During my second semester of law school, I attended the New York City Bar Association portrait unveiling of Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. As I rode the PATH train into the city, I thought about the slim chance of meeting one of my personal heroes. I thought about what I would ask her, if given the opportunity.

It is the day of your interview! You are excited, you are prepared…REWIND!

What about the preparation it took to secure that interview? That is where your cover letter comes into play! Legal cover letters are an extremely important part of the internship and job application process, and it is imperative to become familiar with their purpose to put your best foot forward when drafting them.

The Denis F. McLaughlin Advanced Trial & Advocacy Workshop is a must have experience for any student aspiring to be a trial lawyer.  This intensive two-week winter course promised to further develop skills learned in Persuasion and Advocacy but ended up delivering much more. We had opportunities not only to repeatedly practice each segment of a trial, but to receive insightful feedback from at least three highly successful attorneys after each exercise.   

So, you want to go to law school?  You already know you will need to complete the LSAT exam, as well as the LSAT Writing requirement.  LSAT Writing is a thirty-five minute writing assignment requiring you to assess a hypothetical problem, select between two possible solutions and write a persuasive essay advocating for one side.  While the essay is not scored, it will play a role in admissions committees’ evaluation of your application so you will want to make the best possible impression.

I recently presented keys to success at a law firm as part of the Women’s Leadership Committee’s programming. These tips are things I learned along the way during my career, things I saw others doing, or things that I wish I had done differently or better while in practice since hindsight is 20/20.

Attending law school gives individuals the opportunity to act selflessly and help others. Being a part of the Seton Hall Law School community and engaging with those in dire need of legal assistance is at the core of the Law School’s mission. As a member of the Seton Hall Law community, I’m proud to have taken the opportunity to help families detained in Karnes, Texas during Spring Break.

I initially did not see the e-mail for the Karnes trip.  I will admit there are many e-mails that I delete without reading because I know that most of the opportunities offered do not fit my life.  I am part of Seton Hall Law’s first weekend class.  I commute from Long Island.  I work full-time in a state trial court.  I am a wife, a mom, a daughter, a sister, and take on many other roles throughout the day.  My life is hectic. 

It’s going to sound cliché, but as I approached the end of my 2L summer I started asking myself what I could do to leave the law school better than I had found it. It had been a bumpy road for me, largely because of my own struggles as a first-generation law student. Although I felt very confident about my own future, having secured a job offer with Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, I realized that others were dealing with similar issues and I decided that founding a First-Generation Law Students Association (FGLSA) at Seton Hall Law School was the way to go. With plenty of help from administration and other students, the group was successfully formed in September of 2018. The mission of the organization is to create a community for all first-generation students to come together to tackle law school and the legal profession with support. FGLSA now has roughly 60 members, with more joining every week. 

(Updated October 21,2019) Congratulations!  You’ve been admitted to a few different law schools!  Now – you just need to figure out how to pay for it!  You thought the hard part was over – but, now, it seems like it is just beginning.  Let me help you get a realistic vision of what to expect/what not to expect with regards to paying for law school.

Prospective law students have always been interested in the bar passage success rates of schools they’re considering attending. After all, while a law degree is a prerequisite to taking the bar almost everywhere, passing the bar is a prerequisite to actually practicing law in almost all states.