Below is a post from Wayne Porterfield (wp9@buffalo.edu), Career Counselor from Career Services who specializes in Pre Law. He has some great ideas to get you started using Career Services Resources for Pre Law matters:
Thinking about a career in Law or Legal Professions?
Want to explore some majors, graduate programs or law schools?
Career Services can help!
Utilize our online resources including:
DISCOVER - DISCOVER Online is an Internet based career decision-making tool that allows you to get help selecting a major or career as well as investigate graduate schools.
DISCOVER Online helps with:
· Self-Assessment: Explore your interests, values, abilities
· Researching the World of Work: Investigate a wide variety of careers (including web links and video clips of various occupations)
· Choosing Graduate Schools: Check out graduate school programs
You can take DISCOVER for FREE online from anywhere at any time! Just sign up on the Career Services website and we will email you a username and password.
Meet-A-Mentor Program – Connect with UB alumni currently working in the Legal Professions. Send them an email, shadow them to observe what it is like to work in the legal field, and network to make connections with professionals locally and nationwide. We have over 35 mentors working in the Legal Professions. Login to Bulls Eye our website and meet a mentor today!
Search for Internships – Not sure that law is the career for you? Do you need to experience it before you can make a decision? Log-In to Bulls Eye on our website to search for internships offered in an arena of Law and Legal Professions in organizations located all over the United States and in the local Buffalo area. Internships are paid and unpaid. Many internships require a set number of hours to be worked each week, and the responsibilities vary. Log in to Bulls Eye and jump-start your career with an internship!
Interesting article:
From investigations into Lee Harvey Oswald’s troubled adolescence to courtroom debates over Mike Tyson’s violent tantrums, the 20 most psychologically intriguing legal cases of the past 50 years are chronicled in a new book coauthored by a University at Buffalo law professor and a clinical psychologist who is a graduate of the UB Law School.
Link to Article
The LSAC have numbers for how many Pre Law students apply to law school each year. Following this link, you’ll see that in the last couple of years, Fall 2004 had the most applications recently with a whopping 100,600 applicants. Fall 2005 we had a SIGNIFICANT downturn of only 94,200 (a 4.6% difference). Hopefully for Fall 2006 applicants, this trend continues somewhat!
Link to chart
This article talks about the future of digital classrooms in law.
….People are taking advantage of the flexibility and cost savings of Internet law courses and degrees in bunches, and graduates are passing the bar in fair percentages on the first try and landing impressive jobs. In the future online degree programs will likely become more prevalent and possibly more readily embraced.
Link to article
From the Stanford Daily:
Around 100 members of the Stanford community gathered at the Law School yesterday afternoon for the Call of Duty Tour. Hosted by OUTLAW, a law student group, the Call of Duty is a national college speaking tour intended to spread awareness and encourage debate about the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy regarding homosexuals.
Link to article
Posted April 11, 2006 in Articles
Interesting article on CLEO (Conference on Legal Education Opportunity).
Only 9.7 percent of all lawyers are minorities, a figure significantly lower than other white-collar professions, according to a 2005 study by the American Bar Association.
At a boot camp of sorts, CLEO fellows undergo six weeks of intensive legal training, consisting of instruction on understanding and drafting contracts, legal writing and research, and some emphasis on criminal law. Upon graduation, CLEO fellows must enroll in one of Indiana’s four law schools. Fellows usually receive some financial support to prepare for the bar exam — typically from former CLEO fellows.
Link to Article
Tomorrow Professor Charles Carr is holding a workshop on Law School Personal Statements. Your personal statement is a deciding factor for your acceptance to law school. This session will guide you on writing a winning essay that will positively impact your overall law school application. I encourage you to attend if you’re either struggling with your personal statement now or will begin working on it in the upcoming months (or semesters) ahead! It’s of course free of charge to everyone and you can just show up for the workshop time. See you there.
Perfecting the Law School Personal Statement, Wednesday, April 12, 1:00 to 1:50, 145C Student Union.
The American Bar Association has a relevant section devoted to Pre Law students. This page has a lot of “official” answers to typical questions Pre Law students ask. For example, their take on choosing a major as an undergraduate:
The ABA does not recommend any undergraduate majors or group of courses to prepare for a legal education. Students are admitted to law school from almost every academic discipline. You may choose to major in subjects that are considered to be traditional preparation for law school, such as history, English, philosophy, political science, economics or business, or you may focus your undergraduate studies in areas as diverse as art, music, science and mathematics, computer science, engineering, nursing or education. Whatever major you select, you are encouraged to pursue an area of study that interests and challenges you, while taking advantage of opportunities to develop your research and writing skills. Taking a broad range of difficult courses from demanding instructors is excellent preparation for legal education.
They also talk about academic areas that one should be somewhat skilled in, such as “Analytic / Problem Solving Skills and Writing Skills. Definitely worth looking at.
Link
Starting in June 2006 , LSAC will offer online fee waiver applications for the following services: one LSAT per testing year, registration for the LSDAS (including four free law school reports,) and a copy of the Official LSAT Super Prep. Applicants may complete the fee waiver application at the time they create an LSAC online account, or they can access the online application at any time on the LSAC Online Services main page, where there will be a new Fee Waivers tab.
Note: Fee waiver applicants registering for the June 2006 LSAT must submit a paper fee waiver application by mail along with a paper LSAT/LSDAS registration form. We encourage applicants to submit a fee waiver application by April 11, 2006, which is four weeks prior to the regular registration deadline for the June LSAT.
After the new fee waiver system is in place, online fee waiver applicants will receive immediate online notification of the conditional approval or denial of a fee waiver.
Continue reading LSAC Fee Waiver to move Online…
Just wanted to remind you of two upcoming workshops:
LSAT Practice Test. Wednesday, April 5th, 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. at the Kaplan Center in UB Commons.
Just wanted to remind you all that Kaplan is hosting a free LSAT Practice Test this Wednesday in their office on the second floor of the UB Commons. If you’re interested, you could always just stop by there to get more information, or show up for the actual practice test time.
Perfecting the Law School Personal Statement, Wednesday, April 12th, 1:00 – 1:50 p.m, 145 C Student Union.
Additionally, next week on Wednesday Professor Carr will be given a workshop on the Law School Personal Statement. I highly encourage all who are applying to law schools to attend this workshop.