Ok....so I wrote a rough draft of my entrance essay. I really just took all my thought and put them on the paper and organized them somewhat. I know many of you said to have people proof read it (which I usuallydo anyway), but I was wondering if any of you would be generous enough to critique my essay being you have been there and done that. I want honest opinions and if you think I am completely out in left field and should change the whole thing, pls. let me know. If you can help pls. FM me....thanks guys!
So, I am finally putting together my law school applications. I am taking the LSAT Dec. 3rd and would like to have everything ready to send out when I get my results in January.
I have some ideas of what I want to include in my personal statement, but I want to make sure it is ok. What did you guys include in your statements? How long was yours? What should I definetely include and not include?
Any help you can give me would be appreciated greatly! Fortunately I am a good writer, but it seems so much easier to write about a topic other than yourself.
BlondeJD
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!!
I think most schools have a page or word limit for the personal statement, so that should help you in terms of the brevity that they're looking for. As for what you should include, the best advice I ever got regarding a personal statement was this: write a rough draft and then, with a yellow highligher, mark every statement that could apply to just about any other candidate. The point is that you want your personal statement to really reflect who you are as an individual and to tell a story that will stick out in the mind of the person reading it. Hope this helps
jellybean1420
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!!
That is a great idea....thank you!!! That is what I am most concerned about is making myself stand out compared to other applicants.
BlondeJD
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!!
Posted by jellybean1420
That is a great idea....thank you!!! That is what I am most concerned about is making myself stand out compared to other applicants.
Definitely try to get a start on it early. It's easy to procrastinate and leave it til the end because you're not sure what to write (this was always my problem! ). Good luck!
LisaJill
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!!
Oh also have SOMEONE else proof read it... other people find so many errors that you never see... I have been practicing for 3 years and People still find stupid typos and punctuation errors that I never would have seen.
jellybean1420
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!!
While I'm talking to lawyers, does anyone work for a law firm that is hiring interns during the summer? My cousin is having a hard time finding a internship. He is finishing up his second year and has really good grades and I believe is on the law review. He's getting a little discouraged and apparently Hofstra is not offering much help in the search.
If any of you know of any opening please let me know. Thanks for all your help!
LisaJill
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!!
He shouldn't be freaking out yet... only the NYC firms hire their interns this early. I got my second year job in March/April. Hofstra is not going to help, they stink like that, he is going to have to do it on his own. He should do a good resume and have Diane Schwartzberg take a look at it and go over it with him and then he should send out resumes himself NOT through hofstra JMHO. I do matrimonial and I doubt your cousin wants to do that so I am sorry I can't be more of a help
BlondeJD
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!!
My firm is in NYC and we've already done all of our recruiting for next summer - actually the deadline for recruits to give NYC firms a yes/no on their summer offer is 12/1. Your brother might have some luck with NYC firms that didn't get as many acceptances as they anticipated. Most firms don't want a small summer class because that's generally the pool from which they get a majority of their first year associates. Hope this helps
jellybean1420
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!!
I know he applied to several firms on Long Island and in NYC, but I am not sure if was offered an internship at all, or if he was, it was doing what he really wanted to do. I will have to speak to him to find out more information.
jellybean1420
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!!
Who is Diane Schwartzberg? Is she a law professor at Hofstra? I know he is not depending on Hofstra, that is a definite. But he was hoping they would at least be able to help a little.
lcherian
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!!
Posted by LisaJill
He shouldn't be freaking out yet... only the NYC firms hire their interns this early. I got my second year job in March/April. Hofstra is not going to help, they stink like that, he is going to have to do it on his own. He should do a good resume and have Diane Schwartzberg take a look at it and go over it with him and then he should send out resumes himself NOT through hofstra JMHO. I do matrimonial and I doubt your cousin wants to do that so I am sorry I can't be more of a help
most of my law school classmates (myself included) did not find their summer job until spring semester, so I dont think he has anything to worry about--especially if he has good grades. most of the small/mid size firms are on a different hiring track than the larger firms.
tell him to go on martindale.com and to put together a spreadsheet of ny area firms so that he can start mass mailing his cover letter and resume. it may even be better to do this after the holiday season is over. jmo.
October Bliss
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!!
Posted by jellybean1420
Who is Diane Schwartzberg? Is she a law professor at Hofstra? I know he is not depending on Hofstra, that is a definite. But he was hoping they would at least be able to help a little.
Diane works in career services. When I graduated she was HUGE help in finding and getting a job. In fact, without Diane I wouldn't be where I am today. The Career Services Center at Hofstra is as good or as bad as you make use of it. If you go over there and search through the job listings, and use the computer to search you can get a lot of leads. However, they will not come to you, and will not hunt you down. I did find that if you use them, and the entire staff gets to know your name, and your interests when something comes up they are much more inclined to call and let you know.
jellybean1420
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!! (UPDATED)
Thanks....I will pass that on!
espresso
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!! (UPDATED)
Congrats! just make sure to make your statement unique
I do think the large firms are done hiring for summer 06, but tell him to check out nalpdirectory and do a search for smaller firms in Manhattan or Long Island. A lot of those firms do their 2L hiring in the spriing
mbm750
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!! (UPDATED)
The most important thing about a personal statement is to make sure it tells the person reading it something about you. I had someone in the career services office at my undergrad read my first draft - I wrote a story about an event that changed me forever, but my story was initially too focused on the story and not on me. So she suggested I re-focus and shift the focus back onto me - how did I grow, change, how this impacted me, what I learned, etc. That's the best advice I got about it.
You might want to ask someone from your college to read it - especially someone in career services or who works with pre-meds and pre-law students. They know what the Admissions people are looking for and because of that they can give you good constructive feedback.
marymoon
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Re: Lawyers and law students.....HELP!!!! (UPDATED)
Not a law student, but the career center at hofstra is the best, most helpful office they have. He can make an appointment and they can tlak him through it and show him all the resources.
