How to Land a Legal Internship

Landing a legal internship is an ideal path for undergraduate or law school students who are seeking hands-on legal experience, allowing them to develop viable skills from experienced attorneys. It also allows interns to explore the legal area of their interest. Even though not all interns will obtain highly desired summer associate positions at top-tier law firms, they can still learn from local firms that have a great deal of experience among the lawyers.

The Application Process

Create a list of law firms that you are interested in interning for the summer or a semester. Consider location, commuting distance, the law firm’s specialty and the size of the firm when compiling your list of prospect firms. There are many resources that you can utilize to narrow down your list, including Martindale.com or even LinkedIn. In addition, you could explore the possibility of judicial clerkships as you could intern for state and federal court judges, gaining great insight into how trials and courts work. After you customize your cover letter and attach your resume, send your information to firms and inquire about upcoming intern positions.

Nailing the Interview

While good grades and achievements may be strong qualifications, you also need to ace your interview. The first step is knowing everything that is on your resume, and the second step is to prove that you will be an asset to the law firm. Be sure to properly answer the behavioral questions, articulate strong answers, sound confident and assertive, demonstrate that you are a team player and express an interest in learning from the law firm. Additionally, it is in your best interest to share any technical, administrative, social media marketing and other skills that you may have in your wheelhouse.

Choosing the Right Firm

If you have multiple internship offers, consider what you are looking for in an internship. By choosing a smaller firm, you might gain more exposure and visibility as an intern. Smaller firms also allow you to connect with more of the lawyers at the practice. However, by joining a large, well-known law firm, you will be adding a great addition to your resume. If you are uncertain about which firm to pick, it might be a good idea to speak with former interns and learn about their internship experiences.

6 of the Best Podcasts for Law Students

Law students and recent graduates will find invaluable advice and tricks to excel in academics, start, and build their careers with the help of these six podcasts about law school and the legal system.

Thinking Like a Lawyer

Hosts Elie Mystal and Joe Patrice examine pop culture happenings and recent news through the lens of a lawyer. From technology to retail to politics, there are few topics this podcast doesn’t touch, all the while entertaining listeners.

I am the Law

In I Am The Law, hosts Deborah Merritt, Aaron Taylor, and Kimber Russell interview legal professionals from various areas of law. Guests discuss their jobs and the journeys they took to arrive there, which can help law students determine the focus of their careers.

Women in Law – On the Record

Like I Am The Law, this miniseries was created by Law School Transparency. Although there are only a few episodes, Women in the Law dives deep into what it really means to be a woman who is a lawyer and how to combat the sexism that still runs rampant in the courtroom and society.

Sword and Scale

This podcast can go toe-to-toe with any polished podcast. The sound production includes original audio, music, and sound effects that help to tell stories of the criminal justice system. Sword and Scale is the ideal law podcast for listeners who enjoy true crime shows.

The Gen Why Lawyer

Although Nicole Abboud ended The Gen Why Lawyer in October 2019, archived episodes can still be helpful to lawyers who want to bring their careers and lives to the next level but can’t find the support they need to do that. While discussing the real struggles lawyers can face, including work-life balance, Nicole remains upbeat. Her guests range in age, focus, and lifestyle. There are 200 episodes to catch up with.

Law School Toolbox

Current law students will find the Law School Podcast helps people who are still dealing with academics and have yet to graduate, pass the bar, or apply for a job. Alison Monahan and Lee Burgess discuss with each other and guests how law students can combine the military with law school, boost their confidence, and even dress for the part, among other topics.

Picking an Area of Law

For law students and newly-minted lawyers alike, choosing an area of specialization can often be a very challenging decision. Every area of legal practice has its own unique benefits and drawbacks, but with the right mindset and a commitment to hard work, many new legal professionals find themselves ready to make an impact on their chosen field. Here are just a few great legal specialties for new attorneys to consider, and why they matter in 2019.

Public Defense

Salaries in the public defense sector aren’t the highest in the legal industry by any stretch, but a wide range of interesting challenges makes this area of practice highly desirable for new attorneys. The work of being a public defender can be stressful, it is true, but winning a case for an innocent client can be an extremely meaningful event in any attorney’s career. Indeed, many public defenders wouldn’t trade their job for the world.

Corporate Law

One of the highest paying sectors of the legal profession, a career in corporate law can be challenging and rewarding in equal measure. Corporate lawyers work some of the longest hours in the legal profession, and in traditional “Big Law” regions like New York City, work schedules and client demands can be truly brutal: Indeed, as an area of practice, corporate law has some of the highest attrition rates in the legal industry. If lawyers do manage to make partner at a big law firm, however, compensation can be astronomical: Some partners at big law firms pull down seven-figure salaries.

Environmental Law

An extremely popular path for idealistic law school graduates in recent years, a career in environmental law can enable attorneys to help their communities in unique and meaningful ways. Largely tasked with ensuring that corporations and public entities stay in line with environmental protection legislation, many environmental lawyers find much to be satisfied with in their day-to-day work.

Family Law

Because it deals with issues related to divorces and child custody cases, a career in family law is not for the faint of heart, but the ability to help families makes this a good field for people prepared to take on tough cases for the greater good. Like any legal field, family law carries unique challenges for its dedicated practitioners, but its fierce adherents will be the first to tell you that this is one of the most interesting branches of the legal profession.

TED Talks for Law Students

Completing the work necessary to attain a degree in law is never easy, but seeking out additional educational materials can often complement the rigors of a legal education. When viewing these illuminating TED Talks about the justice system, for example, aspiring lawyers will undoubtedly learn much about the many problems that currently face members of the legal profession. By turns insightful and even humorous, these lectures can be truly life-changing in their scope.

Four Ways to Fix a Broken Legal System by Philip K. Howard

It is no secret that the legal system in the United States has become inundated with a wave of frivolous lawsuits in recent years, and as more and more middle-income professionals become the targets of an increasing number of damaging and expensive suits, professionals in fields like medicine, law, and education are left struggling to cope with aggressive and Kafkaesque legal bureaucracies. In this insightful TED Talk by attorney Philip K. Howard, unique ideas for fixing this broken system are proposed.

The Lost Art of Democratic Debate by Michael Sandel

While our legal system has its roots in the democratic ideals and political philosophy of Ancient Greece, we’ve tended to forgo the heady intellectual debates that were once the defining characteristic of that great culture. According to Harvard professor Michael Sandel, it may well be time to return to the political roots of that august age. As Sandel shows in his illuminating TED Talk, we often lose the greatest of our freedoms when we fail to articulate our values in vigorous public discussions.

Why Eyewitnesses Get It Wrong by Scott Fraser

In the US justice system, eye witnesses are often seen as enormous assets in determining the merits of various legal proceedings. But as our notions of psychology change, so must our faith in the infallibility of eye witnesses adapt to changing times. As forensic psychologist Scott Fraser shows, eye witnesses are capable of making enormous errors in their recounting of events; when the livelihoods or even the lives of defendants are on the line, the mistaken testimony of some eye witnesses can even be disastrous. For anyone who is passionate about justice, this TED Talk is a must-see.

Tips for Note Taking During Law Lectures

Entering lecture for the first time during law school can be quite intimidating. There is a lot of information to retain throughout the class. While many students feel they can soak up and retain all of the information the professor is lecturing on, that is hardly the case. Developing effective note taking skills is essential to surviving law school. Not only will these note taking skills help to keep you on top of your lectures, but they will help prepare you when it is time to study for those exams.

Take the time to choose a method of note taking the works best for you and stick with it. Over time there have been many different types of note taking methods that have developed. Some students choose to use their laptops to keep their notes neatly typed up and organized, while others may choose to take the old fashioned route of pen and paper. At the beginning of the semester, it is important to try each of these approaches to feel which one better fits your learning style.

Study the material before lecture and take notes on what is going to be covered within lecture for that day. It is important that your notes you take before lecture are done in a different color to keep them separate from your lecture notes. It’s important to make sure that the two sets of notes come together and converge with one another. If they are not coming together and matching up it is very likely that you are not picking up on the key concepts in your reading.

The entire purpose of taking effective notes throughout the lecture is to utilize them outside the classroom. Taking the time to review and thoroughly study the material is important because you want to ensure you understand all of the content that was covered in class. If you happen to come across anything that may not make sense or you misunderstand you can then get it cleared up with other classmates or your professor.

Using these concepts to assist in note taking will help to make the law school experience a successful one. Note taking is essential to get the most out of your lectures.

How to Choose the Right Law School

Joining law school is one of the primary steps to becoming a successful lawyer. One of the decisive measures that you have to take in order to actualize your dream is choosing the appropriate law school to attend. To be successful in this endeavor, you have to exercise due diligence by considering five major factors as hereby outlined.

Your particular ambitions

The first thing to do is to evaluate your needs with regard to what you want to achieve in your law school. Different law schools offer different competitive courses that are tailored toward a specific line of the legal profession. You should, therefore, choose a law school that has a curriculum that matches your legal ambitions.

Location of the law school

Location is an important aspect to consider, especially since different law schools are situated in different areas. The rule of the thumb here is to ensure that you select a law school that is proximate to your locality or workplace, in case you intend to do part-time studies. The location of the law school is also an important aspect to consider since distantly located schools will have you pay daily commuting fees.

The reputation of the law school

Different law schools have different reputations when it comes to the quality of educational services offered. Schools that have a reputation for high standards of education are highly likely to match your ambition as your chances of passing and qualifying are high. You may want to check law school rankings online while also digging deeper on the web and social media for the schools’ past ratings.

Application process

Law schools have minimum requirements for admission. You should, therefore, spend some time investigating the different minimum qualifications required for interested students. In case a law school has strict regulations of requirements, then you may want to abandon your ambitions and pursue the ones that have more flexible admission requirements.

Tuition charges

After coming up with a possible shortlist of potential law schools that you may be interested in joining, it all comes down to how much the school charges for tuition fees. The idea here is to select a law school that you can easily afford to pay without incurring a significant strain on your finances.

This article was originally published on michaelreiterman.com.

Tips to Help Pay For Law School

For the many students pursuing advanced learning at law school, tuition fees are one of the persistent issues. Every student must carefully consider tuition fees as one of the key factors when looking for a good law school to attend. Students have a wide range of tuition fee financing options to select from.

Applying for scholarships

There are a host of different law school scholarships that students may choose from. Most of these scholarships target sponsoring students to pursue certain lines of the legal profession. Some are even geared towards fostering diversity by encouraging minority students to apply. Scouring through the various scholarships for law students increases the chances of successfully securing one.

Self-financing

Students also have an opportunity to finance themselves from their individual savings, or even out of their job salaries. This option is quite suitable for students who have a daytime job and who can pursue the option of part-time studies. Different law schools also encourage such students by offering part-time courses that fit within individual students’ schedules.

Taking a loan

There are different kinds of state and federal student loans that law school students can choose from. To qualify for such loans, students must go through various levels of vetting after submitting the loan applications. Even though not all students can qualify to receive the tuition fee loan, the loan programs may be able to provide students with tuition subsidies that can help alleviate the financial burden.

Private student loans from law schools

Law schools offer students the opportunity to receive subsidies in the form of credit for their tuition fees. Most of these programs fall under the public service loan forgiveness program, which enables students to acquire free education and commit themselves to work for at least ten years with little or no pay. Students should carefully evaluate the terms and conditions of such loans to ensure that they can confidently commit themselves.

Income share agreements

Income share agreements allow legal students to commit part of their salaries towards repaying their tuition fees upon graduation and admission to practice. This option should also be carefully considered to ensure that students do not get frustrated after they start earning. It often leaves graduate legal students with a relatively low paycheck, contrary to their expectations.

This article was originally published on michaelreiterman.com.

Law School Study Tips

University studies are always a challenge, but law school is regarded as one of the most challenging academic pursuits a person can face. Given the high level of competition among aspiring attorneys, the pressure to succeed can result in hours of stressful studying that even jeopardize a student’s mental health.

Law school success depends on subjectivity and flexibility; the more explorative and committed a person is to reaching their academic goals, the more likely they are to succeed.

Consider Grades

A law student’s grades will have a lasting impact on their career opportunities; while it’s easy to become overwhelmingly stressed to the point of non-functioning, it’s important to put things into perspective. Rather than fixating on the possibility of failure, evaluating current grades through a lens of possibility and maintenance is key.

The goals should be short and constructed around terms at large; that is, rather than becoming obsessed with achieving a perfect score on a single exam or essay, students should look at their overall performance in a course and strive to maintain a high standard.

Pay Attention to Mental Health

Long hours of studying and work can cause many law students to develop depression and anxiety. Talking with a school counselor or outside psychotherapist can ensure students develop healthy and effective ways of coping with law school stress without jeopardizing their grades or well-being.

Practice Time Management

A good study schedule is more effective than hours of cramming; sleep deprivation leads to worse mental health, difficulty concentrating, poor recollection and reduced test performance.

Students should study for the bar and other law school exams on a schedule. For example, many law students practice the Pomodoro technique, which involves working for 25 minutes and taking a 10-minute break.

An openness to exploring different study methods and schedules will allow law students to find their unique rhythm. Everyone is different, and students should embrace their individual learning style rather than forcing a specific structure or regime that looks “studious.”

Distractions should always be kept at a minimum, which means it’s okay to pass up on study groups to quietly read and take notes alone. With these tips in mind, passing law school can become much easier in the mind of a stressed, anxious student. In times of depression or burnout, taking a break and reaching out for help from a licensed mental health counselor is the best course of action.University studies are always a challenge, but law school is regarded as one of the most challenging academic pursuits a person can face. Given the high level of competition among aspiring attorneys, the pressure to succeed can result in hours of stressful studying that even jeopardize a student’s mental health.

Law school success depends on subjectivity and flexibility; the more explorative and committed a person is to reaching their academic goals, the more likely they are to succeed.

Consider Grades

Pay Attention to Mental Health

Practice Time Management

A good study schedule is more effective than hours of cramming; sleep deprivation leads to worse mental health, difficulty concentrating, poor recollection and reduced test performance.

5 Tips for Success During Your First Year of Law School

For many, trudging through law school requires hard work and the development of serious study habits. Those who succeed often master these skills during their first year. The following skills could make the difference between forging a successful legal career or being forced to pursue other vocations.

Be Respectful

Oftentimes, treating others with respect and dignity is an overlooked trait. That said, forging relationships and accumulating contacts can go a long way towards building a successful tenure as both a student and an attorney.

Build A Solid Network

Certain academic professionals suggest developing a significant network of fellow students and professors. Such action is especially true for those individuals studying or providing instruction in similar disciplines as the one the student in question has decided to pursue. The amount of work required of most law students can be overwhelming, which can be made even more difficult when discussing complicated legal issues. An expansive network of people to ask questions and compare notes can give a student a competitive edge.

Check Email Frequently

In today’s technologically-driven world, most law school administrations and departments utilize email as the preferred mode of communication. Ergo, important communiques made from the academic institution’s central offices related to out of class topics or class schedule changes orchestrated by professors will likely be sent via the electronic route. Ergo, it is imperative that law students check their inboxes daily, if not more frequently.

Attend Class Regularly

Law school requires an immense amount of reading, interpretation, discussion and clarification. Therefore, attending every class is strongly recommended. Additionally, lectures might be presented in a specific order because, in certain instances, the student might need to understand “Topic A” before learning about “Topic B.” Missing classes, even just one could place the student behind the proverbial curb and make catching up difficult or impossible.

Avoid Procrastination

As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, getting behind could place a student in an unenviable disadvantage that they might not be able to recover from. Ergo, procrastination can also be a significant detriment to success and should be avoided at all costs. Students would be well-served to keep up with all work assigned between classes. Moreover, such individuals are strongly encouraged to begin such tasks as soon as they are assigned. Doing so will help keep them on an even keel.

Creating the Best Law School Study Group

If you’re in law school, putting together a small study group can be extremely beneficial. However, the quality of the group will hinge on those you include, so it’s important to weed out those students with abrasive personalities, a lack of dedication, and other undesirable traits. Additionally, these tips can help you put together a study group that will benefit each person involved.

Focus the Size and Schedule of the Group

To start, you will want to determine how many people will be included in the study group. While three to six members is ideal, you should try to maintain an even number of members, so the group can break down into partners when necessary. Additionally, you should know in advance what days of the week you’ll be meeting and for how long. Meeting for one to three hours is a good plan, but try to choose the days and times that will be convenient for most people.

Set Expectations for Participation

Whether you assign reading for each following meeting, or the group agrees to prepare for each meeting in some other way, establish that these expectations must be met. If your members aren’t following through with these plans, no one will be getting much out of the sessions. If necessary, it may be wise to create a system for eliminating members who aren’t regularly participating. While friendships shouldn’t be discouraged, the primary function is to help one another learn.

Choose a Proper Meeting Place

Moving the site of your study group sessions from week to week can be a distraction in itself. Ideally,choose a distraction-free place that you will be able to use every week. If you can’t come up with a meeting place on your own, contact the school administrators and find out if they have an available classroom you can use. You should choose someplace that’s away from noisy areas. You may also choose to eliminate the use of cell phones during sessions.

As your study group gets going, you can also consider how it will be managed. Will you always be in charge, or will leadership rotate from week to week? Encouraging more participation in setting goals and developing new projects will help keep everyone interested. Being flexible in managing your study group will help it improve over time, which will ensure everyone gets more out of the experience.