Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Job Market

It's tough out there.

Here is a summary of the applications for law-related jobs I have submitted to date: six to judges, four to private firms, five to federal agencies, and ten to state agencies. About half of those jobs required a law degree; the other half were administrative jobs in legal departments. I have also applied for fourteen jobs outside the legal field. All of my applications were for advertised jobs; I have only cold-called the one or two places I most want to work.

My applications have resulted in five unsuccessful interviews, the last of which was about six weeks ago. I have been politely rejected without an interview six times. Sixteen of my applications got no response at all. That leaves twelve jobs that are either still open or closed recently enough that I am still hoping for a response.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Law School: What's the Big Deal?

I finished law school and passed the bar, so I guess I am now qualified to answer the question I posed when I named this blog three years ago: Is law school really that big a deal?

Nah. The workload does seem to be heavier than the average graduate program, and certain aspects of law school culture do seem calculated to stress students out (the Socratic method, the obsession with class rank, the all-importance of final exams), but one gets inured to these things. I certainly don't think I had it as tough as my acquaintances who went to medical school.

At bottom, law school is like any other academic program. The teachers tell the students what to do. The students who do those things make good grades. The students who cut corners make poor grades. If one doesn't care about one's grades, it is even possible to coast through law school on a bare minimum of effort.

The bar exam, on the other hand, is a very big deal. The bar exam is the reason you shouldn't coast through law school, even if you can. I don't think the risk of failure is significantly higher on the bar exam than it is on the average law school test (about 84% of my graduating class passed the Arkansas bar), but the stakes are terribly high. Failure on a semester test ruins your GPA, but failure on the bar exam practically negates your law degree. The eight weeks prior to the bar exam and the five weeks after were the worst period of sustained stress I have ever experienced.

The conclusion I draw from the last three years is that law school probably doesn't deserve its scary reputation, but the bar exam most assuredly does.

Friday, September 9, 2011

It's Official

I just got the receipt for my $125 license fee from the Clerk of the Supreme Court of Arkansas, along with my license number. I am now as legally qualified as the best lawyer in the state to draft your will or represent you in that million dollar slip-and-fall lawsuit.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Bar Results

PASS. Winning, tiger blood, etcetera. Congratulations to all my fellow travelers.