With that being said, many people are ending law school with underemployment or straight unemployment. The newspapers love to tout stories about law students who were unable to find any type of work at all and are working in fast food or in other jobs that do not require a college degree. Why? Because such stories, even if somewhat rare, sell papers. Newspapers exist to bring in advertising revenue. Stories that evoke fear sell.
However, as a law student, I am seeing that many of my peers are graduating with legal work. I go to a second tier law school in New York. Competition here is fierce. We have many law schools in this city. With that being said, I have found that law students who have a plan succeed.
One book I read: How to Win at Law School (which is an Ebook), helped me out a lot with realizing what I need to do to find a job. Without stealing the book's thunder, I want to share some of what was said in this book.
First, you need a plan when going into law school. Those who plan ahead will find success. I have found that planning ahead in life had helped me out a lot. For example, I knew that I wanted to transfer schools. I went to a lower ranked school and at the time rank seemed important to me. I have since learned that outside of a few schools rank is not that important. However, I moved towards my plan and transferred to a much better ranked school. I am happy with my move.
Second, learning how to get good grades is going to help you a lot. My grades have not always been that good. However, my first year grades were decent and helped me transfer. Good grades get me noticed. They will get you noticed too, even if you don't have moot court or law review. Many people let the lack of those things hold them back, but I have since realized that I am glad I did not take either. First of all, Law Review does not guarantee that you will be published. It's also an intense amount of work that may not be worth it in the end. I have found that getting legal experience during law school helps out a lot.
Taking clinical classes and getting legal experience while studying has given me a huge edge on competition. However, I am finding that those who do get legal experience in law school are way ahead of the game when it comes to getting a job. Today's legal economy demands that students have relevant work experience after law school. It demands that students are somewhat prepared for law work. While not all my internship experiences were great, I am glad that I did take the time to intern. I learned that law is a challenging field and that law school alone is not enough to get a good job. I am finding that those who are upset with law schools are often those who did not get practical work experience in college. I must say, what does one expect? You are training for a job. You have to get experience in school -- which means working. It is your choice to do that or not. Employers will hold you accountable. Further, if you want to start your own law office after law school, having that experience is going to help you out a lot.
I don't think the legal economy is as bad as the newspapers say it is. I think that there will always be people who spread fear and people who do not find success. Those who want to do well in life and who try will invariably succeed. You have to be goal driven and forward thinking. There are no easy ways to win at life. It starts and ends with you.
Again, to succeed in law school and today's legal economy, I recommend buying and reading "How to Win at Law School" and:
- Realizing what you want to get out of law school.
- Creating a plan for success.
- Learning how to get good grades.
- Prepare for the Bar Exam as you go through law school.
- Get a lot of legal experience during law school.
- Taking at least one clinical class.
- Planning on getting letters of recommendation from at least three of your first year classes.
- Doing something every summer.
- Try to work at least one internship during the school year.
- Maintaining a positive attitude.
- Creating a goal notebook and checking it often.
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