degree (the first two courses are very costly but large firms do sponsor you through them if they offer you a Training Contract) or do the QLTS (formerly QLTT) - Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme, which would qualify you to practice in England and Wales. But that is only available to qualified lawyers (which I guess would be an 'attorney' over there).

Would getting an LLM from an English law school be an option?
 
Might want to PM Onkel.

You should look into doing a study abroad next summer if you really want to try to practice in Europe. Are you fluent in any other languages?

Someone here is a lawyer in Germany, Jintor I think, and isn't a mod a UK lawyer?

Umm, 200k? Where did you go?

He went to NY Law School, right? Me I went to an NY/NJ Law School...in fairness a lot comes from living costs and grad school.
 
Got offered a paid internship today. Almost definitely gonna take it. No idea where this is gonna go. I think this may qualify as one of Manos' "non-law" jobs, but not really....

Don't wanna say anymore just yet.
 

mre

Golden Domers are chickenshit!!
Got offered a paid internship today. Almost definitely gonna take it. No idea where this is gonna go. I think this may qualify as one of Manos' "non-law" jobs, but not really....

Don't wanna say anymore just yet.
Congratulations! Paid = good. Is it a livable wage?
 
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