Yeah, you know.
Anyway, here at SMU we're in the middle of the OCI bidding season. Fun, fun, fun. I think I've maybe done two hours of substantive work at my current summer job in the last three days. The rest of my time has been spent on making a targeted bid list, rewriting cover letters for each job, and trying to pray to tiny baby Jesus that I get at least a few screening interviews.
Because bitch please, if I get a screening interview, how can they resist this face?
(I'm making puppy-dog eyes, but you just can't see it. Trust me, it's irresistible).
Anyway, OCI at SMU is completely pre-select interviews, there is no lottery involved. This year we have 51 employers coming to campus, most with between 9 and 18 interview slots, some with as many as 38. Each person has 35 bids, but you're not advised to use all of them unless you're between the top third and top half. If you're in the top 25%+, using every bid will mean getting more screening interviews than you can handle.
But if you're paranoid, you know, go for it.
Last year at SMU's OCI, only 6 students in the top 50% of the class that went through OCI didn't get screening interviews. 43 out of the 66 students that were in the bottom 50% that participated in OCI received screening interviews. And most students between the top 33% and the top 50% bid on 35 firs and received screening interviews on about a quarter of their bids. And the numbers only get better for the top 25% and top 10%. Everyone in the top 10% received screening interviews on a majority of their bids. All but one in the top 25% received screening interviews.
To clear it up: a bid is not really a "bid." It's just an entry. The firms don't take only the highest bidders, and they don't see what order you bid in. It's just the submission of your resume and other documents for their review.
Now, a screening interview is what happens on campus within the first week of classes. If a firm selects you for a screening interview, you'll go in and chat with them wherever they happen to be camped out on campus that day for about 20 minutes. They'll do all of their interviews in one day, and then release call back offers within the next week or so.
A call back is generally a half day interview at the firm itself, where they take you to lunch and take you around to meet and interview with several different partners and associates. It's a big time commitment, so they're given with far less frequency than screening interviews.
After you've had a call back, you can generally expect to get an offer or a rejection by mid-September.
Now, OCI is but one way of getting a firm gig after 2L. But you really really REALLY should go through it if you can. It never hurts, it's good practice for interviews even if you don't get a CB or an offer, and it gets you in front of the people making recruitment and hiring decisions, which is always a good thing.
So, in sum, OCI is a necessary distraction. Sometimes it's an ego-booster, sometime you're crushed. If you have the opportunity, definitely sign up and go through OCI. But don't go to any of the programs that OCS puts on about OCI. They're a HUGE waste of time. You just learned everything you need to know. ;)
Friday, July 27, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
You Couldn't Figure Out What to do With Your Life...
...so you decided to go to law school?
Having now made it through the hellish ordeal that is 1L (seriously, it's like hazing for attorneys. Everyone went through it, and if you make it out alive you are worthy), I've had a few friends from undergrad and high school approach me about making the move into the legal field. Most of these friends have jobs, if not careers (we graduated undergrad 3 years ago), and most of them are just feeling kind of...stuck.
I get it. I do.
But that is quite possibly the (second) WORST reason to go to law school.
Making BOATLOADS of money is the worst reason, because unless you're in the top 10% at a T14 school, odds are you're not coming out with a job paying $160k off the bat. Nationwide, only 55% of the graduates in the Class of 2011 had full-time legal employment 9 months after graduation. And only 5,500 out of the roughly 44,000 grads entering the legal job market were able to find employment with firms of 50+ attorneys. Out of the Class of 2010 grads who landed private sector jobs, 62.6% were in small firms (less that 50 attorneys -- and a majority of that number went into firms with between 2 and 10 lawyers), 16.2% went into firms with between 50 and 500 lawyers, and 21.2% went to the biglaw (501+) firms. You think you're coming out of law school and going to immediately be rolling in the dough? Think again.
But I digress.
I finally had a friend the other day, who has NEVER expressed any interest in school, or the law, or being a lawyer, tell me, "You know, I'm thinking about law school. I don't know what else I want to do, so I might as well try it." And although I smiled politely and gave him some sage advice (study hard for the LSAT, retake it at least once if you don't hit at least a 161 on your first try, and check out TLS), inside I was thinking, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"
Going to law school because you can't figure out what else to do means that you're going to have an EVEN harder time with 1L, because your heart won't be in it. When other people are bogged down but enjoying the analytical reading, you will slowly be losing your mind trying to determine what sort of message Satan whispered in your ear to make you decide to subject yourself to this. And you, in all likelihood, will be so unhappy you'll consider leaving, but you'll already be so far in debt that it won't be worth it and you'll find yourself stuck in a career you're not sure you even want.
Now, I know this might seem like strange advice coming from me. You all know I'm not really a pessimist by nature. But I have seen too many of my friends and classmates come to this realization to NOT say something.
Please, if you are just stuck in your job/career/field and you don't know what to do and think law school *might* not be that bad of an idea, make sure it's something you'll actually enjoy. It's not like Law & Order, or Suits, or Franklin & Bash. You're not going to be making $160k as soon as you graduate. It's harder work than most fields, and the rewards can be intermittent.
What I did, and what I thank God every day for, was take a year to work in a law firm, and make sure that the practice of law was something I could see myself working in for the foreseeable future. If you're considering leaving your job to go to law school, leave your job for a job in a firm or within a legal department at a company or something. You'll get to see the practice first hand, and make sure it's something you can stomach doing every day for the rest of your life. Not everyone can. And if you're one of those people who thought it was going to be a lot more glamorous than it actually is and decide you hate it, well then at least you're not out a year of your like and $50k.
Please, for your sake, make sure you're not just doing it because you feel like you're in a rut. If you are in a rut, there are way more easy and pleasant rut-breakers than law school.
Having now made it through the hellish ordeal that is 1L (seriously, it's like hazing for attorneys. Everyone went through it, and if you make it out alive you are worthy), I've had a few friends from undergrad and high school approach me about making the move into the legal field. Most of these friends have jobs, if not careers (we graduated undergrad 3 years ago), and most of them are just feeling kind of...stuck.
I get it. I do.
But that is quite possibly the (second) WORST reason to go to law school.
Making BOATLOADS of money is the worst reason, because unless you're in the top 10% at a T14 school, odds are you're not coming out with a job paying $160k off the bat. Nationwide, only 55% of the graduates in the Class of 2011 had full-time legal employment 9 months after graduation. And only 5,500 out of the roughly 44,000 grads entering the legal job market were able to find employment with firms of 50+ attorneys. Out of the Class of 2010 grads who landed private sector jobs, 62.6% were in small firms (less that 50 attorneys -- and a majority of that number went into firms with between 2 and 10 lawyers), 16.2% went into firms with between 50 and 500 lawyers, and 21.2% went to the biglaw (501+) firms. You think you're coming out of law school and going to immediately be rolling in the dough? Think again.
But I digress.
I finally had a friend the other day, who has NEVER expressed any interest in school, or the law, or being a lawyer, tell me, "You know, I'm thinking about law school. I don't know what else I want to do, so I might as well try it." And although I smiled politely and gave him some sage advice (study hard for the LSAT, retake it at least once if you don't hit at least a 161 on your first try, and check out TLS), inside I was thinking, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"
Going to law school because you can't figure out what else to do means that you're going to have an EVEN harder time with 1L, because your heart won't be in it. When other people are bogged down but enjoying the analytical reading, you will slowly be losing your mind trying to determine what sort of message Satan whispered in your ear to make you decide to subject yourself to this. And you, in all likelihood, will be so unhappy you'll consider leaving, but you'll already be so far in debt that it won't be worth it and you'll find yourself stuck in a career you're not sure you even want.
Now, I know this might seem like strange advice coming from me. You all know I'm not really a pessimist by nature. But I have seen too many of my friends and classmates come to this realization to NOT say something.
Please, if you are just stuck in your job/career/field and you don't know what to do and think law school *might* not be that bad of an idea, make sure it's something you'll actually enjoy. It's not like Law & Order, or Suits, or Franklin & Bash. You're not going to be making $160k as soon as you graduate. It's harder work than most fields, and the rewards can be intermittent.
What I did, and what I thank God every day for, was take a year to work in a law firm, and make sure that the practice of law was something I could see myself working in for the foreseeable future. If you're considering leaving your job to go to law school, leave your job for a job in a firm or within a legal department at a company or something. You'll get to see the practice first hand, and make sure it's something you can stomach doing every day for the rest of your life. Not everyone can. And if you're one of those people who thought it was going to be a lot more glamorous than it actually is and decide you hate it, well then at least you're not out a year of your like and $50k.
Please, for your sake, make sure you're not just doing it because you feel like you're in a rut. If you are in a rut, there are way more easy and pleasant rut-breakers than law school.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Law Review Write On: The Basics
So, today the law review write on starts today.
Eek?
For those that don't know how LR write on works, SMU has a mandatory write-on policy. Some schools allow grading on, which is where the top XX% of the class is automatically invited on. Here, however, everyone who wants to be on any of the law review journals has to compete in the write on. (If you're in the top 10% of the class, a "good faith" effort will get you on no problems).
The write on competition consists of three portions: an editing exercise, a bluebooking exercise, and a writing exercise. The packets are made available on Thursday morning, and due back on Monday morning.
Good way to ruin a weekend, right?
SMU has three law review associations that publish five law review journals. The SMU Law Review Association publishes the SMU Law Review and the Journal of Air Law and Commerce. The International Law Review Association publishes The International Lawyer and Law & Business Review of the Americas. Science & Technology Law Review publishes a journal by the same name.
According to our LR orientation, every year about 175 students compete, and between 100 and 120 are offered positions on one of the journals. If you're extended an offer from a secondary journal but decline it, you're not allowed to write on for a "better" journal the next year. So either be really awesome or suck really bad if you know you only want the SMU LR.
Law review is really a great resume builder, but if you know you want to go into litigation and you don't want to work at Jones Day or some other firm like that, then LR isn't necessary. It's always helpful though.
Soooooooo... I'll be working on my LR write on submission this weekend. Wish me luck! Catch y'all on the flip side.
Eek?
For those that don't know how LR write on works, SMU has a mandatory write-on policy. Some schools allow grading on, which is where the top XX% of the class is automatically invited on. Here, however, everyone who wants to be on any of the law review journals has to compete in the write on. (If you're in the top 10% of the class, a "good faith" effort will get you on no problems).
The write on competition consists of three portions: an editing exercise, a bluebooking exercise, and a writing exercise. The packets are made available on Thursday morning, and due back on Monday morning.
Good way to ruin a weekend, right?
SMU has three law review associations that publish five law review journals. The SMU Law Review Association publishes the SMU Law Review and the Journal of Air Law and Commerce. The International Law Review Association publishes The International Lawyer and Law & Business Review of the Americas. Science & Technology Law Review publishes a journal by the same name.
According to our LR orientation, every year about 175 students compete, and between 100 and 120 are offered positions on one of the journals. If you're extended an offer from a secondary journal but decline it, you're not allowed to write on for a "better" journal the next year. So either be really awesome or suck really bad if you know you only want the SMU LR.
Law review is really a great resume builder, but if you know you want to go into litigation and you don't want to work at Jones Day or some other firm like that, then LR isn't necessary. It's always helpful though.
Soooooooo... I'll be working on my LR write on submission this weekend. Wish me luck! Catch y'all on the flip side.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Post 1L Decompression
All right, so 1L is done. For those of you 0Ls looking for some last-minute advice before you transition into law school life in August, I hope to write a few entries in the upcoming weeks about things I wish I had known before 1L that would have made my life a little easier in the last few months.
A preemptory "you're welcome."
Also a preemptory "sorry I didn't write as much as I wanted to."
So here's the low down on my recent life. SMU schedules it's spring finals so that this year we had one reading day before having a final every other weekday for two weeks (five total). Between the studying, the caffeine, and the drama it's all a blur, but I'll do my best to break it down for you.
In a later post.
Until then, I'll be taking the next week or so to decompress, clean my apartment, play with my dog (he's doing very well, thanks for asking), and generally get my life in order before the first of my two summer jobs starts.
For reference, I'm working for half of the summer at a boutique corporate litigation and tech startup firm in Dallas (paid -- yay!), and then the second half I'll be with a justice at the Texas Court of Appeals (not paid, but good experience). They stop hearing cases in May, so I'll mostly be doing research and writing there; not too much courtroom shadowing, unfortunately.
I always thought it would be interesting to sit in on family court or criminal court. I would think it would be like Jerry Springer or Maury Povitch or something. Without the moondancing when a potential baby-daddy is told, "You are NOT the father."
I digress.
Anyway, I'm excited for the experience of both jobs, even though it means I'm not getting much of a summer break. I might end up having to take a bartending or waitressing or retail job PT in order to make rent the second half of the summer, but it might not come to that. We'll see. For the next week I'll be cleaning my crap up and working on law review write on. And maybe (if I'm lucky) getting my tan on pool-side.
So, ask questions, let me know what you want me to write about, what you're interested in, or what you're worried about in your own law school journey. I'll try my hardest to respond and enlighten you as to the perils and pitfalls (and fun times, don't worry) of 1L.
A preemptory "you're welcome."
Also a preemptory "sorry I didn't write as much as I wanted to."
So here's the low down on my recent life. SMU schedules it's spring finals so that this year we had one reading day before having a final every other weekday for two weeks (five total). Between the studying, the caffeine, and the drama it's all a blur, but I'll do my best to break it down for you.
In a later post.
Until then, I'll be taking the next week or so to decompress, clean my apartment, play with my dog (he's doing very well, thanks for asking), and generally get my life in order before the first of my two summer jobs starts.
For reference, I'm working for half of the summer at a boutique corporate litigation and tech startup firm in Dallas (paid -- yay!), and then the second half I'll be with a justice at the Texas Court of Appeals (not paid, but good experience). They stop hearing cases in May, so I'll mostly be doing research and writing there; not too much courtroom shadowing, unfortunately.
I always thought it would be interesting to sit in on family court or criminal court. I would think it would be like Jerry Springer or Maury Povitch or something. Without the moondancing when a potential baby-daddy is told, "You are NOT the father."
I digress.
Anyway, I'm excited for the experience of both jobs, even though it means I'm not getting much of a summer break. I might end up having to take a bartending or waitressing or retail job PT in order to make rent the second half of the summer, but it might not come to that. We'll see. For the next week I'll be cleaning my crap up and working on law review write on. And maybe (if I'm lucky) getting my tan on pool-side.
So, ask questions, let me know what you want me to write about, what you're interested in, or what you're worried about in your own law school journey. I'll try my hardest to respond and enlighten you as to the perils and pitfalls (and fun times, don't worry) of 1L.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Still Terrible
Also...
When the people at the table next to me are talking loud enough to hear them over the BarBri lecture I'm listening to, and then when I look over and see they're studying math or rocks or anatomy:
(I have definitely gotten REALLY good at giving this look in the libs).
(Also, I promise that I'll update about 2nd semester and my summer plans and whatnot after finals are over and before law review write on).
When the people at the table next to me are talking loud enough to hear them over the BarBri lecture I'm listening to, and then when I look over and see they're studying math or rocks or anatomy:
(I have definitely gotten REALLY good at giving this look in the libs).
(Also, I promise that I'll update about 2nd semester and my summer plans and whatnot after finals are over and before law review write on).
I am a Terrible Person
When someone asks me if law school is really as bad as everyone says it is:
How I feel about law school right now (during exams):
How I feel about law school right now (during exams):
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Finals Recap
I know, I know.
All I can say in my defense is that the memo and finals were a lot more overwhelming than anyone not in law school can imagine, and that the last thing I wanted to do over my (very short) winter break was think about school.
Sorry, my bad.
But I'm back, and happy to answer questions about finals for 0Ls that are worried or curious. Seriously. I'll answer way more frequently than I'll post.
But this is a post, and as such, let's get on with it, shall we?
Basically, the memo wasn't too bad, if you didn't leave it until the last minute. I didn't, thankfully, but I did become DEATHLY ill the weekend before it was due. Really. I don't think I left my bed/bathroom for two or three days. People had to come over and walk Bingley for me because I literally couldn't make it down the stairs in my apartment building. So my illness left me in a little bit of a time crunch as far as editing goes. I normally edit as I write, which works well for me, so my editing process is usually quite a bit less intense than most people. But legal writing is a little bit different.
In undergrad, professors gave you a page target. You could wax on poetically, change your line spacing, the font size of your periods, etc. to make it to that dreaded 20th page, and then relax, right? Not so in law school. In fact, it's the exact opposite. We are given a page limit...and a very stringent one at that. I think our page limit was 7 pages? It's been so long I can't remember. All I do remember is that I wrote what I felt needed to be in, and didn't use any flowery language or sentence lengtheners, and I think my memo was 13 pages. I had a LOT of editing to do.
After I got my memo in about three hours before it was due, I went to our huge memo party (which was a LOT of fun), and then it was time for Thanksgiving break. Of course, it's not really smart to fly 4 hours home and 4 hours back for a weekend, especially when the weekend is the one before your finals starting. So I stayed in Dallas and went to a friend's for Thanksgiving. It was REALLY hard being away from my family, but I enjoyed my break and know that staying here was the smartest thing I could have done.
Over Thanksgiving break I did take it a little easy, but I planned out my attack for finals. Knowing that once our reading week started I probably wouldn't even be looking at the outlines for my later finals, I spent a good chunk of my break completely re-working my outline for my last final (Crim), and putting together a few charts for my open-note exam, most notably a comparison of pretty much every crim we studied under the CL and the MPC. That particular chart took almost a whole day and ended up being a beautiful, beautiful document.
Then I didn't touch Crim again until the day before the final.
Our final schedule went Torts, off, Civ Pro, off, Contracts, off, Property, off, and Crim. Torts was the most stressful, because it was the first exam. I don't like to rehash exams right after they end, but normally I can stay composed. After torts I went home, fed and walked my dog, tried to call my dad, and as soon as he got on the phone I started sobbing. Uncontrollably.
It was pretty awful.
But I moved on, got my shiz together, and made it back to the library an hour later to study for Civ Pro. Our civ pro exam was multiple choice, so that made it a little less pressure, but looking at it now it also means that the curve is just that much more tight. I didn't have another break down after Torts, except for when I yelled at the undergrad that was having a very LOUD conversation in the law library.
Ugh. SIDE NOTE: If you are an undergrad at a school that has a law library, don't go study there unless you really have to. And if you HAVE to go, don't let it be during finals. And at least have the good grace to look frazzled and stressed. And for God's sake, be quiet. You don't look cool, and you're making everyone in that library HATE you.
Seriously.
As far as studying goes, I pretty much studied on my own, either at my apartment or in the library. There's SO much stress during finals, and different people study in different ways, so you have to pick who you study with carefully -- it's not always going to be your closest friend that you want at that study carrel with you. There was a little bit of tension between my friends during the whole exam period, to be honest. I just had to keep reminding myself that it would be okay, that everyone is just different during finals. And I spent a lot of time in my house with just Bingley and Netflix. I really don't like drama, but it seems like you can't escape it. Especially during finals.
Everything's cool now. I know you were SUPER worried.
All right, so in total I felt okay about pretty much every exam. Not great about any, not terrible about any. We'll see how it went when our grades come out. I know for sure that I didn't fail anything, so that's a little bit of comfort, right?
I'll try to post again (very soon) about my break and coming back to Dallas for the second semester. But seriously, comment and ask questions. I'll get back to you, I promise.
All I can say in my defense is that the memo and finals were a lot more overwhelming than anyone not in law school can imagine, and that the last thing I wanted to do over my (very short) winter break was think about school.
Sorry, my bad.
But I'm back, and happy to answer questions about finals for 0Ls that are worried or curious. Seriously. I'll answer way more frequently than I'll post.
But this is a post, and as such, let's get on with it, shall we?
Basically, the memo wasn't too bad, if you didn't leave it until the last minute. I didn't, thankfully, but I did become DEATHLY ill the weekend before it was due. Really. I don't think I left my bed/bathroom for two or three days. People had to come over and walk Bingley for me because I literally couldn't make it down the stairs in my apartment building. So my illness left me in a little bit of a time crunch as far as editing goes. I normally edit as I write, which works well for me, so my editing process is usually quite a bit less intense than most people. But legal writing is a little bit different.
In undergrad, professors gave you a page target. You could wax on poetically, change your line spacing, the font size of your periods, etc. to make it to that dreaded 20th page, and then relax, right? Not so in law school. In fact, it's the exact opposite. We are given a page limit...and a very stringent one at that. I think our page limit was 7 pages? It's been so long I can't remember. All I do remember is that I wrote what I felt needed to be in, and didn't use any flowery language or sentence lengtheners, and I think my memo was 13 pages. I had a LOT of editing to do.
After I got my memo in about three hours before it was due, I went to our huge memo party (which was a LOT of fun), and then it was time for Thanksgiving break. Of course, it's not really smart to fly 4 hours home and 4 hours back for a weekend, especially when the weekend is the one before your finals starting. So I stayed in Dallas and went to a friend's for Thanksgiving. It was REALLY hard being away from my family, but I enjoyed my break and know that staying here was the smartest thing I could have done.
Over Thanksgiving break I did take it a little easy, but I planned out my attack for finals. Knowing that once our reading week started I probably wouldn't even be looking at the outlines for my later finals, I spent a good chunk of my break completely re-working my outline for my last final (Crim), and putting together a few charts for my open-note exam, most notably a comparison of pretty much every crim we studied under the CL and the MPC. That particular chart took almost a whole day and ended up being a beautiful, beautiful document.
Then I didn't touch Crim again until the day before the final.
Our final schedule went Torts, off, Civ Pro, off, Contracts, off, Property, off, and Crim. Torts was the most stressful, because it was the first exam. I don't like to rehash exams right after they end, but normally I can stay composed. After torts I went home, fed and walked my dog, tried to call my dad, and as soon as he got on the phone I started sobbing. Uncontrollably.
It was pretty awful.
But I moved on, got my shiz together, and made it back to the library an hour later to study for Civ Pro. Our civ pro exam was multiple choice, so that made it a little less pressure, but looking at it now it also means that the curve is just that much more tight. I didn't have another break down after Torts, except for when I yelled at the undergrad that was having a very LOUD conversation in the law library.
Ugh. SIDE NOTE: If you are an undergrad at a school that has a law library, don't go study there unless you really have to. And if you HAVE to go, don't let it be during finals. And at least have the good grace to look frazzled and stressed. And for God's sake, be quiet. You don't look cool, and you're making everyone in that library HATE you.
Seriously.
As far as studying goes, I pretty much studied on my own, either at my apartment or in the library. There's SO much stress during finals, and different people study in different ways, so you have to pick who you study with carefully -- it's not always going to be your closest friend that you want at that study carrel with you. There was a little bit of tension between my friends during the whole exam period, to be honest. I just had to keep reminding myself that it would be okay, that everyone is just different during finals. And I spent a lot of time in my house with just Bingley and Netflix. I really don't like drama, but it seems like you can't escape it. Especially during finals.
Everything's cool now. I know you were SUPER worried.
All right, so in total I felt okay about pretty much every exam. Not great about any, not terrible about any. We'll see how it went when our grades come out. I know for sure that I didn't fail anything, so that's a little bit of comfort, right?
I'll try to post again (very soon) about my break and coming back to Dallas for the second semester. But seriously, comment and ask questions. I'll get back to you, I promise.
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