Maximizing Your 3L Year of Law School

Maximizing Your 3L Year of Law SchoolMaximizing Your 3L Year of Law SchoolLaw school classes are officially under way. And for 3Ls, the countdown to the end of their law school careers has begun. Oftentimes, 3L year is best described with one word coast. Many want a more laid-back schedule after two grueling years of Socratic Method. And while two-year law school zu gunsten vongrams have yet to become a reality, many have floated the idea of limiting law school to just 1L and 2L years.But as of now, law students are locked into three years. And with law schools hefty price tag, its an extremely expensive year to waste. mora importantly, the third year of law school provides opportunities to better prepare yourself for real practice and the bar exam. Read on for some advice on shaping a useful third year of law school.Rethink SlackingIt is tempting to fill your 3L schedule with fluffier classes or ones that fellow students have deemed easy. While there certainly should be room to purs ue classes that genuinely interest you, thinking about the end game is also important. And by end game, I mean the bar exam and your future career. When selecting classes for your 3L year, take a look at the different subjects covered on the bar exam. For example, Law and Literature might fuel your passion for reading, but learning about Trusts and Estates may save you hours of stress during bar-exam prep. In fact, you may even want to focus on a subject that is particularly difficult for you- better to trudge through it with a professor by your side than to try to learn it in a few weeks before the bar.In terms of your career, consider classes that will give you greater insight into your chosen practice area. If you already have a job offer, you may want to ask one of the associates or clerks about any classes they wished they had taken before joining the firm.Get PracticalOne of the biggest critiques Ive heard about law school is that it doesnt provide the practical skills needed for practice. Im not convinced that is entirely true- I think it depends on the individual law school experience and the opportunities that students embrace. Take a step back while planning your coursework and consider what skills you would want a junior attorney to possess if you were his or her employer. For example, if you ran a litigation boutique, you would likely want your juniors to come in with impeccable writing skills, exceptional research abilities, and some real-world experience with discovery, motions, and advocacy. Third year of law school is the perfect time to gain experience like this (or analogous experience in other areas like Corporate, IP, Trusts and Estates, etc.)The first place to look is the clinic program, which provides students with opportunities to handle real cases under the supervision of professors. Internships are another wonderful way to gain class credit and get your feet wet in the real legal world. Some law schools have a pro bono requirement and expect law students to complete supervised pro bono work. Nothing is quite as useful as taking the lead on a real pro bono matter, and having an experienced attorneys support allows you to learn and grow through the process. And finally, take advantage of the opportunities at your school that will strengthen the skills you need for your profession. If legal writing will be part of your day-to-day, aim to be on the editorial board of a law school journal or load your schedule with classes that are writing intensive. Perhaps you know that corporate law is for you- get involved with negotiation competitions offered by some schools. Moot court is another great option for those wishing for stand-up experience in their career.Dont Play FavoritesI had a professor in law school that I adored, and I wouldve taken her classes every semester. But I realized that an important aspect of career development is my network. Each semester, I tried to take classes from a variety of professors. Mixing up your instructors will give you different perspectives and open up your mentor options. Take advantage of geschftszimmer hours and the few minutes after class to talk to professors and develop relationships with them. This practice is especially useful during 3L year when youre preparing for your career or searching for a job. You never know what opportunities professors may have access to, people they may know, or useful advice they might have. And you may just learn something from them too.Talk to Career ServicesIf there is any resource within law school that I think is underutilized, its the Career Services department. The office has career experts waiting to guide law students with countless resources at their fingertips. If youre planning your 3L classes and are curious which ones may be most useful in your future career or in attracting potential employers, make an appointment with Career Services and gain some of their insights. They know what kinds of resumes shine and als o what makes for a successful practicing attorney. So take some time and talk through the classes that will bolster you as a candidate and attorney.The third year of law school is an opportunity to grow yourself as a future attorney. Take advantage of this time and think carefully about the coursework that will put you ahead in your career.

How to Create a Winning Legal Resume

How to Create a Winning Legal ResumeHow to Create a Winning Legal ResumeYour resume is your most important job search tool. In todays competitive job market, you need to craft a resume that stands out from the crowd. The tips below outline how to create a resume that gets results. For more resume how-to tips, review these 10 resume mistakes. Limit Your Resume to One or Two Pages Unless youre a seasoned professional with many years of experience, keep your resume to one page. It will force you to highlight your best qualities and experience rather than burying them in a sea of details. If youre short on space, you can adjust your font, margins, and format but leave plenty of white space to promote readability. Dont include references employers will ask you for them if theyre interested. If you have plenty of experience, a two-page resume is acceptable. I think two-page resumes can be effective in conveying your personality and extracurricular uniqueness that is lost in a tradition al one-page education/employment history resume, says Brian King, a lebensgefhrte at a mid-size Pittsburgh law firm. Make It Easy to Read Busy hiring managers will pass over a resume that is sloppy, poorly formatted or full of grammar and punctuation errors. Proofread carefully, use headings and bullet points to break up text, use consistent fonts and make sure margins, bullet points and indents are cleanly aligned. The legal industry is ultra-conservative so dont get too creative with your resume presentation. Avoid colored paper, colored ink, crazy fonts, and unconventional formatting. Emphasize Your Relevant Experience Customize your rsum to each job you apply for. Leave out your summer job at Macys (unless you are seeking a job in fashion law), but elaborate on your relevant skills and experience. Be specific about the work you performed Drafted winning Fifth Circuit brief and researched corporate and tax issues, and quantify your achievements Implemented claims investig ation procedure that saved the company $15,000. Highlight Key Skills Make sure your resume reflects the specific skills that are required in the position. For example, if youre a trial attorney, your communication, negotiation, and advocacy skills are key strengths. Your resume should notlage simply list these strengths, but show how your responsibilities and accomplishments demonstrate these qualities. For example, an assistant prosecuting attorney might state, Tried over one hundred jury trials in Pennsylvanias busiest county court system an in-house paralegal might say, Cut staff expenses by $4,500 by implementing a paralegal internship program. Let Your Uniqueness Shine Organizations are not merely seeking qualified applicants that possess the required skills and experience they want someone who is interesting and fits into the organizations culture. I like a resume that is interesting, offbeat and quirky, King says. I want to know what life experiences youve had that ma y be outside the traditional work and educational experiences that are going to make you a productive contributor to the firm. I dont want to know that you like reading, movies and exercise. I want to know that you write a blog, tried out for Survivor or volunteer for Big Brothers. Include Keywords To narrow the pool of qualified applicants, busy hiring managers scan resumes for keywords and phrases. As electronic submissions become more common, some organizations digitally scan your resume for keywords. The job description and help wanted ad can provide important clues to what words and phrases to include in your resume. For example, if the ad seeks a legal secretary with five years litigation experience in a fast-paced law firm and expertise in Juris, your resume should mention your litigation and law firm experience as well as your proficiency with Juris. Mention Your Tech Skills Technology skills are vital in nearly every legal position. List any technical skills you po ssess as well as proficiency with legal software programs that are crucial to your position. For example, legal secretaries might mention proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel and time and billing systems associates might list Westlaw, LexisNexis, and other legal research platforms. Use a Cover Letter In this age of electronic submissions, its tempting to write a simple my resume is attached e-mail to prospective employers. However, a cover letter is another tool to help sell you as a candidate and set you exotisch from the sea of applicants. A detailed cover letter that sells your skills and outlines how you fit the position will encourage the employer to give your resume a glance.

How to write perfect cover letter according to Grammarly executive

How to write perfect cover letter according to Grammarly executiveHow to write perfect cover letter according to Grammarly executiveMistaking density for sophistication seems to be the most common writing hurdle for non-creative writers. When youre writing to inform its important to convey authority without forfeiting clarity. Adopting the writing style of an academician might imply conviction, but will likely confuse mora than it will educate. Whether youre drafting a cover letter or a cold email, you dont want to afford the recipient any reasons to stop reading your email, in favor of a less mentally taxing one.Ladders recently had the pleasure of an interview with Senka Hadzimuratovic, the Head Of Communications over at Grammarly, about this very subject.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThe average email nutzer at a business receives more than 90 emails per day, and ever yone competes for attention. Managing this requires effective communication, which means focusing on clarity and concision, Hadzimuratovic told Ladders.She went on to provide some helpful ways to ensure your work remains concise yet informative. Finding your footing in a formal settingAvoid giving yourself opportunities to submit to long-winded verbiage, by implementing a mandatory length limit. Hadzimuratovic adds,Setting a limit will help you make your point faster and reduce unnecessary words. A study conducted by Boomerang found that emails between 75 and 100 words get the highest response rates. If word count is difficult for you to track, try limiting the number of sentences.In addition to a mandatory length limit, establish a goal for every single email you write, as to not overwhelm the reader with irrelevant details. Itll be easier to survey what sentences are redundant if you know the aim of the writing. Moreover, the clearer the objective of the email, the more likely the read er will finish reading and respond. Be sure to edit a few times before sending. Identify any instances where you could cut a sentence or two and still retain meaning.Make use of technologyAs many already know, Grammarly users are offered several presets designed to help execute the desired tone and mitigate grammatical errors. For instance, when a user selects Creative, Grammarly wont flag sentence fragments or other more creative stylistic flourishes. When a user selects Academic, Grammarly uses a stricter lens, alerting a writer to issues such as who versus whom or advising against the use of personal pronouns, which may be frowned upon in formal academic writing, Hadzimuratovic explained to Ladders.Before you write a cover letter, make sure you do some research, to better enable theGrammarly Editor to specify the writing style youre going for. As a general rule, if youre looking to land a job, Hadzimuratovic recommends you employ the Business domain, set goals of either Inform or Convince and apply the Formal writing style.Of course, its up to the writer to determine which of these presets apply best to the particular firm and industry of which they are applying. Even still, you always want to make sure you dont come across too formal. The Formal style, doesnt prohibit instances to advertise your personality, it just makes sure your writing conveys a literacy and a degree of professionalism. In cover letter writing, its important to avoid jargon or overly technical words, unless these are specifically relevant to the role. Ideally, identify the personenname of the hiring manager and refer to them by name, but if you must use a generic greeting, we suggest Dear Hiring Manager- a recent report shows 40% of hiring managers prefer that term.Before we wrapped up, I asked the Grammarly exec to choose three adjectives to describe a well-reasoned, cogent piece of writing.Concise, clear, personalized. Customize openers, subject lines, keywords, and closing statemen ts for your intended audience. Especially in cover letters, its important to tailor your message to show the company that youve done your research and are authentically interested.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people