Definitely wrong about that, imo.

i did a clinic my 3L year. basically took up an entire semester. great use of my time and learned a lot. still use much of what i learned in practice now.

otoh i cant even remember what classes i took the other semester 3L year. no clue.

agree with dave and karak that clinics are prob a good way to spend time. i never did one but like dave said, if you're spending $$$ to go to school you might as well make the most of it and you will never learn anything about practicing law by taking classes. was actually talking to my buddy the other day about how pathetic it is that i've been practicing 5 years and wouldn't know where to begin if i wanted to file lawsuit or anything lit-related. obviously not a part of my job but still amazing and pathetic nonetheless. clinic will at least give you some interesting context to learn the fundamentals.

definitely put cali awards on your resume, absolute no brainer. put your GPA too and your rank if it's very good but interviewers will generally know where your GPA lands relative to your class anyway.

I just finished an intensive family law clinic last semester (5 credits) and it was great. Learned tons, got a lot of experience and highly recommend it. Also, took practical classes in the field I want to practice in as well, so 3L fall was great.

3L spring, meh. I'm in a bar prep class which has been helpful, but the rest I just took w/easy profs who don't take attendance/don't expect much. Felt like my time is better spent relaxing, hanging out, and getting an extra month or two jump on bar prep. Granted, I'm not doing anything too intensive right now, but doing 5-10 hours per week of bar prep on subjects I'm not confident on (F U sales and FIT) seemed like a better use of time than sitting through a bull**** seminar or like, "law and sexuality".


note: I never wanted biglaw, took a full scholarship at a non t-14 due to this preference and will be practicing as a solo guy post-grad. It's the path I wanted and had been somewhat planning for since ls began, so I fully understand my situation is pretty unique/rarer.

The fact that you are able to go straight from law school to solo practice is absurd to me. In New Zealand I think you have to have at least 5 years experience.

Can't you go straight to law school from the equivalent of high school in New Zealand? And aren't the standards, relatively speaking, much lower?

Well I would gladly participate in an apprenticeship program for a few years before flying solo if that was offered in the US. Unfortunately, we have tons more lawyers coming out every year, so it's just not feasible to have every single lawyer apprentice somewhere. I've clerked around for 5 different attorneys now + summer jobs + clinics, so I think I'm prepared...(as prepared as a 3L can be)

by the way update on the paralegal situation i posted about a month ago

actually, no update at all. good help is hard to find . i guess anyone who would be really good at paralegal work goes to law school?

Was talking to an attorney friend of mine last night who said his law clerk (she graduated last year, passed bar) just got a job as a paralegal for some company outside Baltimore starting at $84k. He mentioned someone else he knows who stared at 77k and now makes 85k. The second one works a credit card processor.

I've been trying to come up with every excuse known to man to get out of walking at graduation. Anyone else not walk at commencement?

I had classmates who didn't walk and nobody really thought anything of it.

Does anyone have experience studying abroad during law school? I was thinking Fall 3L, but as I'm preparing to register for my Fall 2L classes, I'm noticing how few of the very interesting upper level courses I'd be able to take. Especially after Trial Ad, the few required classes, and the classes strongly suggested for the bar. The classes taken abroad seem very generic and the grades don't count for GPA, so it seems like it's a "wasted" (academically) semester similar to undergrad.

Do employers view going abroad as juvenile, especially if you don't display any other interest in international law? Though I guess its moot since it wouldn't be until 3L.

i didn't walk. I had no family there so i figured screw it, and went to a happy hour with my non-law school friends to celebrate as it was on a friday evening..

i actually went to the next semesters graduation ceremony as a guest because i had started seeing a girl that was walking then.

Passed the MPRE, I'm ethical! Didn't really study and I only passed by 1 question, so running good clearly

Yeah, I think I'm going to have some family coming in, so I guess I have no option. The thought of sitting through 2 speeches + a guest speaker sounds like death though.

awesome. make sure and talk s*it to everyone who did better than you. The perfect score on that is passing by 1. I think I passed by like 2 or 3.

lol will definitely do that. I kind of felt bad, like I know some people who legit studied and psyched themselves out so bad that they failed. I didn't even have a real pro rep class either, our prof decided to just talk about ethics and morality, saying we could learn the rules on our own time.

Only 1 month till graduation. While 1L seemed to drag on forever, 3L has blown by. I'm excited to graduate and get into the real world.

Yes you can go straight from high school to law school. I have no idea if the standards are relatively much lower. I would have thought they would be similar. Generally about 500 do first year law. There are only about 200 second year places generally have to get a B+ average over your 2 or 3 first year papers. After that generally about 130-140 graduate per class. It takes 4 years to do but most students do a double degree because in first year you only do 2 or 3 papers, so most law students are there for 5 years.

There is no bar exam. You do a bar course which takes about 4-5 months and is relatively straight forward, has a 95% pass rate.

There are no apprenticeships in NZ like Canada. It's tough to get a Job especially in the two major cities of Auckland and Wellington. Theres a lot of people that miss out on being lawyers as they can't get a job and don't want to move to the sticks for work. I just feel starting off on your own that you wouldn't really have a clue what you were doing (unless you have specific work experience from summer internships) and you would end up making lots of mistakes and producing sub standard work if not being checked by a senior lawyer.

Question about bar exam:

So for exam day itself, I live about 15 minutes outside of the city where it's being held. I was going to just drive in each morning instead of book a hotel to save some $$$, but I'm debating whether that is the right decision or not. God forbid something insane happens like my car breaks down or I get in an accident on the way in, you know?

Did anyone not get a hotel and just drive to their exam on the days of? Am I just being paranoid or is this a legit concern I should have? I'm leaning towards just eating the $300 for two nights, but not really sure whats best.

I drove 30 mins for all three days. My roommates each hit their own hotel fur those three nights. I just couldn't justify blowing the $$$

Second question, sorry for double post.


As far as bar prep goes, I'm hearing from commercial courses that 8-9 hours 5x per week + 2-3 hours on sat & sun is standard.

Is that what everyone does? The same courses/people saying this also told me in advance of LS that I would be doing 80 hrs/week w/no life whatsoever for 3 years, which was ridiculous in hindsight. It appears if you get 75% of the commercial course done, it's a vastly diminishing return in terms of bar pass %.

Then again, I've never taken the bar obviously, so I'd like to get some feedback on how everyone studied/didn't study over the summer.

I lived within walking distance of the test, but I did take the extremely paranoid measure of ****ing with my sleep schedule starting a handful of days before the test, going to sleep in the early evening and then waking up in the middle of the night, so that I wouldn't run any risk at all of oversleeping and being late.

Obviously the commute thing is just a personal decision based on how risk-averse you are. But if you have a reliable vehicle it's clearly a big longshot that a crash or a malfunction will **** you over.

I would not bother with any hotel accommodations if I lived that close. Just wake up a little earlier than you usually would if you are paranoid.

The Bar isn't the hardest test you'll ever have to take, but it is a big deal to pass the thing. If you have to devote 80 hours a week to it to be ready, then devote the 80 hours.

Don't overthink the Bar so much. I remember being extremely stressed out over it myself, so I understand where you are coming from, but as long as you put in the necessary work, you'll do fine. I would not recommend working or slacking off during your bar prep.

Yes, this is standard. Likely overkill, but standard. Not worth it to fail.