Two Important Tips To Law Students From a Recent Grad
Two Important Tips To Law Students From a Recent Grad
The follow post is by a recent law school graduate who passed the bar exam and is looking for employment as a lawyer. These are the two critical tips to law students she wished she knew during law school!
Two Important Tips To Law Students From a Recent Grad
1. Be conscious of your spending, especially if you borrow for law school!
If I could go back and do it all over again, I would have been wiser in my spending during law school. For most of us without jobs, our source of income was our refund check from Sallie Mae (Navient). After paying tuition and other expenses I always had money leftover. Instead of saving it, I bought plane tickets, shopped and dined. I was not as frugal as I should have been.
When bar exam time came around, I was begging for money to pay for my commercial bar review course and other supplements. I refused to work and study, fearing I would jeopardize my chances of passing. I also wasn’t qualified for any bar prep loans. Hence, I was left asking and borrowing money from loved ones. Please don’t let that be your story if you can avoid it.
Save as much of your money after expenses as you can. Every dollar saved will help you during bar exam time. So, one of the first tips to law students, in my experience, is to be as frugal as possible in law school. What you waste now can impact you later!
2. Get work experience at a law firm.
Working your first year of law school is usually not recommended because the first year is known to be the most difficult. However, it is possible to balance both work and school during your 2nd and 3rd years (or in between your second and third year). In my 2nd year, I worked as a part time administrative assistant at a lobbying organization. Although I was exposed to government policies, legislation and lobbying, I did not sharpen the skills I needed as a practicing attorney.
If I could do it over again, I would have applied to work as a legal assistant or law clerk in a law firm so I could learn more about handling cases and working with clients. I recently passed the bar and I’m getting little to no responses from entry-level attorney positions.
I attribute the lack of response to the fact that my resume is deficient in the legal experience department. If your ultimate goal is practicing as an attorney, I highly recommend you secure a law firm job now. It could be the key to securing you that future law firm position–at that firm or a different one. So, my second tip to law students is to try to find relevant work experience early in law school. It can provide invaluable opportunities later on!
So the take-away is: First, start living on a budget now even if your loans provide you with more money than you need for school. You want to save up as much as you can for bar prep! Secondly, apply to work at a law firm during law school. The experience is invaluable and will increase your chances of getting competitive positions.
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