How to Do Law School the Right Way? Forum

[BurnerAcct]

I'm going to law school this fall and I want to make sure I do everything RIGHT from the get go. I want to graduate having maximized my opportunity, and I want to leave with as few regrets as possible. Call me a gunner, but I want to have as impressive of a resume as I can at the end of 1L. Obviously this begins with getting the best grades that you possibly can. But I'm here to inquire about the stuff beyond that. Of course, Law Review is ideal, but what else? What the most impressive thing to do during Winter Break? Spring Break? Summer after your 1L? What about volunteer/pro bono work? What clubs/student organizations are best/most impressive? What are impressive things to do that I'm not thinking of?? I want to do this right!!

[UVA2B]

Settle down, cowboy. You're seriously overthinking this way before it's important. There is no golden path to success in law school, cause it entirely depends on what you want to do in your career. Here's a list of a few things you should consider getting involved in (in no way exhaustive depending on goals):

1. Grades (seriously, this absolutely matters most and could sacrifice everything else for these if you had that much control over what your grades are)
2. A journal (Law Review being ideal, but joining any journal will check that box in employer's minds)
3. Moot Court/Mock Trial (gives an opportunity to practice trial advocacy/public speaking as an advocate, which employers will value)
4. Life (seriously, you need to have one of these for personal sanity and just general ability to interact normally with people. Employment will end up being about your ability to present yourself well in person, not just gloss a shiny resume. Think of it this way: grades and resume gets you in the door, how you present yourself gets you the callback interview and job)
5. Whatever interests you (there will be countless student organizations that might interest you. Find the ones that do and get involved. Employers will appreciate seeing involvement in law school, no matter what form it takes. See above about interacting well with others)

Get good grades. Make friends and network at every opportunity. Focus your goals and craft a narrative for employers that is convincing. Profit.

[Npret]

I'm going to law school this fall and I want to make sure I do everything RIGHT from the get go. I want to graduate having maximized my opportunity, and I want to leave with as few regrets as possible. Call me a gunner, but I want to have as impressive of a resume as I can at the end of 1L. Obviously this begins with getting the best grades that you possibly can. But I'm here to inquire about the stuff beyond that. Of course, Law Review is ideal, but what else? What the most impressive thing to do during Winter Break? Spring Break? Summer after your 1L? What about volunteer/pro bono work? What clubs/student organizations are best/most impressive? What are impressive things to do that I'm not thinking of?? I want to do this right!!

Lol. Is this the same troll from earlier?

[UVA2B]

I'm going to law school this fall and I want to make sure I do everything RIGHT from the get go. I want to graduate having maximized my opportunity, and I want to leave with as few regrets as possible. Call me a gunner, but I want to have as impressive of a resume as I can at the end of 1L. Obviously this begins with getting the best grades that you possibly can. But I'm here to inquire about the stuff beyond that. Of course, Law Review is ideal, but what else? What the most impressive thing to do during Winter Break? Spring Break? Summer after your 1L? What about volunteer/pro bono work? What clubs/student organizations are best/most impressive? What are impressive things to do that I'm not thinking of?? I want to do this right!!

Lol. Is this the same troll from earlier?

I checked post history without remembering what that deleted thread was. Now I feel bad for answering.

[Npret]

I'm going to law school this fall and I want to make sure I do everything RIGHT from the get go. I want to graduate having maximized my opportunity, and I want to leave with as few regrets as possible. Call me a gunner, but I want to have as impressive of a resume as I can at the end of 1L. Obviously this begins with getting the best grades that you possibly can. But I'm here to inquire about the stuff beyond that. Of course, Law Review is ideal, but what else? What the most impressive thing to do during Winter Break? Spring Break? Summer after your 1L? What about volunteer/pro bono work? What clubs/student organizations are best/most impressive? What are impressive things to do that I'm not thinking of?? I want to do this right!!

Lol. Is this the same troll from earlier?

I checked post history without remembering what that deleted thread was. Now I feel bad for answering.

Don't feel bad for being helpful. It just sounded the same to me.

[nunumaster]

You already messed up doing law school the right way if you didn't get a full ride to Yale.

[presidentspivey]

You already messed up doing law school the right way if you didn't get a full ride to Yale.

Yale full ride? Please. Talk to me about doing law school the right way when you get a full ride to Princeton Law with a 185 LSAT.

[nunumaster]

You already messed up doing law school the right way if you didn't get a full ride to Yale.

Yale full ride? Please. Talk to me about doing law school the right way when you get a full ride to Princeton Law with a 185 LSAT.

Lol come back when you have a lsat score kiddo

[Civilservant]

Bar crawl is Thursday night, try not to throw up in your own shoe. That's doing things the right way.

[studyingeveryday]

I'm going to law school this fall and I want to make sure I do everything RIGHT from the get go. I want to graduate having maximized my opportunity, and I want to leave with as few regrets as possible. Call me a gunner, but I want to have as impressive of a resume as I can at the end of 1L. Obviously this begins with getting the best grades that you possibly can. But I'm here to inquire about the stuff beyond that. Of course, Law Review is ideal, but what else? What the most impressive thing to do during Winter Break? Spring Break? Summer after your 1L? What about volunteer/pro bono work? What clubs/student organizations are best/most impressive? What are impressive things to do that I'm not thinking of?? I want to do this right!!

Lol. Is this the same troll from earlier?

I checked post history without remembering what that deleted thread was. Now I feel bad for answering.

don't feel bad this was helpful to others reading it!

[call-me-bubbles]

.

[UVA2B]

3. Moot Court/Mock Trial (gives an opportunity to practice trial advocacy/public speaking as an advocate, which employers will value)

Just out of curiosity, for whom/what career path(s) is Moot Court/Mock Trial most beneficial? Are there certain fields of law where you'd say these things are more or less important than others? Obviously, public speaking ability is always a "plus," and I know this is kind of a vague question, but the idea of Moot Court/Mock Trial doesn't really appeal to me, and I just want to make sure I wouldn't be shooting myself in the foot for future employment by forgoing the chance to participate. For what it's worth, I'd rather do legal research and work more "behind the scenes" than in the actual courtroom, but I've had very limited experience, so I don't know to what extent those things go hand-in-hand in real-life practice.

Very generally, if you're going to be a litigator, it's a huge help. If you're going into corporate/transactional work, it won't be nearly as helpful.