Going to Law School

Christopher Niewoehner, Harry Castleman

Description

Is a career in law right for you?

Thinking of attending law school?

Where should you apply?

The verdict is in: This comprehensive guide has the answers to all your questions.

Written from the perspectives of a veteran lawyer and a recent law school graduate, this guide covers every aspect of preparing for and pursuing a career in law. Going to Law School? takes you through the entire process--from what you need to do before applying to what you can expect during law school to what career paths you can follow after graduation. You'll find:
* Straight facts on the application and admissions process
* Tips on studying for and taking the LSAT
* Advice on determining which law school is right for you
* An insider's look at how law schools operate
* A thorough survey of career options.
CHOOSING LAW AS A CAREER.

Do You Want to be a Lawyer?

How Law School Works.

First-Year Courses.

The Second and Third Years.

Moving from Law Student to Lawyer.

Where Do Lawyers Work?

What Do Lawyers Do?

PREPARING FOR LAW SCHOOL.

Making the Most Out of College.

When to Go to Law School.

APPLYING AND DECIDING.

Thinking About Law Schools.

Which Law Schools Might Accept You?

Which Law Schools Can You Afford?

The LSAT.

The Law School Application.

The Endgame.

Some Last Words.

Appendices.

Index.

Sujets

• LSAT
• Careers
• Employabilité, métiers et formations
• Law School Admission Test
• Economics
• Business
• Carrière
• Carrière & Mobilité

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 21 avril 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470304334
• Langue: English

Extrait

GOING TO LAW SCHOOL?
OTHER BOOKS BY HARRY CASTLEMAN (all co-authored with Walter J. Podrazik)
ALL TOGETHER NOW:
THE FIRST COMPLETE BEATLES DISCOGRAPHY
THE BEATLES AGAIN?!
THE END OF THE BEATLES?
HARRY AND WALLY S FAVORITE TV SHOWS: A FACT-FILLED OPINIONATED GUIDE TO THE BEST AND WORST ON TV
505 RADIO QUESTIONS YOUR FRIENDS CAN T ANSWER
505 TELEVISION QUESTIONS YOUR FRIENDS CAN T ANSWER
THE TV SCHEDULE BOOK: FOUR DECADES OF NETWORK PROGRAMMING FROM SIGN-ON TO SIGN-OFF
WATCHING TV: FOUR DECADES OF AMERICAN TELEVISION
GOING TO LAW SCHOOL?
Everything You Need to Know to Choose and Pursue a Degree in Law
Harry Castleman and Christopher Niewoehner

John Wiley Sons, Inc.
New York Chichester Weinheim Brisbane Singapore Toronto
Copyright 1997 by Harry Castleman and Christopher Niewoehner
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada.
Reproduction or translation of any part of this work beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Castleman, Harry.
Going to law school? : everything you need to know to choose and pursue a degree in law / Harry Castleman and Christopher Niewoehner.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-471-14907-1
1. Law schools-United States-Admission. 2. Law-Study and teaching-United States. 3. Law-Vocational guidance-United States. I. Niewoehner, Christopher, 1970- . II. Title.
KF285.C37 1997
340 .071 173-dc21
96-51993 CIP
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8
To our parents , who helped foot the bill through law school
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction

PART ONE CHOOSING LAW AS A CAREER

1 DO YOU WANT TO BE A LAWYER?
Why Go to Law School?
Lawyers Personal Qualities
Lawyers Professional Traits
Is Going to Law School Worth the Cost?
Is This What You Want to Do for Three Years?

2 HOW LAW SCHOOL WORKS
The Socratic Method of Teaching
Exams and Grades

3 FIRST-YEAR COURSES
Civil Procedure
Constitutional Law
Contracts
Real Property
Torts
Criminal Law
Legal Research and Writing

4 THE SECOND AND THIRD YEARS
Upper-Class Courses
Outside the Classroom
Joint Degree Programs

5 MOVING FROM LAW STUDENT TO LAWYER
Summer Jobs during Law School
Third-Year Interviews for Post-Graduation Jobs
After Graduation: The Bar Exam

6 WHERE DO LAWYERS WORK?
Private Law Firms
Private Businesses
Government
Other Alternatives

7 WHAT DO LAWYERS DO?
Corporate Lawyers
Litigation Lawyers
Other Sub-Specialties
Where Will You Wind Up?

PART TWO PREPARING FOR LAW SCHOOL

8 MAKING THE MOST OUT OF COLLEGE
Academics
Choosing a College Major
Forging Relationships with Professors
College Guidance Counselors
Extracurricular Activities

9 WHEN TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL
To Wait or Not to Wait?- The Advantages of Waiting
What to Do between College and Law School

PART THREE APPLYING AND DECIDING

10 THINKING ABOUT LAW SCHOOLS
Which Law Schools Are Best for You?
Gathering Information on Law Schools

11 WHICH LAW SCHOOLS MIGHT ACCEPT YOU?
How Law Schools Process Applications
Application Elements That Law Schools Emphasize
How to Assess Your Attractiveness to Law Schools

12 WHICH LAW SCHOOLS CAN YOU AFFORD?
How Much Law School Costs
How to Help Cover the Cost of Law School
Law School Debt

13 THE LSAT
Background of the LSAT
Format of the LSAT
When to Take the LSAT
Preparing for the LSAT
Test-Taking Tips
Post-Test Options

14 THE LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION
When to Start the Application Process
How Many Applications You Should Complete
An Application Overview
The Personal Statement
Biographical Data, Transcripts, and Scores
Letters of Recommendation
Law School Interviews
Financial Aid Applications

15 THE ENDGAME
When Will You Hear?
What if the Answer Is Yes?
What if the Answer Is No?
Alternatives to Yes or No-The Wait List
Deferring Law School
The Last Summer

Some Last Words

Appendix A-Other Helpful Books
Appendix B-Sources of Information
Appendix C-Sample Law School Application Time Line

Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Harry would like to thank the following for their help:
First and foremost, Barbara Brown, for graciously slogging through the text on short notice, providing much-needed editing comments, and putting up with an often grumpy and tired co-author.
PJ Dempsey, for nagging a veteran to get back in the game one more time and for believing in a fresh rookie.
Gregg Beloff, Andy Branz, Karen Hurvitz, Ken Ingber, Ken Kurnos, Leslie Lockard, and Megan Wynne, for taking time out of their busy days to try to remember their lives before law school.
Chris would like to thank the following for their help:
Most of all, my parents, for their love, support, and editorial acumen. They have given me all I could ever ask.
There are many others who deserve my heartfelt thanks as well. Elizabeth s experience with law school shaped my approach. Jeanne Hanson provided the initial spark for the book and good advice throughout the project. Malcolm Eaton, Peter Fiutak, Kathryn Kobussen, and Amir Kader provided constant encouragement and generous work space. Finally, Joel Hammerman, Anthony Falzone, Michael Castellano, Rachel Blum, and the entire Great Danes organization shared their application experiences and made me glad to be at law school.
INTRODUCTION
Images of lawyers abound in modern American society. No longer are these dominated by mythical legal wizards like the impossibly perfect Perry Mason, or elegantly tailored barristers like those in LA Law , or the shady but sexy practitioners found in a John Grisham novel. Thanks to the relatively recent innovation of allowing cameras in the courtroom, real-life legal maneuvering has become a daily staple on television. Well-publicized trials, such as those of the Menendez brothers and O. J. Simpson, capture our attention for months on end.
Even in our private lives, lawyers seem to be everywhere. Because of the increasingly litigious nature of American society, ordinary citizens personally interact with lawyers in more and more facets of life. This interaction may be as simple as when buying a house or setting up a small business, or more complicated as when going to court to redress an alleged injustice.
Either the cause or the effect (or both) of this increased contact with lawyers is that there are more lawyers in the United States than ever before. There is little likelihood that this trend will decline any time soon. These days, when contemplating a career path, more and more Americans, both of college age and older, are considering attending law school. For some, the process of going to law school and becoming a lawyer is as simple as following in the footsteps of a father, mother, brother, or sister. For most, however, becoming a lawyer is a generalized desire that frequently is not based on much hard information. The entire process seems confusing and convoluted, filled with unknown dangers and procedures that seem designed to trap the unwary.
Going to Law School? will help prospective law students (of whatever age) sort through the issues and concerns that they are (or should be) thinking about. It serves as a guidebook for the traveler making the first tentative steps on the long journey into the legal profession.
Our book is divided into three parts, beginning with seven chapters about choosing law as a career. In the first chapter, we address the most basic of questions (whether you want to become a lawyer) that you need to answer before beginning the law school application process. In Chapters 2 - 5 , we explain how law school works and walk you through the three-year law school process. Part One concludes with two chapters that discuss various types of legal jobs and explain what lawyers actually do.
We move on to the topic of preparing for law school in Part Two, covering the time period before the application process starts. We suggest things a student can do as an undergraduate that may prove helpful both in getting into law school and in practicing law. In addition, we discuss whether it is better for an undergraduate considering law school to go on to law school right away or to take a break from formal education for a while.
In Part Three, we take you through the entire law school application process. Chapters 10 , 11 , and 12 review three essential questions facing anyone considering law school: Which law schools are best for you? Which law schools might accept you? Which law schools can you afford? Next, in Chapter 13 , we cover a very important part of the law school application process-the LSAT, the law board tests, which will have great impact in determining where, if anywhere, your legal education will take place. We explain how the test works and what you can do to prepare for it. Chapter 14 provides a thorough explanation of how to complete a law school application and what types of information and backup materials you will be required to provide. In Chapter 15 , we explain the options available after you are either accepted or rejected.
This book-in fact, any one book-cannot answer all the questions that will arise during the law school application process. Our goal is simply to provide enough information to answer some of the vital questions and enough guidance to allow you, the prospec