Pre-Law Orientation 2024

Daniela Martinez Author

09/30/2024 Added

13 Plays

Description

This workshop is designed for any student considering applying to law school in the future. Freshmen through seniors will hear what it means to be pre-law, how to best plan your undergraduate education for law school success, and what makes a competitive applicant. We will discuss specific timelines for undergraduate preparation for law school admission.

Searchable Transcript

Search:

[00:00:00.000]Hi everyone, my name is Daniela Martinez and I'm an academic advisor at the Explore Center.
[00:00:09.340]I'm here to present to you about our pre-law orientation. So this is meant for students
[00:00:16.600]who are new to pre-law and kind of start understanding what it means to be a pre-law
[00:00:24.140]student and how you can be strategic and plan for your pre-law pathway.
[00:00:29.900]So here is a bit of our agenda. Like I said, we'll cover what pre-law means.
[00:00:41.260]We'll also talk about any ways that you can begin exploring legal careers,
[00:00:48.400]as well as develop important skills and attributes that you'll need
[00:00:53.680]to be a pre-law student. So I'm going to start with the first one, which is how you can be a
[00:00:54.000]to be successful in law school and beyond in a career in the legal profession.
[00:00:59.400]We'll touch a little bit about the timeline for applying to law school.
[00:01:06.060]It may not be like on your radar right now, but may be more relevant in the future. However,
[00:01:13.920]I do find sharing a bit about what that may look like for you can be helpful. So you know what is
[00:01:20.980]coming up.
[00:01:23.540]And then we'll also talk about just ways that the Explore Center can help support you in your journey as a pre-law student.
[00:01:31.740]So pre-law is an advising category here on campus. We call these pre-professional pathways a prep plan.
[00:01:43.300]If you are receiving communication and emails from Explore Center regarding pre-law,
[00:01:53.080]programming, then that likely means you already have this designation on your profile.
[00:01:59.200]But if not, the way that you would add this would be by emailing explorecenter@unl.edu
[00:02:08.000]or speaking directly with your major advisor about adding the pre-law prep plan. What this
[00:02:14.340]means is you will then be tagged as a pre-law student and just be on our radar and on our
[00:02:22.620]pre-law roster to receive any communications we may be sending out. With that being said, pre-law
[00:02:30.760]is not a degree granting program so you cannot graduate from UNL with a degree in pre-law.
[00:02:37.740]Students will still choose a major from one of the colleges here on campus for your bachelor's
[00:02:44.520]degree and you can pick any major and go on to law school, so there isn't any particular
[00:02:52.160]requirements about a specific major that you'll need before going on to law school.
[00:02:59.600]A little bit about what a law program looks like. It's typically a three-year-long program
[00:03:07.880]after you graduate with your bachelor's degree. Typically the first year, or 1L
[00:03:14.720]students have a common curriculum or foundational courses that are applicable to
[00:03:21.700]everyone and then for the second and third years there may be some choices
[00:03:29.200]that you can make regarding the types of courses or training that you'd like to
[00:03:34.580]receive. So this can vary depending on which law program that you go to but it's
[00:03:43.000]a bit of a glimpse of what that structure may look like or that format. So
[00:03:51.240]if you're watching this you've probably been thinking about a career in law
[00:03:56.760]possibly for some time or maybe it's something that has just been a thought
[00:04:04.520]for you lately and you're investigating more about it. There are several benefits
[00:04:10.440]of attending law school. One of them is just the job opportunities and outlook
[00:04:16.580]in that profession. So
[00:04:20.780]skill sets that are important for law schools and a career as a lawyer include
[00:04:29.460]a lot of writing and critical thinking, problem solving. All those types of skill
[00:04:36.280]sets are very marketable in multiple industries. Sometimes students go on to
[00:04:43.800]law school and take the bar exam to become practicing attorneys. But there are
[00:04:50.320]also ways that you can implement a degree from law school into other
[00:04:56.480]industries or other areas like banking and finance, law enforcement, consulting,
[00:05:03.080]human resources, and government and politics. So attending law school and
[00:05:11.220]earning your JD degree doesn't always necessarily mean that you will be a
[00:05:19.860]practicing attorney if there are other career interests that you have. A lot of the skills that you learned in a
[00:05:23.740]degree like this or a program like this are very helpful. We often think about
[00:05:29.700]lawyers having high earning potential, and that can be true. At the same time,
[00:05:35.380]it's likely that lawyers are working more than 40 hours a week, and there's
[00:05:43.960]also a high cost of attending law school. So there's also that
[00:05:49.400]debt and loan repayment aspect that is there to consider.
[00:05:54.700]If you like to be challenged and you like to be someone who continues to learn,
[00:06:03.080]going to law school is a great way to do that. It is a rigorous type of program.
[00:06:12.080]So if you identify with needing to and wanting to learn
[00:06:18.940]more and being challenged, this is a great way to be able to do that.
[00:06:25.240]During law school, they utilize a case method approach. So a lot of times you'll get
[00:06:33.720]documentation about a case that you'll go through and kind of treat it as a case study and
[00:06:39.940]be able to explore the facts that are presented, think about the legal principles that are present,
[00:06:48.480]in that scenario, think about conclusions and be analytical about, you know, what the outcome here
[00:06:57.680]can be or would look like. So it is a way to, you know, be challenged every day and,
[00:07:08.560]you know, be able to put that thinking hat on. So if you're looking for ways to
[00:07:18.020]learn more about legal careers, there's a few different ways to do so. At UNL, there's a course
[00:07:26.060]that's offered in the fall semesters only called Introduction to Legal Professions.
[00:07:31.340]In the last few years, Dr. Dean Moberly has been leading this class and oftentimes brings
[00:07:40.600]various guest speakers and guest lecturers, typically professors from UNL Law School to come and
[00:07:47.560]talk about their work and about their focus area. So you do get to be exposed to that case studies
[00:07:56.400]approach and start learning more about the legal system and get a glimpse of that.
[00:08:03.820]We also offer a variety of law-related coursework at UNL from various departments like
[00:08:11.660]criminal justice, sociology, business law, political science,
[00:08:17.100]that may be relevant to your interests. So you can talk to your academic advisor or visit
[00:08:22.280]with an Explore Center advisor about some of the coursework that may be relevant for you
[00:08:28.140]or that you're interested in. There's also a podcast that you can look at, I Am the Law,
[00:08:34.840]and that's available online through the LSAC website.
[00:08:40.260]Lots of student involvement opportunities as well, such as Pre-Law Club.
[00:08:46.640]Many students who are pre-law also enjoy mock trial. That's a great way to get experience
[00:08:55.240]with that analysis and case studies, because you'll get to do that in an opportunity like that.
[00:09:07.260]Student government is also something that you may consider. Also think about the network in
[00:09:16.180]your life and whether there are family members, instructors, community members that are doing
[00:09:26.120]some of the work that you're passionate about or would like to learn more about. See if you can
[00:09:34.280]make some new connections based on those and sharing with others that you're interested
[00:09:38.960]in pursuing a career in the legal field. Usually someone in your life may know or have a
[00:09:45.720]connection to people who are doing that work and you can kind of use that as a jumping point
[00:09:52.280]and possibly contact them for an informational interview or a shadowing
[00:09:58.480]opportunity, even jobs sometimes that can get you that exposure. With that being said, there's
[00:10:07.400]also internships and organizations on campus that can offer opportunities for advocacy and
[00:10:15.260]volunteering and internships. So be on the lookout for the job and internship fairs,
[00:10:22.240]which usually are hosted each semester by Career Services. You can also pay attention
[00:10:28.960]to the Explore Center emails for unique opportunities and even social media.
[00:10:35.720]Social media or LinkedIn can be great jumping points as well. There are a variety of different types
[00:10:44.800]of law out there, sometimes areas that maybe we didn't initially think about. So it's great to
[00:10:52.720]learn more about, you know, the broad and diverse aspects of legal careers.
[00:10:59.380]Here are a couple of examples that you can utilize for exploration. These events
[00:11:10.460]are going on during Fall 2024.
[00:11:14.340]There is a Law Degrees In Action event where there will be alumni from UNL College of Law
[00:11:24.580]that will be sharing about how they're currently using their law degree and what their work looks
[00:11:30.660]like. And then there's also a virtual event about public interest lawyers and how Nebraska Law may
[00:11:40.000]be a good place to receive education and training if you are interested in becoming a public interest attorney.
[00:11:43.880]So I've been foreshadowing some of these skill sets throughout the PowerPoint, but these clusters of skill sets and attributes are important for success in the legal profession.
[00:12:07.180]Of course, we think about analytical reasoning, public service,
[00:12:13.420]and justice promotion, you know, organization and relationships are important in this type of field.
[00:12:22.960]So, when you're thinking about your own involvement
[00:12:25.740]or how you would like to move forward,
[00:12:27.880]you can reflect about how these clusters of skill sets
[00:12:33.100]and attributes may be showing up for you
[00:12:36.760]and how they've manifested.
[00:12:38.620]Or if there's an area here that you would like to grow in,
[00:12:42.320]you can be intentional about finding opportunities
[00:12:46.160]to grow in that field.
[00:12:52.100]There's a few more examples of ways to explore or opportunities
[00:12:56.540]to take advantage of to build that well-roundedness
[00:13:03.620]and learn more about yourself and expose yourself
[00:13:06.560]to new things.
[00:13:10.080]So there is going to be a Global Experiences Fair September
[00:13:16.460]17th from 11:00 to 2:00 in the Union Plaza.
[00:13:21.240]Again, if you aren't able to make these events during Fall
[00:13:25.040]2024, there are still ways that you can get some
[00:13:29.180]of this information.
[00:13:31.860]Particularly with Global Experiences,
[00:13:34.440]you can visit their office inside Louise Pound Hall
[00:13:37.360]to learn more about programs that you
[00:13:39.740]might be interested in.
[00:13:43.640]We've also sent out an opportunity
[00:13:46.700]through our pre-law emails in the last couple of weeks
[00:13:49.660]as a legal runner.
[00:13:51.220]So opportunities like this, as I mentioned,
[00:13:55.000]can be found through our emails, also through Handshake,
[00:14:00.520]and even networking.
[00:14:01.820]So be thinking about any opportunities as far as job
[00:14:08.200]goes to expose yourself to working in the legal area
[00:14:14.360]or at a firm.
[00:14:16.660]There's also an interesting connection
[00:14:19.120]through Insect Science Club.
[00:14:21.200]There's an initiative through the One Health program
[00:14:26.880]where they've been a part of that
[00:14:29.260]and been looking at some of the policy that
[00:14:33.840]is taking place within the areas of wildlife
[00:14:39.220]and natural resources.
[00:14:41.960]So that can be a unique opportunity
[00:14:45.880]to be a part of that.
[00:14:49.260]And then usually, also, each summer,
[00:14:51.180]semester, there's a program that
[00:14:53.620]is run by SLICE, the Student Involvement Office on campus.
[00:14:59.120]And that is the Nonprofits in Residence program.
[00:15:03.000]So they host various non-profits throughout the semester
[00:15:09.360]to come and do some tabling, typically at the Union.
[00:15:13.780]And that's a great time, also, to gain experience and network
[00:15:17.700]and see what opportunities there are for
[00:15:21.160]volunteering and internships and advocacy work,
[00:15:25.660]if that's something that you're interested in.
[00:15:27.760]So in terms of some action steps that you can take moving forward
[00:15:37.720]would be to, one, sign up for an account through LSAC.org.
[00:15:43.300]The LSAC is the Law School Admission Council.
[00:15:46.180]So they are the organization that handles
[00:15:51.140]the law school admission process.
[00:15:53.760]And also, they are the writers of the LSAT exam,
[00:15:58.700]which I'll touch on a little bit in the next few slides.
[00:16:03.560]So visiting this website is great.
[00:16:05.540]It has lots of free resources about exploring legal careers,
[00:16:11.540]law school directories.
[00:16:13.940]They offer different forums and webinars
[00:16:17.340]that can be helpful as you prepare to enter law
[00:16:21.120]school.
[00:16:21.620]So signing up for an account is a great way
[00:16:23.780]to stay in the know about what they have going on.
[00:16:28.800]We talked a lot recently about joining clubs or activities
[00:16:38.060]and being involved in various different ways
[00:16:41.180]to help you grow and explore your interests and your
[00:16:44.840]passions and learn more about the legal career.
[00:16:49.480]You can utilize
[00:16:51.100]the academic and career advising centers
[00:16:54.940]for exploring majors, to prepare for internships
[00:16:59.320]and career fairs, networking.
[00:17:02.800]So please visit with the Explore Center
[00:17:04.600]or the academic advising or career advising team
[00:17:08.500]members from your college.
[00:17:12.340]And then, of course, wanting to be able to find a good balance
[00:17:21.080]between work and school, establishing
[00:17:26.400]great healthy habits and good time management skills
[00:17:32.120]that you can carry on into your time in law school and beyond.
[00:17:37.920]I had also put in a plug here for the Pre-Law Club.
[00:17:46.720]They were meeting this month in September.
[00:17:51.060]If you're interested in joining the club this Fall 2024,
[00:17:56.780]you can contact the President Jacob or look at the club
[00:18:01.180]information on the EnvolvU website
[00:18:05.100]to learn more about future club meetings
[00:18:07.500]and find out when those will be.
[00:18:10.920]There's also a little bit of an ad here
[00:18:17.220]for a future workshop that you're invited
[00:18:21.040]to called Gaining Experiences as a Pre-Law Student.
[00:18:25.140]That's going to be on September 26, 2024
[00:18:29.640]from 4 to 5 in Love Library South 221.
[00:18:34.060]So as I began sharing about ways to be involved
[00:18:38.600]and explore your interests, this can
[00:18:40.980]be a great continuation of that to help yourself reflect
[00:18:46.360]on what your next steps may look like.
[00:18:51.020]Additionally I wanted to talk a bit about a holistic application
[00:18:58.500]when it comes to law school admissions.
[00:19:01.460]So there's a few factors that go into a law school application.
[00:19:06.480]Of course, they are wanting to notice and look
[00:19:09.860]at your academic progress, your LSAT score, and your GPA.
[00:19:17.960]There's also a personal statement component.
[00:19:21.000]where you will describe in an essay
[00:19:24.880]kind of your motivation and interest
[00:19:27.780]for pursuing a degree in law.
[00:19:32.340]And then there's also recommendation letters.
[00:19:34.440]So thinking about as you progress
[00:19:37.820]in your involvement and your experiences in undergrad,
[00:19:44.320]making sure that you maintain and develop
[00:19:46.620]those healthy relationships with professors, mentors,
[00:19:50.980]and professional supervisors that you can then
[00:19:55.720]utilize for a future letter of recommendation
[00:19:59.560]for your application.
[00:20:01.000]A little bit about the timeline for applying.
[00:20:10.100]Law school will always be available for you to attend.
[00:20:13.740]So you can think about applying whenever
[00:20:17.320]you feel ready to take that on.
[00:20:20.960]There are many students who choose
[00:20:23.480]to apply to law school right after they finish from undergrad.
[00:20:29.360]And there are other students as well that maybe law school is
[00:20:33.980]something that they've been thinking about more recently
[00:20:37.820]and still learning about.
[00:20:39.500]So they may want to just get some more work experience
[00:20:43.340]before entering into a commitment like this.
[00:20:48.260]But generally, you would be applying
[00:20:50.940]that fall of your senior year and preparing your application
[00:20:57.960]when you're a junior.
[00:21:02.160]So the recommended time to take the LSAT exam
[00:21:06.480]would be that summer, early summer after your junior year.
[00:21:12.100]Sometimes students take it as early as spring of junior year
[00:21:15.660]as well.
[00:21:16.480]The important thing is that you want
[00:21:18.120]to make sure that you are thinking
[00:21:20.920]about a study plan and have sufficient time
[00:21:24.920]to dedicate to that and take it early enough
[00:21:29.700]where if you did need to repeat the exam,
[00:21:32.540]you still have time to do that and be
[00:21:35.200]able to dedicate more study time to make
[00:21:38.140]an improvement in your score within the timeline of when
[00:21:43.060]you want to submit your application.
[00:21:46.320]There are fee waivers available as well to help Medicare
[00:21:50.900]get the cost of the exam, which right now costs $222.
[00:21:59.160]The exam itself is scored from 120 to a 180.
[00:22:05.640]Just for reference, lately at UNL Law,
[00:22:09.200]the entering average LSAT score for students who are admitted
[00:22:14.720]there is about 158.
[00:22:17.480]So that can also vary depending on the school's
[00:22:20.880]that you're applying to.
[00:22:23.280]Right now, the LSAT is available to take either at a testing
[00:22:29.580]center or remotely on your computer at home.
[00:22:34.200]It's about three hours long, and it's specifically
[00:22:37.740]designed to simulate the types of skill sets
[00:22:41.940]that you would be implementing in your first year of law
[00:22:46.320]school.
[00:22:46.880]So they do look at how ready you may
[00:22:49.380]be for something like that based
[00:22:50.860]on your score.
[00:22:53.020]So the components of the exam include an essay portion,
[00:22:58.300]reading comprehension, and logical reasoning.
[00:23:02.560]And you can find free study resources on lsac.org.
[00:23:07.900]There's even a service through there called LawHub
[00:23:12.460]where you have access to a few full length practice exams
[00:23:18.040]and can even take them under time
[00:23:20.840]conditions.
[00:23:23.420]So overall, ways that we can support you
[00:23:30.620]in your pre-law path, you can start
[00:23:33.780]by visiting Explore Center for advising appointments.
[00:23:38.820]We also offer our Professional School Visit program
[00:23:42.260]throughout the academic year where
[00:23:43.820]we invite representatives from different law schools
[00:23:47.840]to come and meet with prospective students.
[00:23:50.820]So that's a great way to research and explore law
[00:23:53.820]programs.
[00:23:55.820]We have a variety of different pre-law workshops
[00:23:58.320]that you can find on our website and in our emails.
[00:24:01.820]We also offer practice LSAT materials or sessions
[00:24:08.320]to help you in your studying.
[00:24:11.820]And then lastly, we are available for application prep
[00:24:16.820]and personal statement review as well.
[00:24:20.800]So, a lot of resources on campus
[00:24:22.480]that you can take advantage of.
[00:24:25.800]If you have questions, please let us know
[00:24:28.480]by emailing explorecenter@unl.edu.
[00:24:34.480]And that is all that I have for you guys today.
[00:24:38.020]Thank you.

The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!

You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.

Comments

0 Comments

Pre-Law Orientation 2024

Description

Searchable Transcript

Comments icon comment

Related Channels

Comments