I realize that this question probably only applies to one member of this board, but I have a big dilemma on my hands.

I'm graduating college in a couple weeks and I'm going to law school next fall. I've lived away from home all three years of my college career and from what I've been told, the first year of law school is so difficult that I can't work, and hence, don't have the means to pay for rent, bills, gas, insurance, etc...

I've asked a number of people about it and have gotten responses from "you won't have time for anything but studying and sleeping" to "it's not as bad as it's made out to be." At this point, I'm just trying to really gauge where the truth lies, and see if I can figure this shit out.

Punkdavid, thanks in advance.

harder than a bag 'o dicks

well what is your GPA and what law school are you attending

that could make somewhat of a difference

they just tried to weed out a lot of the bums .. and most people work during it as well

I think there's few other lawyers around here, but PD's the most Jewish.

Ask PD about it. He's a fierce lawyer.

I smell PD's Judaism in my sleep, do you?

Right, I know that the first year is alot harder so that they let the cream rise, so to speak. I'm planning on working during my second and third year, but I've heard that the first year is far too difficult.

My GPA is about 3.5, and I'm planning to stay local-- I only applied to Chapman Law School (got in), Whittier Law School (got in), Southwestern (waitlisted), and Loyola (haven't heard from em yet). No matter what, I kind of want to use my first year as a springboard to hopefully go to someplace like UCLA or Stanford Law School.

My main concern, on top of not being able to work, is that law school is so rigorous that I won't be able to jusk kick back after the end of each day, light up a bleezy, get a 40 of C Light, and relax.

Yeah, I feel kind of bad for singling out punkdavid if anyone else is a lawyer. Any and all help is appreciated by the way.

Why do Jewish people like to become lawyers-- my dad's jewish and he said that he just kind of knew when he was born, I guess it's like being gay or something, you just know you're different.

My sis just graduated from Georgetown law school. She is a damn nerd, and she said it was pretty hard to find time for anything but reading the first year. She also studies way to damn much, but she graduated top 5% of her class so i guess it all paid off.

My sister in law graduates from lawschool next week, and she couldn't work the duration of the time she was attending. And she doesn't even go to a good law school.

Chris H_2 is where its at

Excellent, EXCELLENT post.

my sister worked part time when she was in law school. She graduated law school in May and passed the bar in the fall. She has to work two jobs now

Morning (as PD rolls into work a couple minutes before 9).

First year of law school is no harder than the other years, but it's significantly harder than college. You won't be able to go days without doing homework like in college, you pretty much have to do something everyday.

Take this advice, because I didn't. However smart you are, however committed you are to doing it the "right way", BUY OUTLINES for first year classes. You can attend every class, do all your readings, take good notes, particiapate in class, and still do average or worse on the final exams because you weren't concentrating on the right material. Just do yourself a favor and buy commercial outlines, and use those to study from. It will also give you much more time to have a life outside of school work. I smoked doobage all through law school, went out drinking with the other law students every Thursday night, and I passed, but not with any great marks. If I'd used commercial outlines, my grades would have been MUCH better, I'm certain.

The best example of this came my third year when I took the MPRE (multistate professional responsibility exam). BTW, I can't beleive I have to fucking take it again this year to get my Arizona certification because they won't accept my score from 1999. Anyway, the first time I took it, I had just finished my ProRep course, and I got a good grade, so I figured I knew what I was doing. I got a 73 and failed. Next time, I got the study guide, and saw what I had done wrong, studied one night before the exam, and got a 125 (which is pretty close to the highest score possible).

Anyway, don't sweat the school work. Most places don't have any exams that count until the final, so you can get nervous for the last month of the semester and live your life the rest of the time.

I laughed out loud hard at Eric's comment, good thing I'm the only one in the office today.

I think it's a cultural thing about wanting to look good to the community, and not disappoint your parents, and general Jewish guilt stuff like that. Jackie Mason has a joke about a Jewish parent talking about his kids. The smart one became a doctor, the second one wasn't so smart and became a lawyer, the third one was retarded and became and accountant.


Yeah, Chris actually has a real job with a real law firm in a real city. He's probably better to get advice from.

I dunno about you, but when I'm was taking classes, I didn't have time for shit period. Wake up, go to class/work, switch work with class, and then it was either homework, labs, or study for a test. Most of my weekends were filled with homework too.

That's gonna be the downside once I go back and finish up. But at least when I do I will be done with the reserves, have no reason to work (GI bill), and will be able to purely concentrate on my last courses.

Some things to keep in mind:

1. It's harder to get into law school than to graduate from law school;

2. Your pedigree and what you bring to the table academically is completely immaterial once you start law school -- everyone in your class is just as smart as, if not smarter than, you. What separates the good from the bad is how hard you want to work;

3. Some states won't allow you to accept employment during your first semester of law school unless you're part time. If you don't have to work, don't;

4. Sign up for BarBri (the bar review course) right away during your first year (it will save you money);

5. If you're going to bust ass during any of your three years in school, do it your first -- it will determine your summer associate gig in the summer between your second and third years;

6. If people tell you the hardest question on the MPRE is "can you steal from your clients," don't believe them. The MPRE was actually harder than the bar; ask Mr. punkdavid.

7. Almost everyone is Jewish. If you're you're an anti-semite, don't go to law school.

(That last part I made up).

That is all.

I'm better at acting than practicing law . . .

And evidently the term "real" is relative . . .

I finish my first year at Duke Law tomorrow. Feel free to shoot me a PM anytime.

Also, I disagree with the commercial outline advice strongly. They're mildly helpful sometimes, but definitely not accross the board. Of course, it all depends on you.

You should realize that everyone is smart, and a large part of how well you do is how hard you work, but also that being smart can make the difference. It's not as even a playing field as it might seem.

Hey, I just got back around to reading this thread. Thanks for all your advice guys-- I've asked my Dad about Law school, as well as my advisor and professors, but I've always felt that you just gotta ask real people and get the straight shit. This board has been more valuable than all of their advice in that respect. If I have any more question, I know where to turn.