Working as a paralegal first can give potential students a glimpse at the daylight-to-day realities of being a jurisprudenceyer.
Careful planning is the name of the game these days for mickle considering practice of truth take. The boilers suit percentage of new grads employed has fallen all class since 2007, with just under 2 thirds of the class of 2011 conclusion line of productss that require bar passage, according to NALP—the Association for Legal career Professionals.
Fewer than half of those jobs were at law firms, and far more graduates than in past familys found positions in smaller or mid-size offices instead of large firms, which often offer higher pay. Overall, the median value starting salary for 2011 grads swear outing full time poisonous to $60,000, down about 5 percent from a stratum earlier. Starting pay at law firms fell nonetheless further—to $85,000 from $104,000.
Given the sobering numbers, experts say that you should begin your law cultivate search by getting a genuine intellect of what lawyers do and a clear idea of what you hope to extend to with a law degree. To help potential applicants navigate the occupy of the process, U.S. News pitched six key questions to several dozen professors, attorneys, and law students.
[Find tips and advice for applying to law drill.]
1. Will it be easier to get in this year? Earning admission is still a competitive process that hinges on an applicant's credentials, including LSAT score.
But over the past two years, the number of law school applicants is down more than 22 percent, according to preliminary info from the nonprofit Law School Admission Council. And early selective information for fall 2013 suggests the numbers could fall another fifth this year alone.
Roughly half of law schools have reduced their incoming class sizes for fall 2013, according to a November 2012 Kaplan Test Prep survey. Still, "for well-nigh students, it should be much easier to get in to the law school of their choice than in any year in new memory," says Frank Wu, chancellor and dean of the University of California Hastings College of the Law.
Fewer applicants overall means that those with lower credentials might have a better shot at getting in at a reach school. "Schools will be dipping much deeper into the pond than they would have in the past," says Brian Tamanaha, professor of law at capital letter University in St. Louis School of Law and author of Failing Law Schools.
Financial help packages could get better, too. Forty-seven percent of law schools increased instigate to students for 2012-2013, according to the Kaplan survey.
[Learn more about paying for law school.]
2. Should you work first? The verdict, from admissions counselors and hiring partners: Work experience can only help. The job doesn't have to be in the legal field to touch admissions, though working as a paralegal or volunteering for a legal nonprofit can give prospective students a reality check.
Recruiters, too, tend to look favorably upon a substantial résumé. "Firms like that because they're seeing masses ... who are ready to hit the ground running from day one," says Richard Batchelder, a partner who leads hiring at Ropes & Gray. About two thirds of the firm's most recent summer associate classes have taken some time off to work before law school, he says.
3. What should you look for in the curriculum? Partners and other people who hire new attorneys are demanding hands-on experience—grads who not only know the principles of corporate law, but who have very done project work for local small patronage owners, for instance.
Materials taken from US News
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