Law Student

Congratulations to law students who have a summer job at a law firm. Summer associate positions are offered by law firms to try out law students and determine if the law student would make a good lawyer in the firm.

Summer associates often wonder if they should do something to “stand out” from the other summer associates to get noticed by partners. The best way to “stand out” is to work hard and do good work, which normally means good research and writing. A pleasant personality is the goal, not leaning too far into the introvert or extrovert direction.

Bitter Lawyer posted a list of “Nine Summer Associate Don’ts” for law students to be aware of as they tread into the economically sensitive and ultra-competitive law firm arena. The “Nine Summer Associate Don’ts” clarifies a number of ways you do not want to “stand out.” A number of the tips are pretty obvious, but what is obvious to some may not be so obvious to others.

This video explains tips for law students seeking to build their law school resume. Law firms and legal job employers often look beyond grades to determine whether a law student is the right fit for a job. The video goes beyond grades to discuss practical tips and creative ideas for building a strong law student resume.

Sure, grades are important. But students with high grades still need a good resume. Law students with medium or low grades are especially position to benefit from building other areas of their resume.

The video is encouraging for students who don’t have good grades. There are many things that law students can do to have their CV represent their strengths.

In this video, Thomas Jefferson School of Law Professor David Steinberg gives advice to law students on building the law school resume and networking for jobs after law school.

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 »

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 »

How does a law student blogger create two of the most popular blogs on the internet?

Even though there are blogs on every topic under the sun, relatively few law school blogs exist. Of the law school blogs available, only a handful have the high quality and popularity of Frugal Law Student.

The Frugal Law Student was created by a law student, providing tips on how to save money in law school while living a simple and happy life. Any law student can tell you that law school is expensive, not simple, and often stressful. For these reasons, Frugal Law Student met a need—and became a hit among law students and people everywhere who appreciated his simple tips and ideas for living a simple, frugal, happier life.

Why did law student Brett McKay start Frugal Law Student? How did he get into blogging? How did he find the time? What blog did he recently launch with huge success? If you are a law student interested in blogging, or if you just want to know why Brett’s blogs became so popular, you will enjoy this short interview with Brett McKay, one of the original law student bloggers. Read the rest of this Law Student article »

Whenever I find a law student’s blog with interesting observations about law school, I like to highlight the observations and let other law students know about the blog.

Today’s blog is from a 2L who was formerly a law student in New Orleans until a certain hurricane chased him out. Kristopher A. Nelson is currently a law student in San Francisco.

On his blog, in propria persona, Kris lists the 13 things he learned in his first year of law school. Some of my favorites include

• 11. Everyone agrees that one exam at the end of a semester is pedagogically unsound, and bears little resemblance to the above-mentioned “real world,” but no one does anything about it.
• 10. If stress is good preparation for the “real world,” I must be really prepared now.
• 7. Lawyers are the biggest fans of lawyer jokes.
• 1. There is one true answer to any legal question: “it depends.”

Read Kris’s entire list at 13 Things I Learned in My First Year of Law School.

A good list of tips or advice for law students is hard to find, even on the internet. Job Profiles published this list of 100 Tips and Resources to be a Happy, Successful Lawyer. These tips and resources are a great, especially for some easy summer reading before law school starts again for the school year.

The tips excerpted below are from the tips for law school students and new lawyers. However, check out the entire list if you are interested in a number of good tips for lawyers and life as an attorney.

84. LSAC: College students and law school students who are starting to plan their legal careers need to go over the resources on this official site.
85. About Law School: The Princeton Review: Get an overview of what to expect in law school, from applications to the first year experience to picking a specialization to legal clinics.
86. There’s No Competition in Law School: A group of 3Ls shares advice for younger law students while also doling out the real-life misery and fun of being a law school vet.
87. Tips for Summer Associates: Lydia R.B. Kelley stresses the importance of knowing deadlines for summer associates.
88. JD Law Students Blog: Various law students “share their thoughts and experiences” for the benefit of other students and future law students.
89. Links for New Lawyers: Get survival tips and help choosing a firm with this guide.
90. Marketing and Networking: A Conceptual Framework: New lawyers get a crash course in networking and promoting themselves and their practice in this article.
91. Five Indispensable Tips for Law Students and New Lawyers: The Legal Underground shares tips like “learn to use legal technology” and “don’t be an asshole” to give new lawyers’ careers a boost.
92. Firm Attorneys Offer Tips for Summer Associates: The Virginia law school site posts this article that will help summer associates land a job at the firm.
93. 10 Survival Tips for New Associates: Tips like “don’t be afraid to be a new associate,” “know the rules,” and “stay in touch with friends” will help new associates adjust to their new life.

One law student writes, “What should I do in the summer to prepare for law school this fall?” In general, law students will want to Read the rest of this Law Student article »