What did you do about WestLaw access?
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Law School & Lawyer GAF
- Thread starter SD-Ness
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What did you do about WestLaw access?
I had to write a 5 page essay for a trademark attorney position at the USPTO (sadly didn't get it).
ZackieChan
Member
Law library? I don't know if they have WestLaw, but they will have some kind of access, I would think.
brucewaynegretzky
Member
I was told I need WestLaw access for this 24 hour writing and research assignment. It sounds like a write-on competition for a journal, but this is a try-out for an attorney position.
I don't have access to West or Lexis beyond a work account... which I'm not allowed to use for non-work purposes. Last thing I need is an ethics violation before I even get admitted to the NY bar.
I called my law school to see if I can somehow get access to West for a day, hopefully that works.
I don't have access to West or Lexis beyond a work account... which I'm not allowed to use for non-work purposes. Last thing I need is an ethics violation before I even get admitted to the NY bar.
I called my law school to see if I can somehow get access to West for a day, hopefully that works.
Do you have a lexis or westlaw rep who works with your work? They can give you a free trial.
I do plaintiff's work, though most of my work is in complex litigation, I do have a few single event cases. It's fun, and I'm with a good firm so my case load is interesting and diverse.
Bboy AJ
My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
My time talking at a high school went well. I cold called them at first and asked them a hypo about the exclusionary rule. Basically, debating the importance of rights versus letting criminals go. It went great. This is a high school law survey class so they had some background knowledge.
I had to ease up on the cold calling because they took it way too seriously at first. Then once they realized I wasn't a hard ass, they went with it. I totally know why law professors do it.
I had to ease up on the cold calling because they took it way too seriously at first. Then once they realized I wasn't a hard ass, they went with it. I totally know why law professors do it.
Office is letting me use their Westlaw account, though it took a lot of prodding after I had noted there were ethics concerns with me using my current work account (government) and they didn't say a peep in response to that concern. Weird.
Anyway, 24 hour take home exam Wednesday. WOOO! LAW SCHOOL 3L HD REMIX. Though this time the prize is a jerb, not an A.
RandomDancing
Member
I do plaintiff's work as well, with the majority being motor vehicle collisions. I didn't really want to go into this type of law, but it's generally pretty interesting. The work I do involves a lot of reading through medical records so if you find medicine interesting, you'll love it because you'll be quickly obtaining a solid foundation in orthoepedics.
Yes, if you're doing PI work, you'd better learn to love both medical records and dealing with the oftentimes unresponsive custodians of said medical records.
RandomDancing
Member
Ugh yes, I'd say the two worst parts of personal injury are dealing with the records custodians and trying to decipher the handwriting of doctors who don't transcribe their handwritten office visit notes. Most doctors have made the transition, but it always seems the doctor with 300+ pages of medical records you need to go through is the doctor with horrible handwriting who doesn't transcribe.
God help you if you're trying to determine what drug they prescribed by their handwritten notes without the aid of pharmacy records.
Do you guys know of any great sources for learning the PI industry and tips? The firm I'm at is plaintiff side as well. And yes... LO fucking L at doctors' handwriting.
Best way to learn is by doing. Try to get a partner to serve as a mentor. If the firm is even halfway decent they'll know that training their young associates is beneficial to them as well.
They are very helpful with the training. The problem is the pay is low, so people build their skill sets and usually leave after a year. This is my favorite firm I've worked at so far, just wished I got pizzaid more:-( . Never saw myself doing PI, it is more interesting than I thought it would be.
ConfusedMan09
Neo Member
Oh, I didn't realise GAF had a law thread. Any UK wannabe lawyers/lawyers knocking about in this thread?
I'm currently half way through a Vacation Scheme (internship) with Weil Gotshal in London. It's pretty fun. And ridiculously intense :S
I'm currently half way through a Vacation Scheme (internship) with Weil Gotshal in London. It's pretty fun. And ridiculously intense :S
SerArthurDayne
Member
I'm doing PI at the moment. Don't care for it. It pays the bills. Want to get back into criminal soon. Don't have the balls to start solo, so need someone to hire me, though.
Hey Laywer-GAF, I had a quick question for you. I'm currently wrapping of my sophomore year at college with plans for law school after I graduate. My question is this: I'm currently debating taking a W in one of my classes. I'm making an A in the course, but it's an elective and I'm getting very frustrated with it. I'm also worried that my stressing out over it will start to impact my performance in other classes that are more important. In the end, the only real determent I see is that I'll finish my 2nd year with only 57 credits instead of the normal 60.
Now, I know that the W won't change my GPA at my current school, and my impression is that it won't impact my GPA when I send my transcripts in for application. Of course, I know a W doesn't really look all that great on a transcript so that's my only reservation. This would be my third (possibly fourth) W since I started school and I'm a little worried how that may look. That said, the other 2 W's I took had very justifiable reasons. The first was for a remedial course that I dropped in order to retake the placement test and place out of. While the other one (or two) were both electives courses I dropped because a spot opened in a gen ed course I needed.
So, in summary, do you guys think dropping this course will have any impact on my chances when I actually apply to law school down the road, or will it be insignificant next to my GPA and LSAT?
Now, I know that the W won't change my GPA at my current school, and my impression is that it won't impact my GPA when I send my transcripts in for application. Of course, I know a W doesn't really look all that great on a transcript so that's my only reservation. This would be my third (possibly fourth) W since I started school and I'm a little worried how that may look. That said, the other 2 W's I took had very justifiable reasons. The first was for a remedial course that I dropped in order to retake the placement test and place out of. While the other one (or two) were both electives courses I dropped because a spot opened in a gen ed course I needed.
So, in summary, do you guys think dropping this course will have any impact on my chances when I actually apply to law school down the road, or will it be insignificant next to my GPA and LSAT?
When I applied, the school I wound up attending asked me to submit a written explanation for the one "W" I registered sophomore year. That was only one "W". I imagine if you had four, it would raise many more red flags.
Keep in mind, that it's also a sign you're under serious consideration if such factors are discussed.
Byakuya769
Member
What do you have in the other classes? Just sounds like good practice for how annoyed you're going to be with your shitty classes in law school. I say stick it out.
Though I don't think it would matter that much on your transcript.
SerArthurDayne
Member
Yeah, no admissions experience, but I was just going to suggest that you go ahead and have a well written explanation of your prior W's (before I forgot to reply), and that you don't do it anymore. They will probably assume you are a fuck up. But if your LSAT score is high enough they will be happy to buy your explanation.
Like I said, I can justify the others because I dropped them to enroll in a different course that same semester, or because I placed out of it. I can also justify this course under the pretense that the University I'm transferring to (I'm currently in Community College) won't accept it (which is also true).
I'm making an A in all five of my classes right now. Though a couple are right on the edge between an A and a B. I actually have 45 credits completed with a cumulative 4.0, so I'm not terrible worried about a small GPA hit. More than anything, I'm just struggling with this class because it is entirely worthless because it won't transfer with me. I see your point with annoying classes in law school, but I'd almost rather save myself the headache and focus on my other classes right now.
The below is only for schools where your LSAT/GPA don't turn into an auto-admit situation.
It's not about the justification for each individual "W", it's about the cumulative effect of having multiple W's even if each individual W has an explanation that the average person would deem acceptable.
All I can relay is my experience. A month plus after submitting my application, the admissions committee contacted me and requested a written statement explaining my "W". I had one "W" on a transcript of As and B+s. I imagine having four would be far more likely to raise red flags at schools where you're not an auto-admit applicant, and at that point, whether a justification convinces a faceless committee member is a total unknown.
Out of curiosity, what school was this?
Angry Fork
Member
How do pro bono lawyers make enough money to live on? Like defense attorney's who defend low income people because they genuinely want to for moral reasons.
So I work at a certain place that sees alot of pro bono lawyers. They use our services, aka I work at our school library.
Long story short: They don't. They barely get by, they don't own cars, they usually are wearing the dress shoes they wear to trial. Etc. Thats why lawyers only do pro bono occasionally: even the simplest case can turn ugly and require alot of time. And you're either are getting paid nothing or close to nothing.
Some people can work at the hotlines and non-profit pro bono service places, and those people get paid whatever the pro-bono has set aside for them. They get paid anywhere from low pay to "hmmm, not so bad."
Dr. Feel Good
Banned
My parents are trying to convince me to get a law degree, despite having no interest in law. I work for a large manufacturing company and have always wanted to work in corporate finance and analysis. Ultimately I'd like to get an MBA, possibly a Masters in Finance as well, however my parents think a JD would be better and even more beneficial to me in "big business" despite never being a lawyer. I don't really agree but can't find much online that weighs pros and cons.
My Dad owns his own law firm and does pretty well, and my parents want to pass the company off to one of the children, and with my brothers being in graphic design and nuclear engineering I'm really the only candidate. However I really have no desire to take over a firm that was handed to me anyway.
Does anyone have experience with law degrees in the business setting?
My Dad owns his own law firm and does pretty well, and my parents want to pass the company off to one of the children, and with my brothers being in graphic design and nuclear engineering I'm really the only candidate. However I really have no desire to take over a firm that was handed to me anyway.
Does anyone have experience with law degrees in the business setting?
Don't do it just for the business. You're in a unique position though, that the financial risk is less given your good fallback option.
Dr. Feel Good
Banned
Well I'd be more inclined to do something part time. I guess what I'm asking is do law degrees benefit individuals within corporate finance/accounting in terms of being better a better management choice, better salary potential, and overall a better understanding of corporate law? Or us it basically throwing another degree on your résumé which means jack shit? I would think the latter.
Actually a JD would be a good degree to have for that type of career. Helpful, but not necessary. Law school is tough, though, so if you're heart's not into it, think long and hard before you do it just to make your parents happy.
Angry Fork
Member
Is it possible for these people to do it part time, and have another job they get income from? Like are lawyers able to pick their cases and then work on them on their own time?
Many attorneys do a certain number of hours of pro bono work each year. In most instances, the lawyer can pick and choose the cases they want to take on for free. However, if you're starting out or you want to take on appointment work, you can be put on a list with each court where they will notify you when they have a defendant that needs representation. The attorneys on the appointment list usually aren't doing pro bono work, and can bill $75/hour for their work in these cases.
The court is not constrained to this appointment list, however, and if a defendant needs representation in a particularly complex case, the judge can pull from any attorney practicing in its jurisdiction and assign them to that case. In this case, the attorney has no option unless the court grants him or her leave to withdraw.
None of the lawyers are constrained by any law or guidelines to do nothing but this work. They can take other cases.
Columbia. I don't think a 4th W will mean too much given you have 3 already, but I don't have any admissions work experience, so it's nothing but speculation on my end. I think preparing a well-written, thorough explanation for the Ws on your transcript is a good idea. Perhaps even submitting it as an addendum, to get out in front of the problem? If you apply to a school and your GPA/LSAT get you in with no questions asked, it won't matter. If it's a school where you're a solid candidate but not a stone-cold lock, they're going to take a look at your application more closely.
One W had me scrambling to author a response that could spin the truth ("I was an immature fuckhead for one semester in college") into something that wouldn't hurt me.
Byakuya769
Member
I think "I'm dropping out of law school." has to be the easiest April Fools gag ever. So many people falling for it.
Circle Jerk
Member
staying in law school is just pulling a joke on yourself.
Byakuya769
Member
Haha. That kind of stings.
Dr. Feel Good
Banned
It's not necessarily about making my parents happy as it is about developing my knowledge base about business. The current company I'm working for is possibly promoting me to a position in Portland, Oregon and I'd like to utilize the time out there to work on a degree. Lewis and Clark Law School is out there, and they offer part time program for business law. But again I ask how applicable is this to big companies if I don't necessarily want to use it as a lawyer?
hypostatic
Member
Anyone else completely done with the law school year? I have a 30 pager due tomorrow and absolutely no interest to finish it (about halfway done)... I was lucky enough to get a summer gig. I TRULY cannot wait for it to start. So sick of school!
Frank the Great
Banned
congrats mang
brucewaynegretzky
Member
HELL YEA! GO CELEBRATE!
Wrasslemania weekend was a good start to celebration. Video game vacation after I end this fellowship will be a nice followup.
Feels good. Law school was a never-ending failure to find any employment ever.
one of friend in kitchener, ON courthouse jail. he's arrested for criminal harassment. my question is if i want to talk to him is it possible in Saturday or not. does it have to through a lawyer? right now he doesn't have any lawyer.
anyone here from toronto/kitchener give me some advice on this matter?
anyone here from toronto/kitchener give me some advice on this matter?
Pollux
Member
Congrats!!!!!!!
I don't know if we have many Canadian lawyers, but call the jail tomorrow. They should be willing and able to answer your questions.
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