UC Berkeley Career Center Peer Corner

Is Law School For You?

 

“When all else fails, go to law school!” Many people view law school as a stepping-stone to money, prestige, and success. Others may view it as an option that can open doors to many other fields, since law can be flexible. You do not need a particular major, nor do you need any particular courses to apply to law school. Anyone can apply, right? While it is true that law school is a flexible option open to many people of different backgrounds, law school, or even a career in the legal field, is not for everyone.

Law school is not like an extension of your undergraduate career—in fact, law school entails a lot more accountability and a much more rigorous course load. Do you remember hearing about “weeder” courses in your college career, or courses that are known to be exceptionally difficult and can make or a break a student? Instead of just one “weeder course,” law students often face a whole year of this during their first year! Most law schools utilize the Socratic method, or a method that requires students to analyze multiple cases and opinions in a particular area of law, and to be prepared to summarize and answer questions about them. First year law students, or 1L students, step into this unfamiliar territory, and face huge amounts of reading of legal material that can be difficult to analyze and retain. So if you dislike reading, writing, and analyzing texts, you may want to explore the option of law a little more and see if it is really for you.

So how do you know if you want to go to law school? The most important task for any prospective law school applicant is to do research! Do you want to go right after you graduate from college, or do you want to take a break and gain more experience? Sometimes taking a break can be useful for reevaluating where you are in life, deciding if law is the right path for you, and for strengthening your application. Law schools love to see mature, experienced individuals who know that they want to attend law school and know what they are getting into.

Experience in law is not always necessary to get into law school, but it is definitely useful for making the decision of applying to law school. Interning at a law firm, assisting in legal clinics, or joining a pre-law organization are all great options for testing the waters and seeing if law is what you want for a career. Most lawyers spend long days researching, writing, and preparing for cases and trials rather than actually arguing in the courtrooms themselves! Be prepared to see the not-so-glamorous side of law and be open-minded to seeing if law is something that you want to do. If you do not have time to intern for a law firm, shadowing, or “externing,” is also another option! Apply for an externship during the fall semester, get in contact with a lawyer through the Career Center's Cal Alumni network, or utilize your own personal networks! You can also attend an employer informational session during the school year, or attend career fairs to network with other lawyers! Try to conduct an informational interview to get a clearer picture of what lawyers really do on a day-to-day basis. If you want to know more about the field, there are a variety of different options and resources to choose from to take that step.

So you know you want to practice law, but are you anxious about law school itself? Shadow a law student and take a tour around the law schools in the area to get a feel for what life would be like if you attended law school! Ask questions, and treat your shadowing day as a day long, live informational interview! Not only can you shadow a law student and get to know how law school life is, but you can also shadow law professors. Who knows, maybe you will want to be a law professor some day! Being proactive pays off!

Overall, you want to do as much research as you can to prepare yourself for what is ahead. Are you willing to spend another three years studying like crazy, investing more money, and entering a career involving a lot of analytical reading, research, and the synthesis of enormous amounts of material? Do you know exactly what the life of someone in law is like? While you take these steps to getting to know the field of law, you are also building networks and making connections. These connections will be valuable to your future, so if there are only two words remember from this article, remember to RESEARCH and NETWORK!

Post by Lilibeth Clelo, 2nd Year Political Science Major, Education Minor

How To Get The Most Out Of A Graduate School Fair

        The graduate school career center fair is just around the corner and you are probably wondering how you can get ready for the fair, what to do at the fair, and how to follow up.  Here are some suggestions.  Checking out Callisto is the first step: there is a Graduate School Fair tab you can click.  Once there you will find the names of all the universities that will be represented at this event.  Also, since the graduate school fair is a two day event, check which schools are there on which days to make you see graduate schools of interest to you.  

        Even though it is not a career fair or internship fair, it is still important to dress nicely when going to the graduate school fairs and practice giving a strong handshake.  If possible I would encourage you to be at the graduate school fair once it starts, that is if your schedule allows it, because that is when you have the most chance of having a nice chat with the representative of the university you are most interested in.  Remember to ask for business cards or ask the representative to write down the best way to reach him/her if you should have future questions.  Realistically students will not have enough time to visit all the tables and build a strong connection with all of the graduate school representatives.  Keep it in mind that there will be many other students at the graduate school fair wanting to have time with graduate school representatives as well.  I encourage you to plan ahead! Think about who you are going to talk with, what questions you are going to ask, and do some research on the universities if possible.  In addition, coming up with a set of questions to ask graduate university representatives is  a great way to start a conversation and show that you are serious about attending a specific university.  Some sample questions are:

• I went on the university website and found information about this program, is there more that you can tell me?

• Is there any financial assistance offered to students? 

• What are specific program requirements? 

 

        Finally, once the career fair is over follow up with the university representatives by sending an e-mail thanking them for the time and help.  Reiterate your interest in the program and explain what types of involvement and/or coursework you have been involved with that will help support your interest in a specific career goal.   Sometimes asking more questions about the program itself can be a great way to have the university representative continue speaking with you after the fair.  If you know when you will be applying mention that as well. Those are at least a few suggestions on how to approach a graduate school fair, just remember to have a fun!

Post by Rosario Jimenez, 4th year Ethnic Studies major.

How to go about getting that Letter of Recommendation

Just realized that you are going to need a letter of recommendation? Or are you anticipating that a graduate school or job will ask you for one down the road? No Problem!  First thing’s first – you will need to become informed about what the program expects and hopes to learn from your letters of recommendation. This can vary depending on if it is a grad school application, a scholarship, or maybe a job application.

There are generally 3 different types of Letter of Recommendations:

Employment recommendation: Usually from a past supervisor or a professional acquaintance for a particular job

 Academic recommendation: From a teacher or professor when applying to a college or graduate school, or receiving a scholarship or fellowship

 Character reference: An assessment of your personality and character from a friend or relative when applying for a job, winning an award, child adoption, a court hearing, etc.

Now remember that when choosing the individual to write your letter, you might want to reflect on a few things first.  Here are a few key factors to assess in determining if the letter writer is a fit:

· Is the person comfortable writing a letter for you?

· Can they write well and write easily?

· Do they have experience writing letters of recommendation?

· Is she/he familiar with your work, and YOU?

· Do they know you well enough to be able to include personal anecdotes or specifics in the letter?

· Do they have the highest and/or most relevant job title?

Being a college student, your options for letter writers may revolve around asking a Professor, a GSI, or your current employer/supervisor. One key tip is to remember to attend your professor’s office hours and build a strong student-teacher relationship. This will allow your letter of recommendation may reflect who you are as a student and as a unique individual, not simply as a letter grade. If you choose to go with your GSI, your professor does have the option of co-signing the letter.

When approaching your letter writer, it is best if you first ask them whether they would feel comfortable writing you a letter. You should also attempt to ask your letter writer to write you a recommendation 2-3 months in advance if possible (at least one month!). You never know how busy they might be, and similarly you always want to give them a reasonable deadline.

After choosing your letter writer, you should provide him or her with as much information about yourself as possible. You definitely want to give them a brief description of the organization, group, individual, or cause to whom they are writing to, i.e. a website or program/company description. Also be sure to include your resume, possibly a short summary about yourself and your goals (or a draft of your personal statement or application essay). If approaching a professor, it is also helpful to give them a copy of your transcripts and a sample of high quality work that you completed in their class, i.e. a research paper, assignment, or midterm that you scored well on. Basically, provide them with any information that could assist them writing a strong letter that properly matches your personality and experiences to the context of the program or position you are applying to. Last but not least, don’t forget to thank your letter writer for their precious time!

Check out more tips at the Career Center Website Here!

By Peer: Ariana Torres: 2nd Year, Interdisiplenary Studies Field and Dance