My impression is that FBI etc either requires you have some specialty (ie a PhD in Russian Language or something) or be a lawyer. But most federal law jobs want at least a year of experience as a lawyer as a baseline requirement. I think it's explicitly in the GS-11 requirement (that's my feeling from what I've seen), which is the starting pay grade for Federal Government lawyers.

So yeah, in that sense having a JD does open those doors, but you have to go do other stuff first.

A lot of people are very freaked out now about the job market because it sucks. However, before like 2-3 years ago the going rate for monkey doc review work was like $30 an hour. With overtime you're easily looking at 70-80k a year, which isn't bad for easy work in a professional field. It just sucks because all that is gone, and more specifically a lot of entry level stuff is gone. I still see plenty of listings at good salaries for things requiring 2-5 years experience.

Every job market right now sucks though. What we're really trying to say is be careful about going to law school and take the time to think through your decision.

and if you do go, either go to a good skewl or get $$ (or both!!!)

Got a letter from a firm that I was shocked to even get a call-back to that said they were sorry to inform me that they couldn't hire me. No big deal except to top it off I got a call from another firm I interviewed with and they left a message to call back today as well. Job for sure!

Nope, just wanted to let me know that my writing sample was great, I interviewed well, and she forwarded my information to a different office and recommended they hire me. Fail, at least i know I should stress people read my sample now.

took my first depo today (3 of them!). Hope I didn't ruin the case! And that I pass the bar! Oh well.

Any recommendations on the best ways to go about resume bombing to get some sort of summer work?

long time stalker on 2+2, back to school in LS after years off while working in non-related legal jobs trying to figure out how to get that 1L summer legal job, (hopefully paying)

Hello

To those who are advising against law school for most people I would tend to agree. I am just a 1L, and got a lot of advice from this forum. I was lucky enough to make a good score on the LSAT and was able to get a little more than a half ride to a T2 school that is the best in the state. The scary thing that I see from knowing 3Ls and a few recent graduates is that the job market is horrible (duh). I know someone who graduated in May and has over $150k in debt, finished below median in his class and has close to 0% chance at employment. That is crippling debt and now what do they do? Many of my fellow 1Ls are borrowing this kind of money and many of them just based on sheer common sense will finish low enough in our class to find themselves in this situation.

So my general advice is this, if you just got a liberal arts degree and don't know what to do, don't make law school the default choice. Either go to a school where you won't end up with large debt just in case, or make sure you get into a T14 school. I ended up choosing a school in the 60-70 range over the a school in the 20 range because I would get out of school with $60k in debt rather than $200k. Is this the right choice? That remains to be seen, just don't be the guy going to a T2 or worse and ending up with $200k in debt. People who do this and then don't perform in law school are literally screwing the rest of their lives up.

I should add that law school is also a lot of work, although if you are interested in the law much of it won't be that horrible it is just long. So far I have enjoyed it and don't regret my decision...yet.

Thanks for the advice Wichita. It seems like the only option for me if I were to go to law school was that I was offered $$$ to do so.

In other news, I just took another time trial, 4 sections in a row and I got a 155, so much variance in LSAT I swear and the test is in 3 days. There was one logic game that I could not set up at all. Thank god for blueprint online resources. Going over it now.
Something about towns, rain and hail.

edit: I read a rule completely wrong and thus why I couldn't even start the game

The newer the test the harder the scale (and the worse score). At least back 5 years ago thats how it was.

Automatic deferment from Access Group (the biggest lender) is 6 months after graduation iirc. Then you can ask for another deferment, unemployment or something I forget exactly for another 6 months. Then you consolidate with the Federal Government and can get unemployment deferments for 36 months total (have to re-apply every 6 months). The only difference between private loans and the federal government consolidation is the federal government takes the AVERAGE of your interest rates, so I think you get a slightly worse rate (like 1 or 2%) with the Federal Government. They did keep my subsidized loans subsidized though, I thought I'd lose that.

So far I'm like 2 months into that 36 lol.

huuuuuuuuge interview for me next week. have such a sick last chance opportunity here i didnt think i'd have. run good one time.

Mention that you are the mod of the Student Life forum on some poker forum. INSTA-LOCK

Dave, I don't want to pay my student loans. How can I go about never paying anything back?

+1, and I'm one of the survivors among recent graduates (i.e., big law)

What kills me is I've spent hours explaining my experience and how I would kill to go back in time and never get involved with the legal profession to someone situated very similar to pre-law school me stats-wise, background-wise, mindset-wise, skills-wise, and it still hasn't cracked this guy's noggin that law school is a horrible idea unless you're 100% committed to becoming a lawyer (which most people for lack of experience are unable to have any clue about) and can get into a top school. It's an endlessly repeating cycle, I tell you

edit: oh yeah, it's 1:07 est right now and the only reason I'm awake is b/c I got home at 11:30 from work, making it a 15 hour work day--sure no one wants to hear me complaining, but I thought people disappointed they're not getting big law offers might be pleased to know there's a good chance they'll be avoiding a certain brand of misery that is a grind in the truest sense of the word

You know there's more or less a way, right?

I had applied for some part-time legal jobs and heard back today from a solo who wants me to come in for an interview. He's interested in having someone start soon and put in around 20 hours per week. I'm not sure about pay, but I'm thinking minimum wage or thereabouts.

Given my situation (which I've outlined previously in this thread -- I'm a 2L with 0% chance at BigLaw this summer), does it make sense to take on part-time work that probably will not lead to a summer gig? Or should I just focus exclusively on kicking ass in school this year?

I would do it. Would be nice to fill out the resume, don't you think?

I would personally not do it, because I don't see it helping more than marginally over a summer gig.

Unless the $$ means something to you, then I'd do it.

Since were swapping horror stories, I have mediocre to poor grades (no idea how our class is curved) and no writing sample or profs I trust to write a recommendation. I can't even furnish an application to get rejected.

Meanwhile the 3L blonde I like next to me will be clerking for the AZ court of appeals following the externship the school gave her. And she's a Buckeyes fan. Some people are winners.

Question for you guys. When did you guys decide you wanted to go to law school? at the start of undergrad, mid way through ect..

Help me figure something out please. I am going to ask my adviser but I'd like other opinions.

I'm attending school in MD and am from VA. Ideally I would practice in DC w/ VA being a close 2nd choice and MD being a distant third. Does this mean I should take the VA bar exam? Is that offered in February like the MD is? I imagine so. Is it true that VA is the third-hardest bar exam in the country? Won't the prep course only recap MD law for me? How will I prepare for the VA bar?

This is all quite stressful. Thanks for any input.

Probably might want to talk to this guy, imo.



Or work in public interest for 10 years. At least for me if the starting salary is ~$55k I only end up paying the interest on the loans over that time.

Die? Seriously, that's the best way. VERRRRYYY difficult to get the discharged in bankruptcy.

11:30? Sounds like an early night .

I got home at 3:30AM last WEEKEND. There you go, biglaw = not all it's cracked up to be.

I thought the minimum was 10%. At $55k, you are still paying quite a lot there, aren't you?

This is actually very easy. Don't take the DC bar. It is useless because of how easy it is to waive in. Where you go to school has absolutely no impact on where you should sit for the bar. If you want to work in VA more than MD then take the VA bar. (Assuming of course you can get a job in VA and not in MD only.)

I don't know what the **** you are talking about the prep course only recapping MD law. You take the prep course for the bar you are going to sit for. So, if you sit for VA you take Barbri's VA course. As far as difficulty of the exam, it is true that VA is harder than MD. 74% pass VA while 77% pass MD; however, VA is not the third hardest in the country.