A Great Way To Market Yourself as a Law Student - Some Great Ideas From Our New Book Law School Lowdown.

As Published in The Student Appeal Journal. More Great Law School Tips in my New Book: Law School Lowdown: Secrets of Success from the Application Process to Landing the First Job.  (Click to View book).

A Few Good Marketing Ideas for Law Students

A simple Google search is one of the first things that a prospective employer does when they are considering hiring a law student.  While a student cannot control everything that is on the Internet, he/she can perform a number of simple tasks to improve his/her profile and market strengths.  In my new book, Law School Lowdown: Secrets of Success from the Application Process to Landing the First Job, I describe just how important it is to find everything at your disposal to ensure you can find employment, and given the competition and difficulty surrounding finding a legal job, it is never too early to start marketing yourself.  Here are three simple marketing ideas for both pre-law and law students.

1. Set up A Student Webpage and Claim the Website Domain Associated With Your Name

I received an email from a first year law student, and he posed a very interesting question.  His email read;

“What is your personal opinion of law students having their own resume-styled website? I tried to do some research and could not find many that existed. Having an undergrad degree in Graphic Design, I’ve built my own. What do you think?”

Setting up a personal webpage to market yourself is an excellent idea! This idea extends far beyond law students and is an excellent thing to do for anyone including students in other disciplines, lawyers, and also any other professionals. This is a great idea for anyone that is or will be looking for a job and/or anyone that could benefit from positive marketing.  Here is the student’s site: www.justinhwalters.com

Justin is exactly the type of innovative law student that our profession needs and the idea of creating your own website to showcase yourself is something that I wish I had thought of.  Also, it is always a good idea to use part of your prior life (in Justin’s case marketing and graphic design) to make some money or compliment a new legal or professional life.

There are several reasons why setting up a Website A Good Idea.

I started to write this section myself but then remembered that Justin had already done an excellent job summarizing on his website why setting up your own website is a good idea.  As such, I will quote Justin and his words echo my exact thoughts;

“I believe there is a need for students to have their own websites with their resumes, portfolios, and contact information.  I believe it is beneficial for professional students, especially those studying law, to be able to place a personal website address on their business card or in the signature of their email. Having a website can be appealing to prospective employers because it shows you are independent, creative and ready to advance into a more professional role.”

I will only add one additional point and that is that the webpage puts all of the relevant information that an employer wants (short bio, resume, writing sample, skills) in one place and makes it all easily accessible.  Given that employers spend very little time assessing candidates you want to make your information as easy to access as possible and a simple webpage accomplishes this.

I am not a web designer but am confident that with a bit of determination I could create a page like the page that Justin has created. WordPress is the web design tool of choice but if you do not want to use that there are many other options available with templates that will get you started.  In terms of hosting the website, that costs around $5 a month (a more complex website would be maybe $8 a month because it has more space) and you will pay around $10 a year for domain name. (You should try and nab your own name – just think of where Barack Obama would be if he had not purchased his domain namewww.barackobama.com years ago).

2. Set up a LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn is a professional network social media website and every law and pre-law student should join.  LinkedIn is NOT Facebook and your “connections” are business connections rather than “friends.”  As such, it is not unusual to connect with someone just because you have some business aspect in common.  When you develop a profile, the site lists all of your relevant educational and professional credentials and this site is a key tool used by employers to find candidates.  I am interviewing someone this week for a position with my law firm and I “met” her on LinkedIn.   Also, my law firm, Scott Legal Services, P.C., recently signed a large client and I met the contact on Linkedin.

3. Watch What you Post on Social Media

I have a friend who owns a company that attempts to repair damaged internet reputations.  Everything that you allow to be associated with you on the internet can and will come back to either help or haunt you.  When something you regret hits the internet, the best that my friend’s company can do is attempt to get the “bad” things associated with a person moved to a lower Google page.  Regrettably, it is NOT possible to eliminate negative things posted about you or by you on the internet.

The Lowdown for Law Students

In this economy you cannot afford to be at a disadvantage and it is important to ensure that you are constantly improving, marketing and selling your brand.  This should start early in your career and creating a website is a great networking and marketing tool.   Creating your own personal website and properly using social media also forces you to give some thought to what important things you want to showcase to the world and may encourage you to constantly reevaluate key aspects to showcase.

Here is an excellent example that demonstrates that proper networking and marketing goes a long way. In this case, Justin sent me his website and as a direct result of his marketing and networking efforts, I hired him to work on my law firm website.  I also referred him to a number of my friends and they paid him to work on their websites.  How is that for marketing efforts quickly finding a job!  This is only one example of how innovation and marketing yourself in the new cyber world can increase your chances of success and put money in your pocket.

This summary is one of many law school admission helpful tips in the new book Law School Lowdown: Secrets of Success from the Application Process to Landing the First Job – (Barron’s Publishing) – Author Ian E. Scott.  You can order Law School Lowdown on Amazon.

How To Select a Study Group in Law School

As Published in Bloomberg Law.  This advice is one of the many great tips that you can find in Ian E. Scott's new book, Law School Lowdown: Secrets of Success from the Application Process to Landing Your First Job. (Barron’s Publishing).  Find out more about the book by clicking here.

One factor that can contribute to success in your first year of law school is a good study group. When I was a law student, I had a great study group of two other classmates, and when you find the right group, the experience can be extremely positive.

A study group is important as it is nearly impossible to absorb every important aspect of every case you read in your classes by yourself. Even if you are the best note taker in the world, you may still miss some important points that your study partners picked up. In my own experience, my study partners sometimes informed me of points that turned out to be on the exam and I believe that my grades were higher as a result of working with a study group than they would have been if I studied completely on my own. In addition, the very nature of the law school course work and being a lawyer lends itself to discussion and debate, and a study group provides an excellent forum to develop the essential skill of explaining your point and convincing others.

 Typically, a study group meets to review and discuss the cases and complex material assigned in class. The group may meet prior to the examination period during the outlining process or after outlining has been completed, or following individual classes if a particularly difficult topic was covered. The meetings are not brainstorming or the traditional “studying” and as such, it is a good idea to meet after all members of the group have had a sufficient amount of time to review and digest the material. In some cases, meetings occur after each member in the group has completed the same practice exam so that the group can compare answers.

Who Should be in Your Study Group?

The selection of a good study group is tough. You of course want to find smart people but you also want to avoid the obnoxious people who will monopolize the entire session with their inane ideas. Also, you want people that are conscientious and will come to the sessions prepared and ready to contribute. Another important factor is finding people that have the same temperament that you do. Calm should be with calm and Type A should be with Type A. Having similar grade expectations is also important so that all members of the group are striving towards the same goal. You also want people that you get along with to make the pain of intense studying a bit more pleasant.

The ideal number of people in a study group is three or four in my opinion. I lean towards three so that each party can clearly express their ideas. More than four may add too many different perspectives and diminish the overall benefit of a study group.

Regarding the selection of someone smart, remember that the people who are the most vocal in class are not necessarily the people who do the best on exams. More often than not, you will find that the person that receives the highest grade in your class is a person who has not said a word all semester. Perhaps this is because the quiet type is often paying attention and is not distracted by what they are going to say next. As such, do not discount someone because they do not speak in class as they may be exactly the study partner you are looking for. Both of the people in my study group were very smart and did not say a word in class unless they were called on. It was clear from observing them during the year though, that they were paying attention in class and taking notes.

Another thing to consider regarding finding a smart person is that some people who did very well in their undergraduate studies may not grasp law school very well. As such, it is tough to really know who is “smart” from who is not and you will really have to go with your gut.

Also, it is important to find someone that you can coexist with for a long period of time. I remember many long nights with my study partners in my first year and it was nice to spend them with people that did not get on my nerves. My study group and I still all regularly go out to dinner and I am sure we will be life long friends who shared a very positive bonding experience.

Finally, while inclusion of people you may have been friends with prior to law school in your study group is an option, you should vet them objectively and focus on whether or not you have the same study habits. A good friend is not always a good study partner so tread carefully here.

To sum up my opinion regarding finding the right people for a study group, I will say that you do not need the people in the class with the highest grades in your study group but rather people who you get along with, that are similar minded, work hard and have assimilated all of the information throughout the year. These are the people that will help you.

Who Should Not be in Your Study Group?

Beware of the “barnacle.” He or she is the person that latches on to your study group and whom you just cannot get rid of. This person wants to join your study group so that he can benefit from all of the work you have done but is a freeloader. This person usually contributes nothing, will waste your time and will irritate you and stress you out. My own first-year study group initially included such a person until we got rid of him after the second exam.

Unfortunately, it is hard to identify a “barnacle” as they usually put forth a very good sales job. However, once included, there will be signs the decision was not a good one. In my own situation, the “barnacle” consistently missed meetings or showed up late and came unprepared. He always had an excuse for not doing what he was supposed to do and invited others to join (who also were not helpful). Also, during the few meetings we had with him, he would frantically take notes as if we were in class and we were his professors. One of the first clues that we had made a mistake was when he suggested “exchanging” outlines even before we had our first meeting, which the rest of us thought was odd.

You should also not select someone that you see frequently misses class. If they miss class, they will miss study sessions. Moreover, a person who never attends class will not be very beneficial filling you in on points that you missed because they will not have class notes. The same rule applies to those who are in class but not really in class. For example, you should also avoid people you observe on the Internet during class or who are generally not paying attention. If they are more interested in surfing the net than the course material, they surely will not have good notes and will likely drift off during your study group sessions also.

Also, be careful of “the holdout.” The holdout will join your group to take what they can get but will be silent even when they have relevant things to share. Unfortunately, some are preoccupied with the curve and think that any information that they share with anyone (even their study group) will mean a lower grade for them. Everyone in your study group can get an “A” and it is very unlikely that any assistance you give to other members of your group is going to make any difference whatsoever to your grade.

Finally, I would avoid forming a study group with someone that I was in a relationship with. While it may be more convenient, you want to be able to let your ideas flow freely and the last thing you want is an argument in a study group to flow in to your personal life. Also, if you break up during the school term, you will be stuck finding a new member after most of the class has already formed groups.

Even though you must be careful who you let in, I strongly recommend you make the effort to find some like-minded people to form a study group. Do not be afraid to break up the group if it is not working but the advantages of forming a group made up of the right partners cannot be ignored.

Ian E. Scott is a Harvard Law School Graduate, lawyer and author of Law School Lowdown: Secrets of Success from the Application Process to Landing Your First Job. (Barron’s Publishing) Mr. Scott worked as a corporate litigator in the law firm Cleary Gottlieb and currently runs his own law firm Scott Legal Services, P.C. specializing in Immigration Law & New Business set-up. Law School Lowdown is a comprehensive law school success guide that offers practical advice on a number of relevant law student topics. Find out more about the book by clicking here. Mr. Scott is also author of the blog Law School and Bar Exam Success Tips.

2013 Bloomberg Finance L.P. Originally published by Bloomberg Finance L.P. Reprinted with permission.  The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Sitting for the LSAT in October or December? How to Prepare for the LSAT

The LSAT is an integral part of your law school application and it can make it or break it for you.  Many have asked what the key to success is.  Our new book, Law School Lowdown: Secrets of Success from the Application Process to Landing Your First Job, has many important pointers on this subject and here are some pointers.

There are many courses that you can take to prepare you for the LSAT.  I paid over $1000 for a month long in class course and it was helpful.  Signing up for a course will increase your score for sure.  Some course providers like Kaplan  provide a money back guarantee if you get a lower score on the actual exam than your first practice test.  This is somewhat misleading though, as it is virtually impossible to get a lower score than your first attempt as your first attempt is done without any preparation. 
 

A preparation course is a great way to prepare as the course will stress some exam “tricks” and you will also do several practice exams in exam like conditions.  Moreover, the course will force you to stay focused and set a fixed schedule for you to devote to exam studying.  If you are not disciplined, a preparation course is highly recommended.  LSAT preparation has really changed over the years and the traditional classroom courses offered by Kaplan and other providers are not that appealing to some.  As such, you may want to try LSAT freedom, LSATMax, Manhattan LSAT, or  FindMyLawTutor.  They all offer alternatives to the traditional LSAT courses and you can find out more about them by accessing their websites. 

The key to doing well on all sections of the LSAT is practice.  You should complete hundreds if not thousands of questions prior to the exam so you should become very familiar with the patterns of the different questions.  Of course though, part of doing well on the LSAT will be your aptitude for doing well on this type of standardized test.  Notwithstanding this though, you will always be able to improve your score with practice.

As part of this practice, you should sit for several timed exams and you should grade them to see how you are doing.  In fact, when you take many practice exams and grade yourself, you will have a good indication of the score you will get on the actual exam.  As such, if you sit for a timed practice exam two day prior to the actual exam, you will have an excellent idea of how you will score.  When I sat for the LSAT, I scored within two points of my final practice exam and many students have recounted the same thing to me. Do not expect a miracle on exam day.

This is one of many law school admission tips that you will find in the new book, Law School Lowdown (Barron's Publishing). Order it today by clicking here. 

http://www.amazon.com/Law-School-Lowdown-Secrets-Application/dp/143800317X

Good luck!

Need a Reference Letter for Law School - Some Tips of Who To Ask To Write it.

When you complete your law school application you will almost certainly be asked to submit a number of reference letters.  Many prospective law students have asked me who they should ask to write them and here are a few pointers. 

The key to any reference letter is that it is relevant and comes from someone that knows you and can speak to why you would succeed in law school.  Letters should be current (written within the last 6 months), and keep in mind that admission’s committees are not looking for character references. To this end, the best letters come from your college professors who know you and are familiar with your academic achievements.  This usually means that you had the professor for a semester or you had performed research for the professor.  In addition, if you received a high grade in his/her class this will also help. 

If for some reason you cannot get a professor to write a letter or you have been out of school for a long time there are other options.  Another good letter is a letter that comes from a lawyer that knows you and can speak to your scholarly potential.  This is especially the case if the person will be able to illustrate why you would do well in law school.  Another great source is a past or current employer -- especially if the employer can write about your analytical skills, problem solving ability or scholarly ability.  Finally, another good area is a relevant reference provider (someone who can speak to your intellectual ability) that attended the law school that you are applying to.  Keep in mind that college professors are at the top of the list but these other categories are also options.

It is also important to develop a strategy when selecting the base of reference providers that you select.  Specifically, pick reference providers from a wide range of areas that the admission’s committee will find useful.  For example, select a couple of professors, a couple of lawyers and a couple of people from other relevant areas.  When I applied to Harvard Law School, each of my letters was selected to cover off an area that I thought would interest the admission’s committee.  Namely, one came from someone that attended Harvard, another came from a Judge that could speak to my scholarly ability, others came from professors where I did well in their class and others came from my previous employers.  Each was strategically selected and the selection worked well for me. 

Do not fall into the trap of submitting what I will call an irrelevant reference letter to a law school.  This includes a letter from a professor who is a friend of your parents or who you have never met.  Also, letters from friends, family members, or people that you have not met (even if they are famous) will generally be disregarded.  These types of letters will actually hurt you as the admission’s committee will wonder why you could not find a relevant reference. 

Make no mistake that reference letters are important. Give your selection some careful thought as in addition to the content, the people who are deciding whether or not to admit you will certainly review who you have selected.

You can also see this article on LSAT Freedom.  LSAT Freedom is an excellent LSAT preparation course who offers LSAT preparation online.

This summary is one of many law school admission helpful tips in the new book Law School Lowdown: Secrets of Success from the Application Process to Landing the First Job – (Barron's Publishing) - Author Ian E. Scott.  You can order Law School Lowdown on Amazon by clicking here.

Law School Lowdown Now Available! Order Now.

If you're a law school student, or if you're planning to apply to law school, you'll find the practical guidance you'll need for success--plus tips on pitfalls to avoid--when you open this important new book. Written by a recent Harvard Law School graduate who worked with major Wall Street law firm, this brand-new blueprint for legal accomplishment gets down to specifics with that will help you succeed in law school.  Law School Lowdown is now available to order!  Just click here or on the image!

What sets The Law School Lowdown apart from typical law school books is that it explores the entire law school experience. From the application process, through the rigorous years during law school, to post-law school employment, The Law School Lowdown addresses:

• The law school application process and tips on taking the LSAT
• Selecting a law school, applying for scholarships, and deciding between top-ranked and lower-ranked schools
• Making the grade during the vital first year at law school
• The best courses to take in second and third years
• The advantages of publishing papers while in law school
• Seeking out summer positions at law firms
• Taking and passing state bar exams
• Finding employment at a law firm after graduation
• Other post-law school options, including judicial clerkships
• Effective résumés, a model brief of a case for class, and much more

Valuable appendices give you still more advice, and include a completed model law school application form, effective résumés, a model brief of a case for class, and much more. Written by a successful attorney and based on his own law school experiences, Law School Lowdown zeroes-in on both the rigors and satisfactions that comprise the law school experience, offering the advice and counsel that will pave your way to a successful career in law.

Written by a successful attorney and based on his own experiences, The Law School Lowdown focuses on both the difficulties and satisfactions that comprise the law school experience, offering advice and counsel that will pave the way to a successful law career. Order now by clicking the below link!

Order Law School Lowdown Today!

Next Stop: Bar Exam - Some Helpful Tips

There is no question that the bar exam is a daunting test. When I sat for it in 2010, I was surprised at the amount of material that the exam covered and just how stressful the experience was.  The fact is though, you should relax as if you studied, you will likely pass the exam.  Here are some helpful tips.

Get a Good Night Sleep Before the Exam 

Believe me when I say that you are not going to learn anything more at 9PM the night before the exam (or the morning of the exam).  You have likely been studying for months and that consistent studying is what will pay off. Put down the books at 9PM at the latest the night before the exam and relax. The best advice I can give is to go to see a movie or perform some other low stress activity the night before the exam.

Review What You Cannot Bring Into The Exam Room

Make sure you follow the rules with respect to what you can and cannot bring into the exam room.  During my exam, at least 2 people where removed from the exam room for bringing items that were not permitted.

Bring a WaterProof bag for your Computer

The day I sat for the NJ bar exam, it rained heavily. As a result, there were several people who had their laptops in a bag where the laptop got wet.  As a result, the laptop did not work during the exam and the candidates were forced to take the exam by hand.  You do not need this type of stress the day of the exam.

Do not Borrow Time From Subsequent Exam Questions

Plan your time with each question and move on if you are stuck or a question is taking too long!!!!  This includes multiple choice and essay questions.  When I sat for the NY bar exam, the last question on one day was a Corporations question that was very simple.  If I had wasted more time on question 1 (which was difficult), I would have missed scoring some easy points.  Move on and if you have time come back to the questions that are taking a long time.  

Do not Talk About the Exam With Friends

No one knows what the answer key will look like and you will only stress yourself if you discuss exam questions with anyone.  Everyone will miss something so why have what you missed (or did not miss) pointed out by another student. For that matter, do not talk about the material with students the day before or of the exam.  Again, it will only stress you out.

Relax - You will Likely Pass

Bar examiners publish statistics of how many people pass the bar exam. For first time writers from ABA approved law schools, the pass rate is often close to 90%.  This should give you comfort that you will likely pass. Also, most States are grading to a minimum standard and do not have a preset number of people that they want to pass.  Relax and just do your best.

Good luck.  You will look back on this day for sure and realize that there really was not anything to be worried about.  Find out more about the bar exam by buying our book "Law School Lowdown."  You can click the image to the right to find out more! or click here to Buy Law School Lowdown

Be Prepared for On-Campus Interviews - Free Webcast

If you’re participating in On-Campus Interviews this fall or just want to learn more about how to prepare for a legal job interview, you won’t want to miss our next webcast.

On Thursday July 18^th, LexisNexis will host a webcast entitled Preparing for On-Campus Interviews to help you succeed in your upcoming interviews. You’ll hear from two distinguished speakers who have been through the OCI process:

·       Ian E. Scott, Esq., Harvard Law graduate and former Wall Street Lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb. Mr. Scott recently opened his own firm, Scott Legal Services, P.C., and is the author of the blog Law School and Bar Exam Success Tips and also author of a new Law School Success Guide, Law School Lowdown.

·       Shauna C. Bryce, Esq., Harvard Law graduate and former Am Law 100 lawyer. Ms. Bryce formed Bryce Legal Career Counsel, and authored How to Get a Legal Job: A Guide for New Attorneys and Law School Students.

You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions about interviewing for a legal job. As always, there is no cost for the webcast; you only need a computer and an internet connection to attend.

Register for the July 18^th webcast and learn how to prepare for your interviews this fall. You’ll also receive 200 LexisNexis Reward points for attending and completing the short survey at the conclusion of the webcast.