Whittier Law School Issue (not a flame) Forum

[brorepresentation1]

I did my 1L (part-time) at Whittier Law School and transferred to a respectable regional school. In case you have not read, Whittier Law School is shutting down permanently (in flames and in a horrible fashion -- look at recent news articles). Needless to say, the credibility of Whittier Law School is completely destroyed (not my personal opinion --- the professors at Whittier Law School filed an injunction, TRO specifically, to keep the school open and the irreparable harm element had to do with the destruction of the school's reputation).

As for my question, do you think that my brief attendance at this school will affect employment? Can I simply not include it on my resume if my J.D. was granted from another institution? When I first attended Whittier Law School, I took a gamble to go to a very low ranked school, now it is a non-existent horrible school that may be a "scarlet letter" on a resume.

Thoughts?

[star fox]

I see no reason why you would need to put your 1L school on your resume.

[SmokeytheBear]

I see no reason why you would need to put your 1L school on your resume.

I slightly disagree.

It depends on what else you did part-time during your 1L year.

Your resume needs to tell a narrative without any missing time intervals. If a potential employer looks at your resume and sees that there is a year missing, they might want to know what you did that year. Granted, some people looking at your resume might not even notice a year missing. But if you decide not to put it on there and you have nothing else to cover that year on your resume (i.e. that you were employed that year), then get ready to have to explain it orally.

Also note that some employers will request for you to disclose all educational institutions attended, so you might need to list it on an application. Then they might notice a discrepancy . . .

Just food for thought.

[star fox]

Why wouldn't the resume just say:

Education:
Harvard Law J.D. 2014

That's neither a lie or makes it clear you're a TTTTransfer?

[brorepresentation1]

I agree with Smokey in a way. Gaps in time raise red flags. The truth is, I was just getting A's in my classes and my extracurricular activity was getting out of there.

[SmokeytheBear]

Why wouldn't the resume just say:

Education:
Harvard Law J.D. 2014

That's neither a lie nor makes it clear you're a TTTTransfer?

Right. But I'm saying that if the last previous educational or work entry on the resume was for sometime in 2010 (i.e. BA in 2010 or a work position ending in August 2010), then there would be a gap of a year (with the presumption being that he/she enrolled in Fall 2011 if graduating in 2014).

[SmokeytheBear]

I agree with Smokey in a way. Gaps in time raise red flags. The truth is, I was just getting A's in my classes and my extracurricular activity was getting out of there.

Yeah all of this said, I wouldn't put it on the resume. I would just be ready to answer the question of what you did that year (which is as simple as saying "went part time to Whittier while I did [__________]") if it is raised in an interview.

[TheSpanishMain]

Why wouldn't the resume just say:

Education:
Harvard Law J.D. 2014

That's neither a lie nor makes it clear you're a TTTTransfer?

Right. But I'm saying that if the last previous educational or work entry on the resume was for sometime in 2010 (i.e. BA in 2010 or a work position ending in August 2010), then there would be a gap of a year (with the presumption being that he/she enrolled in Fall 2011 if graduating in 2014).

Why would there be a gap? It's not like you break down your law school time year by year on your resume. I mean, yeah he'll have to disclose it on his bar application but you don't need that level of detail on a resume

[SmokeytheBear]

Why wouldn't the resume just say:

Education:
Harvard Law J.D. 2014

That's neither a lie nor makes it clear you're a TTTTransfer?

Right. But I'm saying that if the last previous educational or work entry on the resume was for sometime in 2010 (i.e. BA in 2010 or a work position ending in August 2010), then there would be a gap of a year (with the presumption being that he/she enrolled in Fall 2011 if graduating in 2014).

Why would there be a gap? It's not like you break down your law school time year by year on your resume. I mean, yeah he'll have to disclose it on his bar application but you don't need that level of detail on a resume

I think you're missing the inference here. If you take the resume as a whole, let's say he/she graduated from college in May 2010 and law school in 2014 and there is no work experience listed for 2010-2011. If he/she graduated from law school in 2014, there is the presumption that he/she enrolled in 2011. But since he/she listed graduation from college in 2010, there would then be the presumption that he/she worked or did something 2010-2011. If there is no work experience listed 2010-2011, then it might look kind of odd.

But as I said previously, some people might not even notice, as it takes a level of deduction that some on here clearly cannot understand.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I guess the issue is whether they were able to do 1L in one year, even part time, by taking summer courses, or if they took 2 years to do 1L.

[TheSpanishMain]

Ah, my bad, I missed the part where the OP did 1L year part time.

[star fox]

Why wouldn't the resume just say:

Education:
Harvard Law J.D. 2014

That's neither a lie nor makes it clear you're a TTTTransfer?

Right. But I'm saying that if the last previous educational or work entry on the resume was for sometime in 2010 (i.e. BA in 2010 or a work position ending in August 2010), then there would be a gap of a year (with the presumption being that he/she enrolled in Fall 2011 if graduating in 2014).

Why would there be a gap? It's not like you break down your law school time year by year on your resume. I mean, yeah he'll have to disclose it on his bar application but you don't need that level of detail on a resume

I think you're missing the inference here. If you take the resume as a whole, let's say he/she graduated from college in May 2010 and law school in 2014 and there is no work experience listed for 2010-2011. If he/she graduated from law school in 2014, there is the presumption that he/she enrolled in 2011. But since he/she listed graduation from college in 2010, there would then be the presumption that he/she worked or did something 2010-2011. If there is no work experience listed 2010-2011, then it might look kind of odd.

But as I said previously, some people might not even notice, as it takes a level of deduction that some on here clearly cannot understand.

Ok, I see what you're saying. That appears to be a "Part-Timer" issue rather than anything relating to WhiTTTTier stain. I dunno how Part-Timers make their resume clear that they were a part-timer.

[SmokeytheBear]

Ah, my bad, I missed the part where the OP did 1L year part time.

Ain't no thang.

[rpupkin]

OP, I think this is a non issue. Even if you have to disclose your 1L attendance in job application materials, it's not going to hurt you.