Monthly Archive for November, 2006

On Law School Professors and Dressing in Business Casual to School

Published
by
Michael Law
on November 30, 2006
in Law School and Law Students
. 0 Comments

From Buffalo Dawg:

We are now about 10 weeks into the first semester and I’ve figured out most of the law school mysteries. There are two characteristics of the law school that still seem a bit strange:

1. The pseudo-celebrity status of the law school professors:

They are the only big fish in the law school pond. While they are talented, intelligent people, it seems that One-Ls are a bit too much in awe over them. A few have started having students sign up to eat lunch with them and those time slots are always full. I couldn’t imagine this happening with any of my professors in past programs. To continue with the high school analogy, perhaps the professors have replaced the football captains and cheerleaders at the top of the social hierarchy.

2. Business casual during classes:

While they are in the minority, a few people dress up like they are going to work. Why? Three years from now we’ll all have to wear suits everyday. You should enjoy the last few years that it will be acceptable to roll out of bed and head to class looking like a bum.

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A Look into Paralegal Positions and Salaries

Published
by
Michael Law
on November 29, 2006
in Law Jobs
. 0 Comments

From Above the Law:

Associates, curious about how much your paralegal handmaidens earn? Paralegals, curious about how much your colleagues around the country make? We’ve collected some data points for you.

We asked you for information about paralegal salaries. We received these responses (all class years are undergraduate rather than law school years):

(1) intellectual property manager ("essentially a high-level paralegal position"), in-house position, Boston’s South Shore, class of 2001: $80,000 (plus bonus and stock options; "straight 9 to 5 workday"; also attending law school in the evening);

(2) paralegal / case assistant, complex litigation defense, in the San Francisco office of a large law firm, class of 2004: $38,000 (plus bonus; last year’s bonus was ~$1,000; roughly 45 hours/week, but if in trial, 50-60 hours/week);

(3) paralegal, real estate and tax, in the Washington, D.C. office of a large law firm, class of 2005: $41,000 (plus bonus of ~$1,500, and overtime pay of ~$15,000; 45-50 hours/week);and

(4) paralegal, litigation, at a large New York law firm, class of 2004: $38,000 ("plus lots of and lots of overtime; I haven’t completed a year, but expect to make about $60K-$65K").

Our last respondent, who expects to earn about $60K-$65K this year, had these additional comments:

That won’t be at the high-end among our paralegals — I know of at least a couple people here who have made over $90K in a year as a paralegal.

Workload varies depending on case demand, but I personally vacillate between 50 - 60 hour weeks and 100+ hour weeks, when I feel like I can stand to bank some extra cash or am caught up in the middle of a big production. The highest earning paralegals are basically working 17 hour days every day and making double time the whole time.

Interesting stuff. If you’re a paralegal willing to share your salary information, feel provide it in an anonymous comment to this post.

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Four Tips to Do Great in Your First Year of Law School

Published
by
Michael Law
on November 28, 2006
in Law Students
. 2 Comments

From Law Nut:

I don’t usually preach about what people should do in law school/not do in law school, because let’s face it, I’m no expert just because I survived one year; but, I do know what works and what doesn’t work to some extent, and I see now, in retrospect, how the 1L year is so important. So important.

My advice to all 1Ls out there is this:

Concentrate on your exams. Don’t worry about anything else on this earth but your exams this semester. How you do this semester will set the tone for the rest of your year. If you do well, you will feel much more confident that you know how to manage your workload. You will feel more adept at making comments in class. You will know what to expect for Spring semester finals, and you will know that you can and will be prepared. Focus on your exams this semester.

Start your outlining early. Don’t leave it all for the end, don’t ask some 2L for his/her outlines from last year, don’t get the outlines from BarBri. Make your own. The best way to study is in making those stupid outlines.

After Christmas break, start looking for a job for next summer - a law-related job, people, not working at the local Dairy Queen. A law job of some sort, any sort, paid or unpaid, will really give you something to talk about during on campus interviews next year. I know it’s a lot of thinking ahead, but law school is all about thinking ahead.

Finally, you don’t really have to think about this right now, but do the journal competition at the end of the your first year. You have no idea how many doors will open for you if you make it onto a journal, and how many more doors will close if you don’t even try.

Most importantly, however, make good friends. Find a good group of a few people that you can count on to study with, to bounce issues off of, and to just be there for you in general. Law school can be a lonely, isolating place, but some good friends can really help in terms of getting through it all, and doing it successfully. There will be days that you feel like an utter failure (and those days are probably many), and it’s those good people around you that will remind you that you’re not, and will remind you why you wanted to do this in the first place.

I’m hopping off of my soapbox now; but I hope all you 1Ls out there take this advice to heart, because it’s quite true. Start outlining - focus on your finals, not stupid school drama - bond with some people in the course of studying and making it through the day - guaranteed, you’ll all be fine.

May the force be with you!!

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