Employment during law school Forum

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Lawgiver1981

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Employment during law school

Post by Lawgiver1981 » Mon Nov 13, 2017 11:57 pm

Hi
For those already in law school, what do you do for money? Is everybody living on student loans or do you guys have paying jobs while you go to class?

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UVA2B

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Re: Employment during law school

Post by UVA2B » Tue Nov 14, 2017 12:02 am

This question is overly broad. Most students use loans to cover cost of living and cost of tuition, fees, etc., but some can get by without it for multiple reasons (rich family, personal savings, full scholarship, etc.).

As for "paying jobs," 1Ls are limited to jobs of 20 hours/week max (and some schools restrict that number even further) by the ABA.

There isn't a single answer to "how do law students live financially?" What are your specific circumstances?

mcmand

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Re: Employment during law school

Post by mcmand » Tue Nov 14, 2017 7:30 pm

UVA2B wrote: As for "paying jobs," 1Ls are limited to jobs of 20 hours/week max (and some schools restrict that number even further) by the ABA.
ABA no longer requires this in its accreditation standards: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/lega ... tions.html
"Standard 304(f), which restricted student employment to 20 hours per week, was eliminated in 2014. ABA-approved law schools may continue to retain a student employment rule even though it is no longer required by the Standards."
Still not able to figure out how any school actually enforces this and to what extent they do (and why they ever would). I had classmates who worked during 1L (and were full-time students) and definitely did more than 20 hours.
Last edited by mcmand on Mon Jan 29, 2018 7:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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UVA2B

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Re: Employment during law school

Post by UVA2B » Tue Nov 14, 2017 7:31 pm

mcmand wrote:
UVA2B wrote: As for "paying jobs," 1Ls are limited to jobs of 20 hours/week max (and some schools restrict that number even further) by the ABA.
ABA no longer requires this in its accreditation standards: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/lega ... tions.html
"Standard 304(f), which restricted student employment to 20 hours per week, was eliminated in 2014. ABA-approved law schools may continue to retain a student employment rule even though it is no longer required by the Standards."
Still not able to figure out how any school actually enforces this and to what extent they do (and why they ever would). I had classmates who worked during 1L (and were full-time students) and definitely did more than 20 hours.
I always forget they repealed that rule. Thanks for the backup.

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pancakes3

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Re: Employment during law school

Post by pancakes3 » Tue Nov 14, 2017 8:23 pm

i knew a couple people who bounced or bartended through law school but i wouldn't recommend it.

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A. Nony Mouse

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Re: Employment during law school

Post by A. Nony Mouse » Tue Nov 14, 2017 9:14 pm

mcmand wrote:
UVA2B wrote: As for "paying jobs," 1Ls are limited to jobs of 20 hours/week max (and some schools restrict that number even further) by the ABA.
ABA no longer requires this in its accreditation standards: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/lega ... tions.html
"Standard 304(f), which restricted student employment to 20 hours per week, was eliminated in 2014. ABA-approved law schools may continue to retain a student employment rule even though it is no longer required by the Standards."
Still not able to figure out how any school actually enforces this and to what extent they do (and why they ever would). I had classmates who worked during 1L (and were full-time students) and definitely did more than 20 hours.
Eh, if you’re a full-time program I can see restricting the hours students work during 1L given the learning curve and importance of grades. I agree that in practice it’s almost impossible to enforce (except maybe for school-administered employment), but given how often people here advise others not to work during 1L, I don’t think the restriction is nonsensical.

Lawgiver1981

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Re: Employment during law school

Post by Lawgiver1981 » Tue Feb 20, 2018 10:42 am

Thank you for responding.

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RCSOB657

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Re: Employment during law school

Post by RCSOB657 » Tue Feb 20, 2018 10:58 am

I bounced for a bit, But getting home at 3am on a school night sucked. For this year and last year I've been able to do seasonal tax work during the spring semester even with 17 hour semester schedules.

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RareExports

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Re: Employment during law school

Post by RareExports » Tue Feb 20, 2018 6:27 pm

Many people tutor LSAT in law school.

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Agent007

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Re: Employment during law school

Post by Agent007 » Tue Apr 10, 2018 3:08 pm

I did an evening law program while fully employed. I would not recommend it because a lot of my evening classmates didn't work, which put me at a disadvantage grade-wise.

Lawworld19

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Re: Employment during law school

Post by Lawworld19 » Tue Apr 10, 2018 3:15 pm

I clerked for a judge for 2 years. Didn't make much. 575$ every 2 weeks.

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totesTheGoat

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Re: Employment during law school

Post by totesTheGoat » Wed Apr 11, 2018 1:59 pm

Agent007 wrote:I did an evening law program while fully employed. I would not recommend it because a lot of my evening classmates didn't work, which put me at a disadvantage grade-wise.
Cosigned. In retrospect, I'd have been better off working 25-30 hours/week and going to school full-time.

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