Dealing with Long Distance Relationships in Law School

This article from Law Crossing about dealing with long distance relationships in law school.

Legal Stuff You Should Know

This booklet talks about real life issues for young adults soon to be on their own. It covers issues such as renting a first apartment, what to do in the event of an automobile accident, and what to do if arrested.

Legal Stuff You Should Know




(provided by Indianapolis Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section)

Free download of KT Tunstall song

If you like KT Tunstall, check out this free download of her song, Saving My Face. not sure how long the download will be free, so check it out!
Free Song Download from Amazon.com


Other Free Songs from Amazon

Brian Setzer (fun holiday song)

Saves the Day (Alternative Rock/General)

The Bravery (Pop/Alternative Rock)

Dashboard Confessional (Alternative Rock)

Sophie Milman ( I like the sultry voice of this singer!)

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings (Soulful & Classy)

Los Straitjackets (Holiday song, but a little annoying!)

Tri Factor (Rhythmic & Jazzy)

Diondra Smith (Soulful, R&B)

the Starlite Singers (An Italian festive song)

Lance & the BoBoys (Alternative Rock)

Interpretado Por De La Cruz (Spanish Christian song)

Nina Persson (Pop/rock song, another sultry voice)

Holiday Sweepstakes

Merry Christmas! Here's some holiday sweepstakes to enter while you procrastinate from studying!


Circuit City Win a Wii Contest

Folgers Holiday Sweepstakes

Scratch, Bake, & Win Contest

Phillips HD TV Sweepstakes

XBox 360 Contest

Pillsbury Cash Sweepstakes

Sprint & Heroes Trivia Game

Cna yuo raed tihs?

I found this surfing the web. Kind of random. Some of you probably have already seen it...

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too Cna yuo raed tihs?i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit apboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed erveylteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!


Check out the research. Another comment on this "research". It's interesting to learn how we read and learn!

Mind your Health

Even though you are busy studying (or procrastinating), you should not ignore your health! Especially during this time of year, when finals are approaching fast. Check out the 11 Worst Health Hazards.

64 Interview Questions You Need to Know the Answer to

Check out 64 Interview Answers You Need to Know and possible answers you can offer when asked these questions. I have been asked many of these questions in more than one interview!

For Heroes and Gamers Alike!

Amazon.com Xbox 360 'Heroes' Sweepstakes

**UPDATE** Promotion has now ended.

You can win a Xbox 360 'Heroes' decorated game system from Amazon.com The Xbox 360 Heroes game system includes a 20GB Hard Drive (with HDMI, a Xbox 360 HD DVD Player, and Heroes Season 1 on HD DVD. Amazon.com will select 3 winners a day for 31 days. Register for your chance to win!!! (I already registered). You must be logged into your Amazon.com account to register.

Post about Job Search

Read this blogger's post about the trouble with job searching after law school. Ugh! It's not a good job market right now. So you have to start early and BE PERSISTENT!

comments

Leave me comments here

I wish I read this book before law school (but it wasn't out yet!)

This looks is the perfect book for those interested in going to law school.

Law 101: Everything You Need to Know about the American Legal System explains so many things are that foreign before coming to law school such as what is a tort, and why is contract law so important. I really wish I read this book before going, because instead of learning this stuff in law school, it would have just been review the second time around. Law 101 has great reviews on Amazon.com and I highly recommend it. Search the inside the book and read excerpts here

Here is one editorial review:

"Thanks to TV cop shows, most Americans can probably recite the Miranda warnings, but do they know when the warnings do--and do not--apply? Tort reformers cite the $2.7 million in punitive damages a jury awarded a little old lady in Albuquerque when the cup of coffee she had set between her legs spilled and scalded her. These crusaders against "excessive" damage awards do not usually note that the trial judge reduced the award to $480,000, or that the coffee was 20 degrees hotter than competitors' coffee.
The law is all around. People continually invoke their rights, and every year millions of Americans are involved in formal legal proceedings. Yet most people are ignorant of even the basic concepts and organizing principles of U.S. law. Into the breach comes Jay Feinman's engrossing book Law 101: Everything You Need to Know About the American Legal System. Akin to a crash course in the first year of law school, Law 101 is a clearly written, eminently readable guide to the tenets of our legal system. It is structured around basic questions such as "If a contract is unfair, can a court refuse to enforce it?" and replete with clarifying examples--real and hypothetical. In explaining battery, Feinman writes: "If someone consents to a certain bodily invasion, he does not necessarily consent to any bodily invasion, however. When Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield are in a boxing match, Holyfield has consented to Tyson punching him in the nose ... but he has not consented to Tyson biting off a piece of his ear." Much clearer.
Law 101 won't instruct you on how to write your will or get divorced, but it will educate you at a more systematic level. It is also a great read. --J.R."

Sorry for the long post, I am really excited about this book!

IL's get those resumes ready for December 1st!

The NALP, the National Association of Legal Career Professionals, require that first year students and employers not initiate contact with one another, interview or make offers, prior to December 1. This deadline is set so that first year law students can adjust to the rigor of law school before intiating their jobs search. However, you may want to start researching employers, preparing your resumes and cover letters before that December 1st deadline so that your job search doesn't interfere with finals or with studying. Some people use their fall break to research jobs, in addition to outlining and reviewing the material from the first half of the semester. If you have your resumes and cover letters done before December 1st, you can send them all at on that date and releax during exams and Christmas break. However, if you prefer to wait until your holiday break, use that time to study and then spend a few weeks over the break to do your research and send off those resumes by the first of the year. Contact your career services office or career counselor at your law school for resume and cover letter advice, as well as for interviewing tips. It's also a good idea to use your Fall and Christmas breaks to do some networking and informational interviews and try to see what area you may want to practice in after law school.

Learn a New Langauge with Rosetta Stone

I have wanted to brush up on my language skills, particularly Spanish. I found a program that is really good whether you are a beginner or are more advanced in your language skills. Check out this Rosetta Stone: Free Demo to get a better idea of what they offer. I have checked out Spanish and my mom has an Italian and Mandarin Rosetta Stone set.

I'm an attorney now what?

How many of you out there are new attorneys, just fresh off the press? What are you doing? Are you working? are you looking for a job? What does it really mean to be an attorney and do we, have too many?? What do you think? I'd like to know.

Bar Exam: Request a Score Release, Transfer or Score Advisory

Apparently some states never release you actual bar score if you pass the bar exam. If you pass the bar in your state, you'll just know that you passed, but never know by how much you passed or if you can be admitted into DC without having to take the MBE. However, the National Bar Examiner's website will release your score for $25. Some states and the District of Columbia will not require you to take their MBE if you have already achieved a certain score. So if that's your situation, check out that link for information on how to get your MBE score!

Get PMBR CDs at reduced prices

You don't have to pay $50 a course to get PMBR tapes when there is Amazon.com. You can get these helpful little tapes at a fraction at the cost. I used these to study for final exams and they were extremely helpful in studying for the bar. I downloaded them onto ITUNES and uploaded them onto my IPOD and listened to Criminal Law or Torts as I went on a walk, went grocery shopping, worked out, or just on my way to BarBri class. It really helped with reinforcing, but I recommend starting to listen to them early rather than later!! Most of them are available at this Amazon.com link. I'm selling some of the ones I used, but I didn't have all of them. I really liked the Evidence, Torts, and Criminal Procedure ones.

What's Your Personality Type? I am an ENFJ

Knowing your personality type will tell you alot about yourself, your learning style, and what characteristics you should emphasize in interviews.


Here's a few websites that have online personality tests
http://www.41q.com/
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp
(i took both and ended up with the same results. The second site has more in depth descriptions and once you know your personality type you can google it and find out even more)

description of personality types (read these after you find out your personality type)
http://www.personalitypage.com/high-level.html


After you take the test, see how much it actually describes who you are. Then keep in mind the skills and qualities described in the test. If the test says you are analytical and organized, make sure to mention that skill when employers ask "what is your greatest strength." The test will also illuminate why you do things they way you do and help you understand yourself, which is an important skill to know as a lawyer and to know just in general. Also if you know your friends and collegues personality types, you'll learn why they may do things the way they do.

Walk with the Weight Vest

In law school, like many students, I gained weight between the late study nights, free pizza, and stress. I invested in a weight vest and started walking to get back in shape. I also joined a local gym and soon dropped ten pounds. I highly recommend the weight vest. Check it out at the X-vest or the Walk Vest.

Interviewing Tips

It's that time of year again, where OCI and interviewing is going on. One question that almost every interviewer asks is "tell me about yourself?" In otherwords, they are not asking for a life story, but rather are asking you why they should hire you or what makes you the best canditate. For more advice check out CareerJournal. You can also check out this article on "mastering the interview" for more tips. Some of the quesions are more focused to recent college grads, rather than law students, but it will help you think about the types of things you should prepare for when getting ready for your interview. Remember to study potential questions and think of potential answers so you are ready with anecdotes and examples.

These are other things you should be prepared to talk about

• things you do well
• greatest strength
• greatest weakness (make sure to leave the answer on a positive note, so they know you are working on this weakness)
• Favorite class/professor
• your inspiration
• what makes a leader or examples of your leadership
• Be prepared to talk about anything listed on your resume or cover letter.
• why you want to work in X city or in X firm, government agency, non-profit
• know ways to spin negative aspects of yourself positively (grades, lack of familiarity with the city, one bad semeter, ect)

Try to portray the most positive, confident version of yourself you can. The interviewer is looking for reasons NOT to hire you and you are there to give them as many reasons that you can why they should hire you. Just try to have a conversation rather than a monologue or rehearsed speech and you'll do great!

Network in Law School

First know where you want to work or at least what type of law you want to practice. Contact your Career Services office and ask for alumni that practice in the area or fieldthat you want to practice. Then send an email or mail a letter explaining that your Career Services director recommended you contact them and if they had any advise for a future lawyer wanting to practice in this city or in this area of law. If possible, ask to meet them for coffee or lunch just to pick their brain. When they say yes, come armed with questions. This is basically an informational interview. Don't ask about jobs, ask about advice. Start this process early in your law school career and you'll build up your networks and land yourself a legal job upon graduation. If you have friends or family who are lawyers or know lawyers, go ahead and send them the pro forma letter. Try to start the letter with Mr. or Ms. Z recomended I contact you, so that you are not some random person. You can also say that you came across their name or law firm while doing research about the field of law you are interested in. Once you meet with these networks, keep in touch with them every couple of months so they know where you are in the job search process.

Law school books

Search for your law school text books here for good deals.

The Bar Exam: Afterthoughts

So it's been over a week since I took the bar and I have a few reflections. I think the hardest part about the whole process was the feelings of the unknown. Before you take the bar, you don't really know what to expect during the exam days. You don't know if you are studying too much or not enough. Everything is just this dark abyss of unknowingness. I know I was so nervous before the bar that I threw up! I was just so scared that my worst nightmare would come true and I'd see a question that I would have no idea how to answer. But the best thing is just to relax, stay calm, and go in to the examination room with what you know and not worry about the rest. I think making flashcards helped me because I could visualize my little card and try to remember what was on it and write it down on my exam. I tried to keep my essays organized, citing the rule and then applying the rule to the facts of the situation. I think a student should utilize every method necessary to get the information in their head and remember it, whether it be flashcards, re-writing or re-tying notes, listening to tapes. Get in your head several different ways so you can remember it. It also helps to repeat things out loud or write it down. For instance, when studying, I would read a section and then try to re-write it from memory. It's tedious, but it works.

Another tip, dont' try to guess which essays they will test. I tried that and was wrong. Just study everything because there is a chance that any of the subjects will be tested. Don't blow of income tax or negotiable instruments because you think there is no way they will test on it.

Oh people love to stand around during breaks and after the exam to talk. I bolted out of there. I hate when people talk about the exam because all it makes you do is second guess yourself and feel worse. If you like to do this, fine, go ahead and torture yourself (and others!) But I prefer to not talk about the exam with anyone and I may just go back to my room and try to look up something that I thought I missed. Even this is not a good idea, but its better than standing around with everyone and feeling like you may or may not have missed an issue on the essay or got the wrong answer on the MPC.

Free Coffee

I love getting free stuff, so I thought I'd share this one with you. Every law students needs coffee!

Get A Free Sample of Folgers Gourmet Selections

Law School Tip: Business Cards

While in law school, I got cheap business cards made at Vistaprint.com to pass out when networking with potential employees or just to give to my friends and family for contact info. It's a good idea to get some made, just choose a professional design and then carry your business cards in your wallet or purse and you'll always have your contact information at hand. You can even create add images of your school logo (I think that costs extra). You can get 250 free business cards at Vistaprint.com.

Bar Exam Tips

Here's some free advice for bar takers

• Do lots of MBE questions from Bar/Bri, PMBR and get comfortable with the types of questions they ask. I really like the Studysmart software Bar/Bri offers. It didn't work on some of my friends computers though. But you can keep track of your progress on each of the 6 MBE subjects and there is a study option available so you can see the answer and explanation after every question and also a practice mode, where it's just timed and the answers are shown at the end. I would also do MBE questions on paper too though to get used to the way you will actually be examined.
• Take MBE subjects in law school (Torts, Crim Law, Con Law, Evidence, and Property)
• Apparently Con Law is the subject students to do best and Evidence/Property people do the worst.
• Find out how heavily your state tests on areas such as commercial law, tax, ect. Why take a hard class in law school where they only ask one or two questions on the bar exam!
• Order Previous Essays and MPT from the National Conference of Bar Examiners. It's only $15. They also have some free past exams available.
• I made outlines from my Bar/Bri Lectures and printed them out and stuck them in a binder. It helped me review the material after the class (or you can try the type during the Bar/Bri Lecture. For the essays, I made flashcards from the outlines to improve my memory of the key points to remember.
• When you sign up for PMBR, you can select subject area CDs. I really liked the Torts , Evidence, Criminal Law. The Contracts one was okay, but before for people who have Contracts on the Essay part of the bar exam I'd try listening them to when you are traveling or commuting. Upload them on to your ipod and listen to it while you are walking or working out.
• On the day of the bar exam, eat a lot of protien for breakfast and for lunch (yogurt, boiled eggs, peanut butter, meat/tuna). Protien will help keep your energy level up.
• After your exam, resist the temptation to look up the answers and figure out what you missed or got right. Just put it behind you and focus on the next day of examination.
  
  
  Other recommended Bar Study Materials
  
  Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays
  
  Mastering the Multistate Bar Exam
  
  And when you get done with the Bar Exam and finally have time for fun reading, you can read Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows (Book 7).

Recommended Books for 1Ls

There a list of must have books for first year law students. These are recommended for different reasons. Some like Getting to Maybe is a good resource for doing well on law school exams, some of the recommeneded books are essential to legal writing and research. Others give good insights as to what law school is like or what legal practice is like. I highly recommend Amazon.com to get your law school text books. That's where I got the majority of mine to save money. You just have get the booklist early so you can order before classes start. Search for your Law School Text Books at Amazon.com by name, keywords or ISBN number. You can also check out my Amazon.com link for law books and other items that you may need for school and life!


Getting to Maybe

The Bluebook

Black's Law Dictionary

Academic Legal Writing

The Red Book

One L

A Civil Action

Law School Confidential

Mastering the Law School Exam

Guerilla Tactics to Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams

What Law School Doesn't Teach You

Strategies & Tactics for the First Year of Law School

The Brethren

I also wanted to recommend some good legal or law-related movies!!

The Paper Chase

Legally Blonde 1 & 2 (the first one's better)

Double Jeopardy

To Kill a Mockingbird

My Cousin Vinny

A Few Good Men

Intolerable Cruelty

Another Money Saving Tip for the Frugal Law Student

Okay so this is a random tip, not super related to law school, but still helpful. While in law school, I really got into online shopping. Then I realized there online coupon codes for many of the places I liked to shop online such as Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, Overstock.com, Bestbuy, Target ect. I use Amazon to buy my law books, cds, dvds. I use Drugstore.com to get personal care products not available in nearby stores, plus drugstore.com gives you a percentage back on every purchase. I just googled the store's name and coupon code. It was great, because often I could save a lot just by seeing if the store had a coupon code online. Sometimes its a percentage off, sometimes it's free shipping. I just recently found out that there is a website that lists a bunch of stores and their coupon codes, so it makes finding merchant coupons that much easier! If you like to shop online anyway, might as well save money! Hey this is free real life advice. We are not only law students, we are consumers!

Bar/Bri vs. PMBR vs. Real MBE

As of right now I don't see the worth of PMBR even though I signed up because Bar/Bri also provides a practice MBE, but here is one blogger's experience in Utah with the practice MBE's vs. the real one. What do you think?

*Update*
I guess there is some worth to doing one MBE studying and then doing PMBR and seeing if your score improves. But I do agree with the Mark's comment, we are spending a lot of money and all the kinks should have been worked out. Bar/Bri charges 2 grand a person for books whose material barely changes from year to year.


**Update**
I think I would recommend the Home Study Bar/Bri program (if you can afford it). That way you can create your own schedule and listen to the lectures on the I-Pod they send you. You do have to be disciplined and sit down and listen to the I-pod and fill in the blanks, but you could do those 3 hours at 10 am instead of 9am or at 1 in the afternoon. If you like to work out in the morning you could do it then and then listen to the lectures. You just have a lot more flexibility. Maybe a couple of students can do the home study together, although this may violate Bar/Bri's policy. I don't know. It also helps to do lots of questions. I highly recommend the Study Smart Software, because you can track your progress and target your questions to the areas that you are week. For instance, if you are having issues with Negligence in Torts and Governmental Immunities in Con Law, you can pick and choose only questions in those topics until you improve.


***Update***
I would highly recommend Strategies & Tactics for the MBE for a supplement to your bar preparation or to start preparing early before Bar/Bri or PMBR starts. Check out the reviews, because they are all good. I'm using an older version and find the tips and hints very helpful.

Tip: Exercise!

Law school can sometimes be like the first year of college, you get so wrapped up and busy that you adopt unhealthy eating habits and forget to exercise. Check out these health tips to avoid gaining weight over your 3 years of law school.

Tips on Cali Radio

Podcast on Strict Liability

More tips on other areas of law here at Cali Radio. Some files you have to open or download rather than listening from the website.

Comments

Feel free to leave comments of your own advice or what you think of the posted tips, or of your own law school stories. It's kind of annoying the tips end up in a second page and aren't posted on my main blog, but your tips can and will help all! So comment away! Thanks to those who have already left comments and thanks to all the visitors. I know there are many blogs offering their advice, experiences, tips!

Tip for Success: Do Cali exercises

One of the things I utilized in law school to get more practice in subject areas was to do Cali exercises. Cali is non-profit organization that provides web-based legal instruction. I think you get the password for from your law school reference librarian, but you can get free access here. I know I used it for Evidence, Property, Contracts, and several of my upper-level courses as well. In addition, there's a student that runs a Cali Blog, which offers helpful tips for pre-law students, as well as, current law students. I say use every resource you have available to learn the material and be successful in law school. Try everything out and find out what works best for you in learning the material.

Tips for the Successful??

I just realized that I have no tips for those law students in law school doing well. You know who you are, you have the grades, the multiple job offers, endless line of adoring professors. What are you supposed to do? 1.) Be humble, no one likes a smart jerk? 2.) Don't apply for 150 OCI job just because you can, be nice, you will get a job, so don't hog all the job-getting opportunities!! 3.) Have a good personality. Your employers want someone they can get along with, as well as, someone competent enough to do the work. 4.) Thank God for your blessings
5.) Share your notes! :)

Tip: Study Smarter not Harder

During my first year of law school, I lived in the library, I basically would go home after class, and then head back after dinner and stay until 10 or 11 o'clock at night. I would go there on weekends and stay all day. I was always at the library, however, I didn't use that time as effectively as I could have. I should have been more efficient and then I wouldn't have spent 8 hours doing 3 hours of work. I would have done hours of work and gone home. You may be wondering what I was doing those other 5 hours. I was doing everything else but studying. Anyway, that's just my story. If you start early in the semester (3 or 4 weeks in) doing a little bit of work every day, you wont have to spend all your time at the library. And when you study, study, because then you'll have more free time to do things you actually like to do. That's my two scents.

More Tips! Law School Expert

I recently received a lovely note from a blogger stating that my blog was positive and upbeat! Yay! That makes me happy. Anyway, if you need advice from a law school expert check out the linked blog.