Law Student

Most people, including lawyers, believe that law school is an excellent investment in yourself, regardless of whether you eventually practice law or use your legal education in another career. Of course, you must balance the cost (time and money) of law school with the benefits.

One article makes the case that you should seriously reconsider your motives if you are planning to attend law school: Applying to Law School? Please Reconsider! The article notes that the cost of law school is rising and law firm jobs are increasingly difficult to get, making it difficult for law school graduates to get jobs that pay their six-figure student loan debt.

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.

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 »

Legal commentators continue to discuss concerns over the increasing number of law students, the increasing amount of student loan debt, and the harsh reality that most new lawyers don’t make a six figure income.

“Poor lawyers” seems like an oxymoron, but many new attorneys will admit Read the rest of this Law Student article »

If you want to practice as a solo attorney or in a small firm, there are ways you can prepare for your law practice while in law school. See How to Prepare for Solo Practice While in Law School.

But maybe you want to work in a big firm. Want to make a ton of money as an attorney? Then understand where the money is, and more importantly, where the money isn’t. Read the rest of this Law Student article »

There seems to be a growing problem among law school graduates and new attorneys. They can’t find law jobs, the jobs they find don’t pay enough to repay law school loans, and the jobs require unhealthy amounts of hours doing the type of work that many lawyers find unsatisfying, or worse.

The number of law school graduates continues to increase must faster than the number of law jobs available. The supply of law graduates is high, but the demand has not kept pace.

As a result, law school graduates who did not graduate in the top 10% of a Tier 1 law school are having great difficulty getting Read the rest of this Law Student article »

Legal Andrew presents 48 practical tips to find the perfect job. The article isn’t focused on law jobs per se, but Legal Andrew’s advice is still very useful for law students and the aspiring lawyer.

For more help finding a job as a law student or lawyer, visit the Law Student Jobs section of this site.

Here is some great news for law students and law school graduates entering public interest law jobs (government, non-profit, etc.).

This includes public defenders, city prosecutors, federal government lawyers, attorneys at non-profit and charity organizations, and a variety of similarly situated law school graduates.

In short, this new law will provide law school loan repayment assistance to students taking public interest jobs.

The following was provided by Philip G. Schrag of the Georgetown University Law Center:

This morning, President Bush signed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (H.R. 2669), which includes two provisions that will make it much easier for law students who graduate with high educational debt to have long-term public service careers. The bill includes a section creating an income-based repayment (IBR) plan that enables graduates to make much smaller monthly payments when their incomes are low: the IBR formula caps repayment at 15% of (AGI minus 150% of the federal poverty level). Interest not paid Read the rest of this Law Student article »