Thanks to Peter Daines for contributing this article.
If you are thinking about going to law school, here are some basics that you should consider.
How do law schools pick applicants?
Most law schools like to say that they consider applicants holistically. This is not quite true. Ultimately, your GPA and LSAT scores are weighed very heavily. You can pretty accurately predict which law schools you will be accepted to based only on those two factors. There are even websites that predict it for you.
In general, your LSAT score is likely to account for about 50% of the admission “points” that are awarded, GPA gets another 40%, and all other factors combined will share the remaining 10%. This is a rough estimate, and different schools have different methods. Some schools publish their methods. But they’re all something like this.
By the time you start thinking seriously about applying to law school, your GPA is pretty fixed. But you can take the LSAT a couple of times to get up to the schools you want. Law schools do see all your scores, but most schools only care about your highest.
Where do I start with the LSAT?
The LSAT is important, but what exactly is it and how should a potential law student approach it?
The LSAT is a standardized test that is administered by the Law School Admissions Council (or LSAC). It is essentially a kind of IQ test in that in theory you only have to 1) understand what all of the words mean, and 2) have a good grasp of formal logic. But in practice, the test-writers follow patterns. That makes it learnable. If you can identify the patterns, then you can score well on the test.
The LSAT has four sections: a reading comprehension section, a “logic games” section, and two (logic-based) multiple choice sections. Scores range from 120-180. They are strictly tied to your percentage of correct answers relative to the average performance of all other test-takers for the same test.
There are a ton of free resources available online that can help you learn the LSAT:
- LSAC’s website. LSAC has a huge number of really useful free resources available to potential law students, so I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with their website. For example, they have videos describing the four basic sections of the LSAT here, 2 free practice tests along with various paid preparation resources available here, and the option to purchase copies of all previously-administered LSAT tests available here.
- Many youtube channels provide free videos where people work through and explain LSAT problems, for example here, and here, and here.
- LSAC free resources for aspiring law students page.
- Khan Academy “Official LSAT Prep” (created in collaboration with LSAC).
Other options: you can pay for a premium test-prep service or tutor, you can spam your brain with practice tests, or you can just take the LSAT cold. Personally, I (Peter) took the spamming-brain approach—I sat down and worked through a full practice test every day for a month straight, and then I took the test.
Whatever you do, I recommend having some kind of system in place so that you can maximize your performance. Give yourself a lot of time and a schedule (and stick to it!). A few months of hard study can potentially improve your score by 10 points or more. If you learn this test well, you can dramatically improve your chances of admission and scholarship at top law schools.
I have some acceptance letters. Which school should I pick?
There are two main questions here.
- How high was the school ranked by US News?
- What was the cost of attendance, after accounting for any scholarship offers?
Law schools know that all the other law schools are also deciding based on GPA and LSAT. They have a pretty good guess what other schools you’ll get into. If you are one of their “reach” applicants, they will probably offer you a merit-based scholarship to convince you to pick them. If you come from a lower or middle-class background, then many schools will also offer a need-based scholarship.
For example, I (Peter) had two clear contenders:
- Georgetown
- Rank: #13
- Scholarship: about $42,500/year (about 1/3 merit-based)
- Tuition (2014-2015): about $53,000/year
- USC
- Rank: #18
- Scholarship: about $45,000/year (entirely merit-based)
- Tuition (2014-2015): about $57,500/year
Given the higher rank and comparable scholarship offer, Georgetown ended up being a clear winner. But even with a great scholarship offer from a great school, I ended up with about $200,000 in debt by the time I graduated.
How does that happen? Here’s the breakdown:
- About $16,000 in carryover debt from my undergraduate degree. Most of it accrued interest for the three years in law school.
- The scholarship covered most of Georgetown’s tuition, but it still left about $10,000 unfunded in the first year, plus living expenses.
- Tuition increased by about $2,000 year until it was about $60,000/year when I graduated. Today, the cost is about $67,000.
- Living in a city like Washington, DC, will run you another $25,000-$30,000 per year.
- I chose to pursue a joint-degree program that included one extra semester of classes to get an LL.M. in Taxation. That extra semester cost an extra $31,000 or so in tuition alone ($45,000 in new debt including living expenses).
Without scholarship aid, I could easily have ended up with over $300,000 in debt. Law school is very expensive, with or without a scholarship, so you should think carefully about what you want to do with your career and whether law school will be a good investment for you. Only go to law school if you are sure you want to be a lawyer.
You can also bargain with law schools. For instance, tell USC how much of a scholarship Georgetown offered you. Asked if they would increase theirs to match it. Since USC has higher starting tuition, phrase this in terms of how much is left over for you to pay at each school. Presumably all schools know how much the other schools charge, but you might as well prompt the human reading your email to think they’re behind and need to catch up. Separately, ask Georgetown if they’ll match the dollar value USC offered you. I (Nathan) did this, and Georgetown offered me a bit more of a scholarship.
Other considerations:
- If you are going to a school outside of the top 20, then you should think carefully about whether you want to spend your career in the city where the school is located. Chances are, you will put down roots and make connections while you are going to law school, and you will have an easier time finding a job in that geographical region than in another locale.
- Religious affiliation.
- Some law schools have an overt religious affiliation. Others have a historical religious affiliation that doesn’t bleed too much into daily life at the school.
- Culture
- If you want to learn about the culture of a law school, I suggest visiting a few weeks before fall semester finals and chatting up some of the 1Ls—do you still want to go?
- Jobs
- A law school’s ranking on US News will tell you a lot about the job prospects that you will have when you graduate, but it may be more helpful if you research the actual percentages of students who went on to work in different settings.
- Keep in mind that some schools have been caught engaging in questionable practices with respect to reporting employment numbers, so approach with a healthy dose of skepticism.
If you have more questions or want to talk to someone who has gone through the process, reach out to a mentor on the legal careers team.
Mentors
- Founder and Managing Director, Lexpat Global Services.
- Senior Justice and Rule of Law Advisor, U.S. Department of State.
- Law Clerk, U.S. District Court.
- Associate Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense.
- I’ve also worked at the Department of Justice and a law firm.
- J.D., George Washington University Law School.
- M.S. in Strategic Intelligence, National Intelligence University.
- Certificate in Human Rights, Oxford.
- BA. in Political Science, UC Los Angeles.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English | Some Portuguese
I got my start in the legal field at 15 when a law firm hired me as an administrative assistant. Since then, I always worked while going to school, making sure I did anything and everything I could to learn more about the law.
- Judicial Law Clerk, Florida Second District Court of Appeal
- Juris Doctor, Florida State University College of Law
- Certified Legal Intern, Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office
- Law Clerk, Florida Office of the Attorney General
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, Gujarati, Hindi, Spanish
- Associate, Withersworldwide.
- Associate, Lalive.
- Staff Lawyer, Volterra Fieta.
- Lecturer in Law, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
- Associate, Baró Armengol Law Firm.
- Diplomatic Affairs Trainee, Spanish Embassy.
- Research Assistant, Institute of European Studies.
- Master’s in Public International Law, The London School of Economics and Political Science.
- Bachelor’s in Public International Law, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
- Exchange Student, International Law, University of California, Berkeley.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, Catalan, French, Spanish | Some German
I am currently located in Utah close to the Air Force base. I am a military child. I grew up traveling the states due to my father being relocated. I found my space in the world with law and sports.
- I’ve previously worked as a paralegal, legal secretary, and a restaurant hostess.
- B.S. in Legal Assistant/Paralegal, Broadview University.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English | Some Spanish
- Associate, Mayer Brown.
- Legal Policy Department Litigation Intern, ACLU of Northern California.
- I’ve also worked to defend youth and as a Judicial Extern.
- J.D., UC Berkeley School of Law.
- B.A. in Political Science and Legal Studies, UC Berkeley.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, Spanish | Some French
I’ve got years of experience doing research and field-work in some of the most complex political environments in the world. My professional experience has taken me all throughout Asia, ranging from India, where I lived for nearly three years, to North Korea, to which I have made two trips to date. In 2012, I spent most of the year living in Singapore, working on a project on emerging cybersecurity threats in the Asia-Pacific region.
My work tends to focus on issues relating to law, legal reform, and human rights, and also includes conflict resolution initiatives in crisis zones and deeply-divided societies. I have a unique portfolio of expertise, having worked in a number of remote and difficult-to-reach parts of the world, and I very much enjoy sharing my expertise and experience with anyone and everyone who holds an interest or who might be searching for a new perspective to open up a creative path in their own work.
Education for me is the most powerful form of activism there is, and I approach my professional craft with a spirit of engaged and constructive energy to push things as far as I can take them. I don’t consider it naive when people say they want to make the world a better place. I consider it defiantly courageous.
Aside from academic articles and an ever- growing number of online essays meant for a more general audience, I have recently published six books.
- Professor in Global Studies and Political Science, UC Berkeley.
- Ph.D. in International Law, History, Comparative Politics, UC Berkeley.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: All (This is to the best of knowledge of this website’s content editors.)
Hi! I am one of the founders of this website. I graduated from U.C. Berkeley and Georgetown Law. Here is some of my background:
Legal
- Attorney Advisor at the National Commission on Service (constitutional law, reports, ethics, policy, a ton of legislative drafting).
- Privacy/Cybersecurity Litigation Associate at a big law firm in D.C.
- Litigation work, experience in national security/cybersecurity/data privacy with the Department of Defense, the FCC, the Department of State, and Ingenico.
Scientific
- Taught programming (Python) to law students with Prof. Paul Ohm.
- Supernova cosmology research with Nobel Laureate Saul Perlmutter at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.
- Supersymmetry research with the CMS experiments at CERN.
- Particle and astrophysics research at the U.S. Dept. of Energy, Fermilab.
Writing
- This website 🙂 and our Medium blog and our novels.
- Short stories & poetry, was a freelance columnist for The Boston Globe and The Washington Times, author of The Eyes of Mikra, a spy/war novella.
Other stuff
- Love music and have played the piano for 20 years. Classically trained in Western Honors Chorus & Hindustani/Carnatic.
- Speak English, German, French, Spanish, Kannada, Hindi.
- Love art.
I am always happy to help people, especially with general career planning and mental health advice. As a young woman of color, I am always particularly glad to meet Gen Z’ers and minorities of all stripes (race, gender, sexuality, etc.).
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English | Some German, Spanish, Hindi, & French
I have been practicing patent law for 40 years. I have served as in-house counsel to S&P 500 corporations and startups, and at NASA, the National Labs, and Universities. My law firm experience includes both boutique and major law firms. I have written patents in diverse technologies, such as: The Human Genome Project, NASA, medical devices, materials research, MEMs, etc. My clients in the University of California, Becton Dickinson, and Proteus Digital Health.
- Consultant, Business Development and Patent Drafting.
- Associate Director, Office of Technology Licensing, University of California, Berkeley.
- Intellectual Property Counsel, Proteus Digital Health.
- Senior Intellectual Property Counsel, Becton Dickinson.
- Senior Counsel, Heller Ehrman.
- Patent Counsel, NASA Ames.
- Patent Attorney, University of California.
- Patent Attorney, U.S. Navy.
- Patent Examiner, U.S. Patent Officce.
- Associate, Bernard & Brown.
- Attorney Advisor, Judge Daniel Davidson.
- I’ve also worked pro-bono to remove smoking ads from public transport and shelters, banning flavored tobacco in San Francisco, and carcinogenic industrial waste removal.
- J.D., George Mason University School of Law.
- M.S. in Genetics, George Washington University.
- B.S. in Genetics, U.C. Berkeley.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
Hi! I’m one of the founders of this website. I graduated from USC in math and philosophy and Georgetown Law.
Here’s some of the hats I’ve worn before:
Appellate Attorney representing disabled veterans.
Law Fellow at the Northern Virginia Capital Defender Office. Virginia has specialized death penalty defense offices who get called in whenever the state tries to execute someone. I was performing research, writing motions, and interviewing possible mitigation witnesses.
Volunteer Attorney, at several different places.
—Rising for Justice, doing civil protection order defense (I swear we’re the good guys.) A disturbingly large fraction of protective orders aren’t people in danger of domestic abuse, but people who figured out this is a quicker way to get rid of someone than getting an eviction. Rising for Justice takes those cases.
—Institute for Justice, performing legal research for cases fighting civil forfeiture.
—Helpful Engineering, giving legal advice to engineers trying to produce supplies to fight COVID-19.
Miscellany:
I also write things. This website, Medium blogs, and I will write sonnets or song parodies about philosophy or current events on request.
I am not very good at fencing. My goal was to get good enough to effortlessly beat a majority of non-fencers, just in case it ever came up.
I’m better at chess, and would play tournaments occasionally if not for the quarantine.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
I am currently the Senior Editor of an online legal publication by the name of The Law Review Anthology. This role has helped me develop well rounded research and writing skills. As a final year law student (Batch of 2020), from Government Law College, Mumbai, I have had a successful legal education, having completed 14 internships at some of the most prestigious firms in India. As a first generation lawyer, I did not have anyone to guide me due to which it took me some time to find my feet. I am sure that with a mentor many aspects of one’s career can become easier and quicker. I wish to pass down the knowledge that I gained over the past five years to my juniors who are trying hard to pave their path in this brutally competitive world. My passion to help is inspired by the words of Swami Vivekanand, “A person who is educated through the society and grows through it, but does not give back to it is a traitor”
- Senior Editor, The Law Review Anthology
- Diploma in Cyber law, Asian School of Cyber Law
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, Hindi, Tamil
- Associate Attorney, Kilpatrick Townsend, & Stockton.
- I’ve also clerked at the U.S. Tax Court, interned for a federal district court judge, and worked as a legal fellow on the Hill.
- J.D. & L.L.M. in Taxation, Georgetown University Law Center. I was an Executive Editor for the Tax Lawyer.
- B.A. in Law and Constitutional Studies, Utah State University.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, French, Spanish | Some Arabic, German, Japanese, & Mandarin
I am an experienced legal advisor to senior government leaders on governance and compliance, risk avoidance and mitigation, and public policy. Results-oriented counselor with strong record of resolving complex and high-profile legal matters for individuals and organizations. Proven leader with proficiency in building, managing, and leading high-performance teams.
- Deputy General Counsel, National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service
- Master of Laws – LLM, Georgetown University Law Center
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
- Patent Attorney with experience litigating in Gujarat, India.
- I’m passionate about service and volunteer to provide education to underprivileged children.
- L.L.M. in Tech, Entertainment, and Media, U.S.C. Gould School of Law
- L.L.B. in Legal Studies, Sir L.A. Shah Law College
- B.S. in Biotechnology, St. Xaviers College
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English, Gujarati, Hindi
Third year BB.A L.LB. student from Mumbai, cricket enthusiast, and listener in the world of story-tellers.
- Content Writer, Libertatem.in.
- BBA LLB in Law, SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
- Data Privacy Analyst with Syneos Health and tons of experience in the data privacy field.
- Lawyer with a Bachelors in Business and a Masters in Cyber Security.
- Interned at Philly’s DA’s Office and clerked for a Judge.
- Founded a Cyber Law Society.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English
I’m an international lawyer at the U.S. Department of the Treasury where I specialize in matters at the intersection of foreign policy, national security, and economics and finance. Previously, I served as an attorney at the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service and, earlier, as an associate in the International Trade and National Security group at a leading international law firm. I hold a J.D. from Georgetown University and a B.S. from Cornell University and am admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the State of New York. In my free time, I enjoy going for long outdoor runs, completing New York Times crossword puzzles, and analyzing geopolitical trends and prospective investment opportunities.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English | Some French
- Research Associate, Prof. Narinder Singh. I researched bilateral investment treaties.
- Founder, HopeBright Legal Empowerment Foundation.
- Fellow, Teach for India.
- I’ve also interned in the law and in human rights.
- Bachelor of Law, ICFAI University Dehradun.
- Master of Law, University of Bern, World Trade University.
If you’d like to contact me, please send me a message through our Contact page.
Languages: English