In the first year, almost all ABA-accredited law schools offer the same curricula to their students. It is not until students reach their second year of law where more choices can be offered, depending on their area of interest or which track of specialization they would want to pursue. To get one started on the right path toward a specialization, look for electives that can get one closer to the goal. However, the options for electives and course offerings differ in each law school.
Prior to getting in, one could determine which law school would offer the best curriculum. Check out online curriculum guides of each law school for a heads up on what each law school can offer. Below is an overview of a few of the course offerings from reputable law schools in the US.
Georgetown University
Georgetown University has a comprehensive package of electives, seminars, and courses that span a variety of specializations. Georgetown University can also boast of courses that teach on the latest in legal matters and jurisprudence updates such as Law and Cyberspace or Bioethics and the Law.
The New York Law School – International and Comparative Law
The New York Law School also offers an interesting course lineup for students who want to pursue a legal career in a transnational setting. An international and comparative law curriculum spans many disciplines of thought and legal procedure. Advanced courses on Business law, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, and Human Rights, just to name a few, are offered in this institution.
Yale Law School
Though the Yale Law School by far has one of the smallest admission numbers throughout the US (admitting under 200 students per year), it has established itself as a purveyor of legal studies. The curriculum offers a wide array of courses, seminars, and lectures for the study of business law.
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Whether you’re a college senior slaving away on writing your personal statement law school, or a law student, or just someone interested in law, then watching movies featuring law students and the law school experience may just be your thing. If you’re planning to enter law school, these movies can give you insights on how it is to be in law school and what law students usually have to go through. Below are five movies fit for anyone who’s interested in law.
Paper Chase
Directed by James Bridges, Paper Chase is a 1973 film based on the novel with the same title written by John Jay Osborn, Jr. The movie focuses on the life of Hart (played by Timothy Bottoms), who is a first year student in Harvard Law School. Hart soon becomes the adversary of his Contract Law professor, Charles Kingsfield, Jr. (played by John Houseman). Adding to the dilemma of Hart is his discovery that he’s dating his professor’s daughter. Often cited as one of the best movies that provide an accurate depiction of life in law school, the movie has also gained glowing reviews as it has an emotionally gripping plot.
The Pelican Brief
Based on the novel written by John Grisham, The Pelican Brief stars Julia Roberts as Darby Shaw, a law school student who stumbles upon some very interesting details while doing some research on the death of two Supreme Court Justices. Darby finds out that these details involve several men in high places. Darby shows her research and theories, which then becomes known as the Pelican Brief, to her law professor, Thomas Callahan, who then shows it to his friend, Gavin Verheek. Both men are killed soon after and Darby goes on the run as she fears that her life will be the next target.
The Trials of Law School
An 87-minute film, The Trials of Law School follows the life of several law students at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. They come from very different backgrounds, each with his or her own expectations, hopes, and dreams. This film deals largely with how law students manage their studies and their personal lives, making it a definite must-watch film for all law school students.
Legally Blonde
Bubbly and perky Elle Woods, the president of her sorority famous for its good-looking members, is the last person you would imagine to enter the “serious” world of law school. When Elle Woods’s boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, breaks up with her, she becomes determined to get him back. She sets out for Harvard Law School, finding herself in a place that is such a far cry from the comforts she’s used to. At Harvard, Elle is met with skepticism and hostility, and she sets out to do everything she can in her studies, and becomes one of the notable students in her class. Despite garnering mixed reviews from movie critics, this movie became a surprise box office hit. It eventually led to a sequel, which was a far cry in terms of box office sales and reviews from the original.
Reversal of Fortune
In this movie, Claus von Bulow is convicted for the attempted murder of his wife, so he seeks the help of Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz. Unlike other legal thrillers, this movie does not focus on the trial, but rather on the preparatory work that Dershowitz does along with his students so that they can disprove the case and achieve acquittal for von Bulow.
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Getting accepted into law schools may be tough, but when you write an impressive personal statement, you increase your admissions chances. A personal statement law school gives you the chance to let admission officers know what makes you different from the other candidates. Your personal statement contains information regarding your activities outside of school and gives readers an insight into your personal life, background, and inner voice that exam scores and grade point averages just can’t convey.
Give yourself enough time to write.
Don’t cram when it comes to writing your personal statement. Take the time to write down the things you want to say. You might find yourself wanting to say something more or deleting some sentences out as you go on, and this is one of the reasons why you must give yourself adequate time to write.
Think about yourself and your life.
When you sit down to write, just jot down your thoughts as they come. You can edit your personal statement later on. Think about your life and what’s happened to you so far. You have to give readers a glimpse into your academic and personal experiences, especially those that make you different from other people. Are you part of a minority? Are you an immigrant? What are your special skills and abilities? Writing about these things establishes you as a unique individual.
State your reasons for going into law school.
When you write about your life experiences, you also need to write about how these experiences led you to decide to go into law school. You should also be able to articulate what it is about the law that appeals to you as well as what you already know about law and law school. Having taken some law courses before or having work experience in a law firm or as an assistant to a lawyer or law professor may be some of the things you’ve done that can convince admission officers to accept you into the school.
Organize your thoughts and ideas.
Nothing turns away readers from a written piece than an article that just goes around in circles. Especially if you’re writing a persuasive essay, wherein the aim is for you to convince the reader to make him or her believe you or approve of your proposal, grabbing the reader’s attention at the first sentence and sustaining it until the very last sentence are critical. Write an outline of all your ideas and your points. Bear in mind that some people may contradict some of the points you will be raising. If you cannot think of any good justifications on some of these, don’t elaborate on them anymore.
Organizing your thoughts and ideas in an outline is also important because you have to make each word and sentence count. You cannot afford to add clutter to your personal statement. Some law schools usually prescribe a maximum number of words for the personal statement. So, it’s essential that you make the maximum use of your words. You can do away with useless platitudes and general statements. Doing so will result in tighter and more focused writing.
Edit and revise.
Make sure that your law school personal statement essay is clear and concise. Don’t turn it into a resume that’s written in paragraph form. Your essay should show admission officers who you are and why they should choose you. Write about your goals, dreams, and aspirations. Make your essay personal, make it uniquely yours. After you’ve written down your ideas, don’t forget to go over it again and revise. You can also ask a trusted friend or teacher to read it and give you some opinions. This way, you can get constructive criticism that can help you polish your essay to be the best it can be.
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Many law school applicants have to worry not only about their personal statement law school, but also about how they’re going to pay for their tuition fee. Fortunately, there are various institutions offering law school scholarships to those who are in need of financial aid. Some institutions only give scholarships to law school students in a particular area. If you need help when it comes to funding your law school education, below are some law school scholarships that are definitely worth checking out.
ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund
The American Bar Association awards legal opportunity scholarships to deserving students of ABA-accredited law schools. Scholarship recipients each receive $5,000 annually, which can be renewed for an additional two years if the student’s academic performance is satisfactory.
American Counsel Association Scholarship
This scholarship is awarded to third year law school students based on their academic status and financial need. Every year, the ACA scholarship committee reviews nominations submitted by deans of various law schools.
Cabaniss, Johnston Scholarship
Awarded by the Alabama Law Foundation, the Cabaniss, Johnston Scholarship is awarded to law school students who are Alabama residents and are in their second year of studying law at an ABA-accredited law school. Beyond those requirements, students must also demonstrate conscientiousness, civic involvement, dedication, dependability, and financial need.
Erie County Bar Association Scholarship
Law school students who need financial assistance and are studying in accredited law schools who are also residents of Erie County, Pennsylvania can apply for the Erie County Bar Association Scholarship. Interested applicants can fill out the online application form or request for an application form from the association.
Samuel Krugliak Legal Scholarship
Awarded by the Krugliak Wilkings Griffiths & Dougherty Co., L.P.A., the Samuel Krugliak Legal Scholarship requires applicants to be currently enrolled at ABA-accredited law schools, have formerly resided or resides in Wayne, Carroll, Holmes, Tuscarawas, Mahoning, Summit, Columbiana, or Stark counties, and intend to practice law within the Stark county region.
Carl A. Vergari Scholarship
This scholarship is just one of the seven scholarships awarded by the Columbian Lawyers Association of Westchester County, Inc. Applicants should reside in Westchester County, be enrolled in an accredited law school, and rank among the upper half of their class to qualify.
Lloyd M. Johnson, Jr. Scholarship
Sponsored by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the Lloyd M. Johnson, Jr. scholarship is awarded to entering law students who are U.S. citizens and from disadvantaged backgrounds. Applicants must show academic promise, leadership, interest in diversity, community service, and need financial assistance.
Wally Davis Scholarship
The Orange County Hispanic Bar Association awards the Wally Davis Scholarship to Hispanic law students from Orange County, California. Current law students should rank at the upper half of their class while entering law students must possess at least a 3.0 GPA to be eligible.
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After writing an impressive personal statement law school, getting accepted into law school, studying the legal profession, and then finally earning your law degree, you might come to that point when you’re thinking that you don’t want to practice law. This is altogether not an uncommon dilemma faced by recent law school graduates, after they’ve had three of four grueling years in law school.
The good thing about this is that, aside from practicing law, there are many other things that you can do with your law degree. When you study law, you learn many skills that you can use to your advantage in other careers. Law school teaches you how to think analytically, conduct extensive and comprehensive research, write concisely and clearly, distinguish between philosophical clutter and relevant facts, and present your ideas persuasively. You can go into non-traditional legal careers, which are fields that do not require you to have a law degree, but having one is a definite advantage.
Pursue education careers.
Because you already know much about law, why not pursue a career in teaching law? This way, you can even choose a specialization and you’d only have to deal with a particular aspect of the law. You can teach undergraduate courses such as business ethics, criminal justice, environmental policy, anthropology, legal studies, law and psychology, law and society, law and history, and law and economics. Of course, before you can teach these specialized branches of the legal system, you may be required to undergo further studies. The Master of Laws (LL.M.) program and the Doctor of Juridical Science (in the US) are some of the advanced study programs in law school.
Get into environmental careers.
There are many environmental careers that you might want to consider going into. You can become an environmental advocate, environmental consultant, environmental policy analyst, environmental protection specialist, hazardous waste management consultant, technological program hazards specialist, safety and occupational health specialist, or coastal zone resources manager. Some companies (especially oil companies) employ people knowledgeable on the legal issues relevant to the environment to make sure that they do not violate any of them.
Try your hand at management and administration careers.
Your law degree will give you advantage over other applicants in management and administration positions such as unclaimed property administrator, emergency management specialist, management analyst, program analyst, foundation executive, elections administration officer, and grants management specialist. Having a law degree gives you the advantage of knowing the legal issues and policies associated with companies and corporations, giving you an edge over other applicants for the position.
Delve into media and entertainment careers.
The media and entertainment industry will always be a dynamic, fun, and challenging field to work in. This industry provides you with various options and you might want to try being a law correspondent, legal editor, legal newspaper publisher, literary agent, legal publisher account representative, sports agent, or acquisitions editor for publishing houses. Your skills in reading a significant volume of text and researching through several sources definitely make you qualified to work in companies focusing on the media.
Try other careers.
With your law degree, there are many other careers and industries that you can look into. These include real estate, criminal justice and law enforcement, financial services, human resources and employment, insurance and risk management, journalism, and research. The key here is to know your interests and skills, and choose a path that will give you the most fulfillment and happiness. The fact that you have completed 4 years in your undergraduate degree and 3 or more years in law school already says a lot about your determination and capabilities.
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If you want to get accepted into a law school, then you have to craft a very good personal statement. A personal statement law school gives you the chance to distinguish yourself from the other candidates. It is very important that you cite excellent reasons for wanting to attend law school. Below are 5 of the best reasons why people want to get a degree in law. See if these reasons apply to you and then use them in your personal statement if you feel that such reasons are going to help make your personal statement stand out:
I’ve done some research on both legal and non-legal careers and have decided that a law degree is right for me.
When you’ve already done research regarding your options, then this means that you have more or less a good idea of what you’re entering into. Deciding to go into law school after you have considered other alternatives is good because this means that you’ve probably seen that going into law fits your interests and skills better than other programs.
I’ve worked in a legal organization and loved what I had to do.
This is an excellent reason for wanting to go into law school. When you’ve already worked at a legal organization, then you have observed the work of lawyers and have liked what they do. Getting an internship at a law firm while in college or after you graduate is a good way for you to prepare for law school.
I attended some law school classes and doing so made me more interested in becoming a lawyer.
If you’ve already seen what happens inside law school classes and you liked what you saw, chances are, you really want to go to law school. This is better than just reading books about law because you have experienced being part of the classroom and have seen what going to law school entails.
I’ve interviewed different lawyers and I think I would love doing what they do.
Getting the real deal from attorneys is great because this means that the information you have about the profession comes from someone credible. It would be good for you to ask many lawyers about what they do and their experiences, both the good and the bad.
I’ve always read what I can about law and I want to help people resolve their legal problems.
Reading books about law and knowing what you can about the profession makes you aware of what being a lawyer requires. If you’ve dealt with case studies and had a few law courses during college and the experience only increased your desire to be a lawyer, then it’s a good sign that you may be right for the profession.
Aside from these top five reasons for wanting to get a law degree and becoming an attorney, there are other possible reasons you can cite in your personal statement. The key here is to include genuine reasons that can help convince the readers about you deserving a slot at their law school.
Although being a lawyer offers better employment opportunities in the public and private sectors and higher compensation packages, stating that these are your reasons to go to law school may be in bad taste. The admissions committee members may not look at your application favorably. Perhaps, you can mention that these reasons did come to your mind in your decision to go to law school but that these are only secondary and merely represent the add-ons to being a lawyer.
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