(Post updated September 14, 2023)

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

After all the hard work that goes into completing and submitting a law school application, it can be disappointing to find out that you have been waitlisted at one of your top choice schools. Being waitlisted can be particularly troubling for people used to being proactive, so we often get questions about the process moving forward.  Here are some things to keep in mind:

This seems to be an age-old question! In order to answer it, I will try to help you determine what has and hasn’t changed with regards to law school admissions and standardized testing requirements without taking you too far into the weeds of law school accreditation.  There has been quite a bit of discussion and media reports of law schools seeking alternatives to the use of the LSAT.  What is happening?

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.

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.

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.

(Post updated September 14, 2023)

The Weekend JD program has graduated several classes now, but the novelty of the program still bodes many questions. We initially released these FAQs a couple years into the program, and I’m proud to see how it has grown and enabled so many working professionals the ability to obtain their JD while balancing very active home and work lives.