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It is important to note that not all institutions offer law school interviews. In fact, it is rare for law schools beyond the Top 20 to offer interviews to applicants.  Some of the most well-regarded law schools invite all students to interview, other institutions send invitations depending on the limited number of interview slots, and some invite only the top candidates. Law school interviews are an added component to provide the admissions committee with more context on who you are, how you’ve pursued your commitments, and how you’d fit into the school. (Paramita, 2019) These interviews may be conducted in-person, online, or over the phone. In order to prepare for your interview here are some topics law schools might cover. 

 

Topics covered during a law school interview

Law schools want to learn more about your personality and confidence. Some questions will relate to your career choice and school, others to your personality and attitude to certain situations during your studies, or once you practice law. 

Resume and college transcript

The interviewer will ask about your undergraduate experience and past job opportunities you have listed on your resume. Take some time to think about those experiences and how they make you a top applicant for that particular institution. Make sure to bring a physical copy of your resume in a professional folder so that the interviewer can read over your resume.

Knowledge about the law school

Before your interview, research as much as you can about the law school. Look at their history, mission statement, the university’s value, academic groups, and social media accounts. The interviewers might want to know why you want to attend and how you are a right fit for the school.

Personal questions

The interviewer will most likely start off by asking you to tell them more about yourself. The most common questions are, “why do you want to become a lawyer?” “What are the areas of law that interest you the most?” and “What do you see yourself doing in law in 10-15 years from now?” During your preparation, make sure to practice answering the most common questions. Be ready to answer questions that cover your background and law interests. 

Check out this pdf to learn more about the potential questions they might ask.

 

I recommended checking out Indeed’s How to Prepare for an Interview to read more about the interview strategies that might help you through the admission process. 

 

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In order of Valentine’s Day, here are some law-themed valentine’s day cards to share with your significant other or law partner!

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Reference

Law, H. U. C. (2018, March 31). UC HASTINGS VALENTINES OF THE LAW – UC hastings law. Medium. https://medium.com/@UCHastingsLaw/uc-hastings-valentines-of-the-law-41f97470817a

Paramita, P. (2019, November 26). Law school interviews guide: Everything you need to know. InGenius Prep. https://ingeniusprep.com/blog/law-school-interviews/

Avoiding Burnout in Law School [5 Tips to Prevent Student Burnout]

Law students deal with demanding schedules, and after having long periods of constant stress, it can often make you feel burnt out. You do not want to be in this debilitating state as a student, so here are five tips for dealing with student burnout. First, let us look into what “burnout” is.

What is “Burnout”?

According to the World Health Organization, burnout “is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three-dimensional feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job or feeling negativism or cynicism related to one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy. (World Health Organization, 2019) Burnout is characterized as constantly feeling exhausted, frustrated, and lacking motivation. As a law student who experiences large amounts of stress for an extended period of time, in order to prevent burnout, it is essential to know what causes it.

What are the common causes of student burnout?

In a study conducted by BMC Medical Education, academic burnout is one of the common challenges that affect students’ motivation and academic eagerness, so they decided to investigate the academic burnout, rate of depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as related factors among undergraduate medical students at the Tehran Medical Sciences Islamic Azad University.
According to the research study, the present study estimated the prevalence of academic burnout to be between 9.2 and 23.4%, considering the 5% error in the calculation. Possible causes of job burnout are the feeling of lack of control, dysfunctional dynamics, needing constant energy to remain focused, lack of social support, and work-life imbalance. Even though this study was focused on medical students, a high-stress career, like law school, is associated with a high percentage of stress, “Law students start law school with high life satisfaction and strong mental health measures. Nevertheless, within the first year of law school, they experience a significant increase in anxiety and depression. Research suggests that law students are among the most dissatisfied, demoralized, and depressed of any graduate student population.” (ABA, 2017) Now that we have listed out the common causes, we can dive into the best ways to handle burnout.

Preventing Burnout

Know the warning signs

It is critical to recognize and familiarize yourself with the early signs of burnout and anticipate its cause. The earlier you can identify the feeling of burnout, the faster it will be to address and take action before it progresses to severe mental health issues.

Take care of your physical and mental health

Prioritizing your physical and mental health can ensure you stay in a healthy headspace during tough times. Take care of your mental health by staying away from situations that cause anxiety, making time to exercise, balancing alone time and social activities, and seeking counseling.

Set boundaries

As a student, you want to take on any challenges and accept as many opportunities that come your way. However, it is essential to set boundaries and learn how to say “no.” Only you are aware of how much stress and busyness you can handle.

Keep track of your sleep

As mentioned in my previous blog post, sleep is incredibly important for various aspects of your brain function. Having late-night study sessions might give you the illusion of productivity, but you will perform better academically by prioritizing sleep. Having good sleep has improved problem-solving skills and enhanced memory performance. 

You do not have to go through it alone

Do not be afraid to ask for help. Many higher-education institutions have several resources, mental health professionals, and counseling services to help you cope with the symptoms and causes of burnout. 

If you want to learn more, watch the video below to learn more about how to avoid burnout.

References

Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International classification of diseases. (2019, May 28). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases

Vries, Hooff, M. L. M. van, Geurts, S. A. ., and Kompier, M. A. . (2016). Exercise as an intervention to reduce study-related fatigue among university students: A two-arm parallel randomized controlled trial. PloS One, 11(3), e0152137–e0152137. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152137

Buchanan, B., Coyle, J., Brafford, A., Campbell, D., Camson, J., Gruber, C., Harrell, T., Jaffe, D., Kepler, T., Krill, P., Lemons, D., Myers, S., Newbold, C., Reardon, J., Shaheed, J. D., Shely, L., Slease, W., & White, J. (2017). The path to lawyer Well-Being: Practical recommendations for positive change (the report of the national task force on lawyer Well-Being), part II, recommendations for law schools. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3021218

Job burnout: How to spot it and take action. (2021, June 5). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642

Curtis, K. (2021, July 13). What is college student burnout? Signs, symptoms, and how to get help. EduMed. https://www.edumed.org/resources/college-student-burnout-survival/

How to avoid burnout: Crash course business – soft skills #17. (2019, July 3). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJq9zVLu5_Q

Law school is hard, demanding, competitive, and stressful. While we all recognize the importance of studying, sometimes it can be difficult to put effective study methods into practice. Here are some studying tips and habits you can apply to help you develop a foundation to perform well.

 

Plan your work

Dedicate an hour a week to plan out your week! Investing in a traditional planner or digital scheduling platform can help you manage and organize all your assignments. This will help you practice good time management and track your goals.

 

Avoid procrastination

When you get ahead in your readings, you can better avoid falling behind. The best way to avoid procrastination is to write down a deadline for yourself earlier. By taking the time to do it in advance it will save you so much time later and stress!

 

Form a Study Group

Getting together with your colleagues can encourage you to think creatively and build strong communication skills. Students that participate in study groups feel more confident and comfortable reaching for their academic groups.

Create Your Own Outlines

Outlining will help fully understand the large amounts of content given to you during your classes. Manipulating and organizing the material on your own is a great way to identify what you know – and what areas might need more practice or study. Relying on a bar-prep book or, worse, another student’s old outline, might save you time in the short run but certainly won’t help you fully digest important information. (Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, 2018)

Prioritize sleep

Sleep is incredibly important for various aspects of your brain function. Having good sleep has been shown to improve problem-solving skills and enhance memory performance. According to Healthline, cognition, concentration, productivity, and performance are all negatively affected by sleep deprivation.

 

 

References

Foley, M. (2018, August 8). 7 tips for surviving law school (from current law students). ABA for Law Students. https://abaforlawstudents.com/2018/08/13/7-tips-for-surviving-law-school-from-current-law-students/

Leech, M. J. S. (2022, January 6). 10 reasons to get more sleep. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-reasons-why-good-sleep-is-important#2.-Can-improve-concentration-and-productivity

Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. (2018). The 10 habits of highly successful law students. https://info.cooley.edu/blog/the-10-habits-of-successful-law-students

What is the NCBE?

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) is an organization that works with other institutions to develop, maintain, and apply reasonable and uniform standards of education and character for eligibility for admission to the practice of law. The NCBE mission is “to promote fairness, integrity, and best practices in admission to the legal profession for the benefit and protection of the public.” (Diversity, Fairness, and Inclusion, 2022) They are dedicated work to eliminating any aspects of the bar examinations that could contribute to performance disparities among different groups. The NCBE provides the MPRE, UBE, MBE, MEE, and MPT.

The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE)

The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination is a two-hour-long examination that consists of 60 multiple-choice questions. The purpose of this examination is to measure the candidate’s knowledge and understanding of established standards related to the professional conduct of lawyers. This examination is administered three times a year and candidates are advised to check with the bar admissions agency in their jurisdiction to seek admission before registering.

Learn more

 

Uniform Bar Examination (UBE)

The Uniform Bar Examination is composed of the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), two Multistate Performance Test (MPT) tasks, and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). This examination is designed to test the knowledge and skill that every lawyer should be able to demonstrate prior to becoming licensed to practice law. It is administered, graded, and scored in accordance with the best practices by the jurisdiction that adopts it.

Learn more

 

Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)

The Multistate Bar Examination is a six-hour, 200 multiple-choice examination that covers Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Civil procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts. The MBE is designed to assess the extent to which the candidate can apply the fundamental legal principles and legal reasoning to analyze given fact patterns. It is important to note that each jurisdiction determines its own policy with regard to the relative weight given to the MBE and other scores.

Learn more

 

Multistate Essay Examination (MEE)

The Multistate Essay Examination is a collection of thirty-minute essay questions. The purpose of this exam is to test the ability to identify legal issues raised by a hypothetical factual situation, separate material which is relevant from that which is not, present a reasoned analysis of the relevant issues in a clear, concise, and well-organized composition, and demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental legal principles relevant to the probable solution of the issues raised by the factual situation. The candidates are tested over areas of law such as Business Associations, Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Family Law, Real Property, Torts, Trusts and Estates, and Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code.

Learn more

 

Multistate Performance Test (MPT)

The Multistate Performance Test consists of two 90-minute questions covering legal analysis, fact analysis, problem-solving, resolution of ethical dilemmas, organization and management of a lawyering task, and communication. The MPT is designed to evaluate certain fundamental skills lawyers are expected to demonstrate regardless of the area of law in which the skills are applied. This examination evaluates the ability to use fundamental lawyering skills in a realistic situation and complete a task that a beginning lawyer should be able to accomplish.

Learn more

 

In order to obtain a practice law, all law school graduates must apply for bar admission through a state board of bar examiners. Visit the National Conference of Bar Examiners website to learn more about the NCBE exams.

Check out the following blog for the most popular studying tips you can use for your studying.

 

Reference

Diversity, fairness, and inclusion. (2022). NCBE. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://www.ncbex.org/about/diversity-fairness-and-inclusion/

Multistate professional responsibility examination. (2022). NCBE. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mpre/

Uniform bar examination. (2022). NCBE. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://www.ncbex.org/exams/ube/

Multistate bar examination. (2022). NCBE. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mbe/

Multistate essay examination. (2022). NCBE. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mee/

Multistate performance test. (2022). NCBE. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mpt/

I understand how law school can be very overwhelming. Perhaps you are adjusting to a new city, re-learning how to study law school from your undergrad experience, or breaking into a notoriously challenging legal field. The important thing to remember is that you’re not alone, no matter the circumstances.

As I started working closely with law students, I noticed that there is never enough advice for young lawyers! There is always something new to learn, from first-year law students to those taking the Bar Exam, so feel free to join and help build a community where law students, lawyers, and people interested in the legal field can share their experiences.

As you continue on your journey through law school, remember to check out the National Conference of Bar Examiners website for all the important dates and resources you need to prepare for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, Uniform Bar Examination, Multistate Bar Examination, Multistate Essay Examination, or the Multistate Performance Test! 

Check out the following blog, explaining the differences between all NCBE Exams.

 

References

Home. (2022). NCBE. https://www.ncbex.org/