New York’s New Pro Bono Requirement – What Is All The Fuss About?

Generally speaking, in order to become a lawyer in New York you must get a law degree (3 years), pass the bar exam, pass a professional responsibility exam and pass a character assessment test.  Going forward the 10,000 or so prospective lawyers who meet all of these requirements will also be required to perform 50 hours of pro bono legal services before they can become lawyers.

This has caused a stir among some who say that this is among other things “indentured servitude.”  Another wrote, “I feel really bad for law students that graduate these days. And having brand new attorneys forced to be the ones to handle most pro bono smells like bad policy considering they have little to no experience and will invariably do a bad job of it.”

I am not sure what all of the fuss is about and I think a mandatory pro bono requirement is a fantastic idea!  A few points on this topic.

First, 50 hours is the amount of time you will spend during your first week of employment.  We are talking one week of work spread out over your law school career and the year after it.  The requirement is certainly not locking you into some long drawn out act of service.  It is 50 hours not 50 weeks or years.  In many countries, you must article (practical training) for next to no money before becoming a lawyer and this requirement is often 2 years.  Come on it is 50 hours helping those who need the help. 

Second, the requirement will not impact the majority of students as they already fulfill the requirement in law school.  I went to a law school (Harvard) that has a 50 hour pro bono requirement in order to graduate and this policy is not uncommon in law schools.  At the end of the year, Harvard published the actual average number of hours per student and it far exceeded the 50 hours.  Moreover, the requirement can often be met by clinical work performed or any volunteer work done while in school. 

Third, the more practical experience that one gets while in law school the better.  In some cases, fulfilling this requirement will be done by meeting with clients, drafting legal documents and perhaps even arguing cases before administrative tribunals. I met my pro bono requirement by working in an immigration asylum & employment law clinic and I was able to do all of the items listed above.

Finally, what is wrong with giving lawyers a taste of what it is like to give back to the community?  Also, as lawyer help others for free, isn’t there another benefit where the at times negative view of lawyers can be reversed?  This idea of giving back is already emphasized and encouraged in our professional responsibility requirements so why not formalize this a bit for new lawyers. As discussed above, this will not have an impact on most but will give those who would never have considered pro bono work an opportunity to see what helping someone else out without getting paid feels like.

As far as I am concerned, it is just another requirement to become a lawyer the same way that sitting for the MPRE, getting a character assessment or taking certain courses are requirements.  Not sure why anyone would be against this.  I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Judge Throws Out Law Students' Lawsuit Over Misleading Job Statistics and Says Students Should Have Know What They Were Paying $150,000 For

A few weeks ago I wrote an article titled Were Law Students Snookered By Law School Job Statistics (click here to access) and I concluded that while law schools should report accurate data, a student could not reasonably argue that they went to law school because of the one page of a law school’s website that said they would get a job right after graduation. 

Apparently a New York Supreme Court Judge agrees.  Last week, the Judge tossed out the first of many lawsuits brought by students who claimed they were snookered by misleading job statistics.  The significant part of the court decision is reposted here.

The court does not view these post-graduate employment statistics to be misleading in a material way for a reasonable consumer acting reasonably. By anyone's definition, reasonable consumers -- college graduates -- seriously considering law schools are a sophisticated subset of education consumers, capable of sifting through data and weighing alternatives before making a decision regarding their post-college options, such as applying for professional school. These reasonable consumers have available to them any number of sources of information to review when making their decisions.

The Judge’s argument is in essence that because potential law students are “sophisticated” and have many sources of information available at their fingertips they knew or should know that employment and salary statistics provided by the law school should not be the sole basis for their decision. 

Sound familiar?  It should as here is what I wrote and posted a few weeks before the decision.

That being said, I also think students have a responsibility to perform some research about the job market such that they are comfortable with a decision to become a lawyer.  A simple internet search will (and would have) shed some light on the fact that not every lawyer is making a six digit salary and that finding a job as a lawyer (especially in this economy) is difficult.  In addition, the law school application process is extensive and it strikes me that at some point during that six month to year process (LSAT, application, acceptance, summer) that a student has an affirmative responsibility to investigate the job prospects a bit more than relying on the webpage of a private law school. 

I for one am happy the lawsuit was thrown out and I hope that the cases in other States follow the same path. Law schools should report meaningful job statistics but suing a private institution because you were "misled" by a statistic on a webpage is not the answer in my opinion. Not everything should be a lawsuit and this entire situation is an example of the world looking in and seeing the legal profession (law schools, students, lawyers) behaving badly.  

To be clear, this is not the fault of students but I do not think that lawsuits are the answer here.  As such, I feel the case being thrown out for EXACTLY the reasons stated in the decision is exactly what should have happened.  I recognize that this opinion is not shared by everyone and would welcome feedback and commentary so that both sides are adequately represented.

How To Publish While in Law School Voted Top Post!

           If you have not already, check out my latest publication in the Lawyerist!  The article summarizes the benefits of publishing while in law school and gives you some practical tips on how to make an effective submission.  See why last week it was the Top Post!  
          View the entire article: www.How To Publish While In Law School.com
          Please feel free to like, tweet and/or share the page.

Why You Should Publish In Law School & Tips For Successful Law Journal Submissions

Check out my new publication in the Lawyerist See article that describes what editors are looking for & what makes and effective submission!  For the full article, click here.  Please feel free to "like", "tweet", and/or "share"!

Sitting for the Bar in July? How Many Bar Exams Should You Sit For?

As you may know, as a general rule, you are required to sit for a bar exam in every State you wish to practice in.  While in law school, the question often comes up of how many exams you should sit for on your first attempt.  In my opinion, you should try to take Bar Examinations from 2 States right after you graduate from Law School. There are a few good reasons for this. 

First, the best time to take a Bar Examination is immediately after you finish law school as you will have retained a significant amount of core knowledge and this knowledge will dissipate over time.  This knowledge makes it easier to pass the bar exam and you are best positioned to do this right after law school.

Second, when you study for one State’s Bar Examination, you may not have to do much additional work to pass another State’s exam.  A few things to keep in mind here. First, most bar exams consist of two days – one day will be made up of a local State day and one will be the Multi-State Bar Exam (MBE), and the MBE is the same exam for every State.   Your score on each day is added together and each State will determine whether you have passed or failed.  If you sit for two bar exams (one in your primary State and one in another State) most if not all States will allow the MBE score to be transferred to the State if it is taken concurrently with your primary State.  Most States however will not permit you to take the MBE one year for one State and then have it count towards the Bar Examination in a different year or session.  For example, New York used to permit candidates to count their MBE score from a prior year towards a current session and as such, in the past the candidate would only have had to sit for the local New York portion of the exam. (1 day as the person would not have to sit for the MBE).  Starting in 2011 though, New York only allows candidates to transfer MBE scores from another State if the exam in the other State was taken in the concurrent session.  Many other States have similar rules.  To clarify, if you sit for two bar exams, you would sit for the exam for three days instead of two.  This extra day can help you avoid sitting for the grueling 200 multiple choice MBE in another year.

Another good reason to sit for two bar exams is that many State exams do not contain much State specific information.  For example, the New Jersey bar exam tests only 7 subject areas and six of those areas are covered on the MBE.  (and the other will likely be covered by your primary State)  As such, the only additional work you will have to do for that exam is sit for the exam.  I sat for the NJ bar when I sat for the NY bar and I did not do ANY additional studying.  (ohhh..and I passed).  Other States are similar and even States where you do have to learn State specific material, it will almost certainly be in areas such as Corporations, Wills and Criminal Law.  As such, you will already have a foundation related to these courses from the work you will do to prepare for the primary State.

Another reason to sit for two bar examinations is that you are more marketable.  Even if you have a job, your situation may change and you may be looking for one in the future.  Being certified in many States not only shows initiative but could give you a practical advantage if a job requires certification in that State.

Lots of good reasons to consider sitting for two bar exams in July.

Study Groups - Should You Search for a "Smart" Person?

After my last post about what to avoid when looking for people to join your study group, a few people wrote to me and asked which positive qualities they should look for.  In particular, people asked about whether or not they should be looking for “smart” people so that they can perhaps take in some of that raw intelligence.  A few comments. 

               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 that has not said a word all semester.  As such, do not discount someone because they do not speak in class as they may be exactly who you are looking for.  My study group and I were silent throughout all of first year (except when called on) and we all did very well on our exams.

               Another thing to consider regarding finding “smart people” is that some people that 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.  I am not sure that the search for smart is that worthwhile but perhaps something to consider.

Regarding personality traits, finding the right mix of traits is tough and this is especially the case in your first year when you do not really know people well (or at all).  You obviously want to avoid the obnoxious people who will monopolize the entire session with their inane ideas.  To get a good handle on this, perhaps just have an informal study session to kind of “test drive” the person.  Also, you should look for people that are conscientious and will come to the sessions prepared and ready to contribute.  Finally, you also want people that you get along with to make the pain of intense studying a bit more pleasant.  This last characteristic is extremely important as you will have to be able to coexist with this group for a long period of time.  I remember many long nights in my first year and it was nice to spend them with people that I genuinely liked.  As I mentioned in my last post, my first year study group and I still all regularly stay in touch and I am sure we will be life long friends who shared a very positive bonding experience.   Good luck with your search.

Making the Transition From Law Student To Lawyer - Join Ian E. Scott on a Panel

Please join Law School Success Tips and the ABA where Ian E. Scott will sit on the Panel "Making the Transition From Law Student To Lawyer."  We hope to see you there! See Details below:


http://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_students/events_competitions/sprmtg/2sm.html

What Do I Need to Do to Transfer to Another Law School? - Part 4 of 4

Who is Eligible?

In order to apply for a transfer to another law school, you must go through the same application process that you went through to initially apply to law school.  There are some minor differences but for the most part the process is the same.  For most schools, you can use the LSAC process and fill out the transfer application (which is very similar to the original law school application) online.  You will require everything that you needed to apply to law school including a resume, a personal statement, letters of reference, transcripts and the completed application.  You must also provide your LSAT score but the schools will not place much, if any, weight on it.  The most significant factor that the schools will consider are your grades from your first year of law school.  Like everything else, the higher the better.

While most schools will want a complete picture, some are only interested in your first year grades.  For example, at New York University (NYU), the personal statement that they request is quite short and it does not have to talk about anything specific. Moreover, they do not require (or want) any letters of reference.  To contrast, Harvard, Yale and Columbia all require a comprehensive application complete with letters of reference, a resume and two page personal statements.

How Do Schools Select Who They Want?

In order to transfer to a top school, you will need top grades.  Harvard accepts around 25 transfer students a year and boasts that many transfer students could have been admitted if they applied there for their first year or are students that were waitlisted when they applied to Harvard in their first year.  You may know, Harvard’s entering class has a GPA very close to an A average and a LSAT score in the top 2%.  Yale only admits around 10 transfer students and the competition is very stiff.  In fact, many of the transfer students that were admitted to Harvard the year I was accepted were not accepted as transfer students to Yale.  (I did not apply to Yale so I will never know) 

As a rough guide, you should be in the top 10% of your class if you are applying to a top school.  This is by no means a cut-off and the number could change if you have some other compelling characteristics or you are transferring from a highly or lowly ranked school. The higher the ranking of your school, the lower your grades can be.  For example, if you are transferring from Columbia to Harvard, you could likely get away with an A- average (top 30%).  If you are transferring from Brooklyn Law School (ranked in the sixties), you will generally have to be in the top 5% of your class with other significant accomplishments. 

In addition to top grades, most of the transfer students at Harvard had a second Masters or Doctoral degrees or some other significant accomplishment.  Also,  law schools will look at other symbols of excellence such as success in Journals or Moot Court Competitions.  Moreover, work as a research or teaching assistant and participation in student groups during law school demonstrates that you can juggle classes along with other activities.  All of these accomplishments will help your application but the main thing the admitting school will look at is good old high grades.

Are There Disadvantages Associated With Transferring to A Different Law School? – Part 3 of 4.

           There are several factors that one should consider when deciding whether or not to transfer if your desire to transfer is based on an attempt to upgrade schools.  A higher rank does not always mean better and here are few things to consider.

You Will Lose Many of the Important Connections You Made in Your First Year

As noted in my last blog post, there is a substantial risk that you will lose some or all of the important connections that you will make in your first year.  This includes both students and professors.  Moreover, strong bonds have already been formed at the school you will go to and it may be hard to establish similar connections.

You May be Considered an Outsider at Your New School

As a transfer student, you will always be considered one step below the people that started at that school from the beginning.  This is particularly the case if you come from a lower ranked school. 

For example, one day after class, a Professor at Harvard took some students for drinks.  When he found out I was a transfer student and that I came from Brooklyn Law School (ranked in the 60s), he asked me if the other transfer students looked down on me because I came from a second tier school.  (Most of the transfer students came from other first tier schools ranked between 15 and 30).  If he thought that other transfer students would look down on me, you can imagine what he thought (or what some other students at Harvard thought/think) about transfers.  This is not a reason not to transfer but it is something to consider.  I became accustomed to the facial expressions of other students and professors when I told them I transferred.  In fact, after my second year, I intentionally did not mention I was a transfer student unless explicitly asked.

Your Grades May Fall & You May Not Be Eligible For Latin Honor Awards

People who get into top schools know how to take exams very well.  As such, you will find that the ability to get great grades when you transfer is more difficult. This of course depends on which school you are coming from as there is stiff competition in many top tier schools.  Generally speaking, if you transfer your grades will decrease and you will not be at the top of the class.  This is especially the case if you are transferring from a second tier school.  Do not get me wrong, it is quite possible to do very well at the new school and some end up in the top 10% or top 30%.  That being said, most transfer students were in the top 1-5% of their class in the school they transferred from and some were ranked number one.  As such, I am not talking about a significant drop in grades but a moderate drop.  For some, this is a big deal and you should consider whether it is important to you to be at the top of the pack or within the top 20%.  Do not be fooled into thinking that because you were a superstar at your old school, you will be one at the school you transfer to.

You should also investigate whether or not you will be eligible for Latin Awards when you graduate and exactly how any class ranking will apply to you.  Latin Awards are the Summa (top 1%), Magna (top 10%), Cumme Laude (next 30%).  Some schools do not permit transfer students to be eligible for Latin and other awards because they did not spend all three years at the Law School.  Moreover, very few schools, if any, will permit the high grades that you obtained at your first Law School to count in any calculation.  Depending on the law school, the Latin awards or class ranking will be very important and it may not be obvious to employers that you were ineligible.  Instead, all that they will see is that you were not in the top 40% and did not receive any awards. While ranking is not as important at a top school like Harvard or Yale, if you are transferring to a school that is say number 20 or 30, falling within the top rank levels of your class will be very important.

You May Move to Being A Small Fish in a Big Pond if You Transfer

Depending on the size of your school, as a top student you really stand out.  For example, after my first semester when I scored over a 4.0 GPA, the Dean of Student Affairs at Brooklyn Law School called me into her office to discuss my progress.  She was very pleasant and told me that she would do everything in her power to assist me.  Also, as a top student, I was offered a scholarship in my second year and it was very clear to me that the eyes of the administration were focused on me.

            When I transferred to Harvard, I was one of a class of 550 (plus another 100 LLM students) and I was clearly an outsider.  I had moved from a big fish in a small pond to a small fish in an ocean.  This was not just based on grades but also on the size of Brooklyn Law School and their ability to focus individual attention on top students.  Moreover, many students at Harvard were very well connected (sons of Judges and Senators) so standing out was even more difficult.

While none of the above mentioned items should stop you from transferring, you should consider them to assess whether a transfer is right for you.  The final post in this series will deal with what you have to do to transfer.