LawSchool.Life

Agree with pneumonia. I'd say if you had a connection with an attorney you should talk to them but not so much just a recruiter

Didn't get any SA positions in NY. I got an internship at an international law firm in a Asian financial hub city. The work I do is Big Law. I have a few concerns : 1) The fact that it was not done in NYC/USA. My resume would suggest no ties to the Asian financial hub at all; first time working the...

I usually lose 2 hours for every 8 billed (so "working" or in the office for 10), depending on my efficiency that day. OP, to translate what a regular full time non legal salaried job is like into billable hours, that's like ~30 billable hours a week. No one works non-stop during the workday. I thi...

Slytherpuff is 100% correct (although from what I've heard, the insane disparity in workflow happens more often in transactional work than in litigation). You're always going to be "at work" for more time than you bill. And it depends what your firm considers billable--maybe you get some credit for ...

THe "why us" question is just the intro paragraph right on a cover letter when you say I am XXX from YYY School, I am interested in applying to ZZZ because of your culture and XYZ. This isn't an extra supplemental that firms want? Yes, the "why us" is basically the second part of the first paragrap...

I wouldn't conclude anything. Generally speaking I don't think firms care if you don't know precisely what you're interested in yet. It's very common, and I'd say it's actually quite uncommon for people to have a strong preference for one or the other while in law school. There are definitely people...

I would consider leaving it out of the cover letter, but if it's the only thing you've got that would come across as showing specific interest in the firm (the "why us" question), I might keep it in but definitely avoid sounding like it's the only thing you're interested in. My perceived problem wit...

I am currently interning and doing research/helping out in International arbitration cases. How different is the two and what do associates ussually do in litigation? I currently just do some background legal research on contract law or reading through the pleadings and summarzing the facts on what...

Yeah it sounds more like corporate type work, or at least definitely not litigation. I'd definitely include what you did in your 1L summer. And there are ways to describe trivial tasks such that they don't sound trivial but you remain truthful. You'd have a better idea how to most accurately do thi...

Yeah it sounds more like corporate type work, or at least definitely not litigation. I'd definitely include what you did in your 1L summer. And there are ways to describe trivial tasks such that they don't sound trivial but you remain truthful. You'd have a better idea how to most accurately do this...

Does it matter if I swap out a recommender for my OSCAR application? About a month ago, I sent in paper apps with Recommenders A, B, and C. I'm monitoring OSCAR as listings open up, and one just recently came up. I applied to this judge previously in a paper application. Would it matter if my OSCAR...

Seminars are fine. You take enough classes in law school before graduation to have some "fluff" while still taking all of the important classes. I took several fluff classes (along with a clinic and moot court which gave credit) and still took Fed Courts, Evidence, and most of the other substantive ...

I'd mention visiting their offices. Doing that and talking to attorneys there already shows more initiative and interest than probably 70% of their applicant pool. May or may not give you a leg up, but can't hurt. As for those you have no contacts with, I'd guess it's more talking about what about t...

Not a red flag at all IMO. Most cases don't go to trial to begin with, and you're only there for a year.

Aye or nay on mentioning a CALI for Professional Responsibility (required ethics, MPRE class) in a clerkship cover letter? State judges if it makes any difference (course was based on the Model Rules). CALI awards are fine to mention in general; it's never bad to point out subtly that you got the h...

A lot of the information in that spreadsheet is from 2016 to 2018. I think 2016 was when biglaw salaries got bumped to 180k, and last year was when it got bumped to 190k. Smaller firms and in-house obviously don't have to keep up and many may not have, but I would still guess that overall attorney c...

Curious about any insights current/former clerks may have to application strategy with the new hiring plan. I am hoping for a COA position and applying broadly, but naturally there are some that I would prefer over others. That being said, I am guessing I should just send out all my apps on the fir...

I see no problem with a resume that just has activities related to law school and post law school . I'm weird and will completely defer to blueapple. :D But personally for me, I don't care what you did in college. I don't care all that much if you worked summers (more impressive if you worked full-...

I see no problem with a resume that just has activities related to law school and post law school. I'm weird and will completely defer to blueapple. :D But personally for me, I don't care what you did in college. I don't care all that much if you worked summers (more impressive if you worked full-ti...

If I had to make a snap decision in your position it'd probably be GULC, since the COA sounds relatively equal, and you'd be in DC for networking in a market where there's probably a fair amount of patent litigation. But I just don't know enough about the difference between the two schools at this p...

1. Law school paper, no undergrad 2. Interesting topics are actually better than the same shit everyone else in your class had to write about as part of the class or something, but pick whatever is the best written--no typos/other mistakes, good analysis, etc. 3. I'd do double or 1.5 spaced, whateve...

I intend to bring my printed app, a notepad, and two pens in a padfolio to interviews. Pretty convenient and unobtrusive. This is super common, super safe, and a good idea in general. Chances are good that it'll just sit on your lap or something for an hour and you'll never use it, but occasionally...

Yeah I don't know if I've seen that w/r/t plaintiff's firms either. I also don't know if biglaw is the best place to start if the goal is a plaintiff's firm, but I'm sure it all depends. A plaintiff's firm still has to do all of the basic litigation stuff that biglaw does, so going to biglaw would s...

Yeah--I've only ever met one trans private practice lawyer and I don't think they're very actively practicing anymore. My outside perception (only having attended a couple of their major events) is that the LGBT groups are a welcoming and inclusive bunch. And if they're truly a LGBT group, it's impo...

I would recommend joining and becoming involved in one or more of the various professional legal associations for the LGBT community. I only know of Lambda Legal and there's a Lavender Bar Association in Orange County, but I'm sure there are others. I would imagine that knowing and working with othe...