Planet Law School II

This book is scary. The sheer weight and thickness will make you think - "S*** what have I gotten myself into?"

Once you crack the book open, it gets worst. It espouses that law professors are out to get you, and that you won't garner anything worthwhile by attending class. That's a load of horse cr*p.

Atticus Falcon, the pseudonym of the author of this book, encourages impressionable 1L students to (skip class and) purchase hornbooks instead. He argues that students can simply study at home and show up only for the final exam.

While I haven't been to every single law school in the universe, I know this is a horrible strategy for most law students at most law schools. One of the biggest benefits of going to law school is networking with classmates. The shortsightedness of anyone who stays locked up in his/her room memorizing blackletter law, in hopes to get a higher grade, is baffling to me.

My vote is for you to avoid this book.

But...I will be fair. I do know someone from my law school (the University of Chicago Law School), who stayed home and studied off of hornbooks, never came to class, and still aced his 1L year.

Still. This doesn't change the fact that not showing up to class is a horrible strategy for success.

What LSAT Score do I need to get into Northwestern University School of Law?

Northwestern University School of Law (NU Law) is one of the most desired law schools among LSAT students. It's also one of the most hip law schools on the block. Among its list of celebrity alumni, you will find names like Nikki Lee (Korean pop star) and Divya Narendra (founder of ConnectU - better known for it's clashing battle against Facebook). On that list you will also find distinguished leaders in law, politics, and business - US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, Harold Washington, and J.B. Pritzker.

Is a great lawyer born or made?

I recently read a very interesting article by Prof. William D. Henderson (Indiana University Maurer School of Law - Bloomington) - Is a great lawyer born or made?

The verdict is that great lawyers are actually made (not born). This may be a slap in the face for some of you (ahem *elitists*) out there.

LSAT Scare - Overblown?

When you've been doing this as long as I have (ten years!), there are some questions you get asked every year, on the one hand, and there are questions that return in waves every four/five years, on the other hand.

Questions of the latter type include:

"Is law school a doomed/stupid option - (given that article I read last Tuesday)?"

"Has the paradigm shifted?"

I want to address these types of questions. The norm (that makes sense to any rational person) is that the number of law school applicants spikes, when the economy takes a downward turn. Today, the economy ain't so hot, yet the number of applicants are no where near spiking...in fact, it's the exact opposite - the number of applicants are plummeting.

Perhaps law practice (in general) IS doomed. But as any good LSAT test taker knows there may be alternative explanations/conclusions to the evidence. While I agree with the pessimists that law school ain't the same, I disagree with the extremists that blatantly call all who apply to law school "naive idiots."

The law is here to stay. As long as we are a law driven liberal democracy, we will always need good lawyers to protect our rights. And as long as America is a capitalist society, businesses will need attorneys to help grow their profits. Lawyers are always going to be needed.

While some may argue that there are already way too many lawyers, I would argue that we don't have enough good lawyers. I recently volunteered as a poll watcher in Chicago. My good friend is the senior staff attorney of a large non-profit organization; he asked me to volunteer. I happily agreed. While I thought that the event was a success, I later learned that he had difficulty recruiting enough attorneys. Later he told me, "Dave, most law grads flock to the big law jobs, but there are so many industries and areas of life that need really good attorneys."

Look, my point is simple. If you are going to law school purely for the sake of making money, I would discourage you from going to law school. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be rich or wanting to make tons of money. But just as we are critical of medical students who got into medicine purely to become filthy rich, we are critical of attorneys who choose the law purely for the sake of making $160,000 right off the gate. Choose the law because you have an inherent passion beyond money. Think carefully and critically before you choose to invest $150,000+ into your grad school education.

In an odd way, I am sort of happy that the economy is the way it is. It's caused pre-law students to be more careful and cautious. For those who decide to apply to law school despite the big red label warnings (see here and here), good for you! I trust that you are intelligent enough to weigh your options and understand what you're getting yourself into. Don't say you haven't been warned. But also, once you've made the decision, don't let the party poopers ruin your dream/passion. 

How to Succeed in Law School without really Trying

I read this half amused and half petrified (see here). In short, a law student at Arizona University is having undergraduates do his work for him by masking the ordeal as an invaluable externship opportunity for the undergrads. WOW!

One the one hand, I think this student is a genius. A partner in the making.

On the other hand, I have my doubts about him because at the end of the day, only one person can walk into the classroom on test date (him).

Personally, I think he's the former. He's a smart kid. He's going to do well. His classmates can cry fowl. But unless the school stops him, I think he'll go on this path and succeed.

Once upon a time, "moral" students avoided hornbooks (i.e., cliff note versions of case books). Only the "lazy" and "failure bound" students used hornbooks. Fast forward to modern day, now, EVERYONE uses hornbooks. Am I suggesting that using undergrads as note-taking slaves will soon become the norm? No way. Of course not. But what I am implying is that we shouldn't be too quick about pointing fingers at him.