Our Friday post is normally a compilation of text-based articles pertaining to the LSAT, law school, or the legal profession. This week, however, we are switching things up and sharing some of our favorite law-related You Tube videos. We’re normally pretty procrastination-averse, which is why we apologize in advance for any time wasted on the below videos.

Please don’t be like this guy once you start law school.

My Roommate the Law Student:
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=K88EqBQCnrs
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Take a break from studying to catch up on a few of this week’s top articles!

Tips for College: Finding the Right Grad School for YOU (Jobs & Hire)

Jobs & Hire has some great tips to keep in mind if you’re trying to find the right law school for you.

A J.D. is Not a Death Sentence (Happy Go Legal)

Read up on why law students and lawyers are a privileged group of people. Happy Go Legal shares a hopeful perspective on legal education and the law profession and provides some interesting statistics.

Yale Law School to Offer Ph. D. in Law (The Wall Street Journal Law Blog)

Yale Law School has announced a program for a Ph.D. in Law, which it claims is the first in the nation, and is designed to prepare students who have earned a J.D. to enter careers in legal scholarship.

Have law schools been misleading with job-placement statistics? Recently released American Bar Association statistics suggest so. For the first time, the ABA reported data revealing how many law graduates at accredited schools secured full-time attorney jobs within nine months after graduation.

The Wall Street Journal published analysis of the data that paints a grim picture of employment rates out of law school:

The numbers suggest the job market for law grads is worse than previously thought. Nationwide, only 55% of the class of 2011 had full-time, long-term jobs that required a law degree nine months after graduation. The ABA defines “long-term” jobs as those that don’t have a term of less than one year.

What’s not surprising about the WSJ analysis is that students at top schools don’t have nearly as much difficulty finding work than students at lower-tier schools, generally.

More interesting are the exceptions. Among schools reporting that over 80% of their classes got full-time lawyer gigs were Louisiana State and George Washington, with St. Mary’s and Mississippi College, as well as a few others, not far behind.

When it comes to job placement, something is distinguishing these schools from those in their same tier. Local relationships? Goals of the graduates?

Check out the interactive graph. See what you think.

Happy Fourth of July!

Relax and enjoy your Friday with some of this week’s top law and LSAT links!

How to Handle Extracurriculars on Law School Applications (U.S. News Education)

Putting together your law school applications? U.S. News Education has some great admissions advice for how to present your extracurricular activities.

ABA: Law Schools Getting the Message on Practical Skills (The National Law Journal)

According to the ABA’s latest empirical survey, law schools are increasing so-called practical skills courses: clinics, simulations, and externships.
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In the northern hemisphere some people throw parties during July that mimic Christmas celebrations. Parties may include Santa Claus, ice cream and other cold foods, and gifts.

The wait is finally over! The June 2012 LSAT scores are in and are currently being sent to test takers via E-mail. The curve was -10 for a 170, -27 for a 160, and -46 for a 150. For some, today may feel like  Christmas in July, as your stomach fills with fluttering butterflies and and your heart starts racing just before you unwrap what Santa LSAC has brought you this year.

If you were a good boy or girl, did your prep work, and received the score you were hoping for, congratulations! It’s time to celebrate the holiday with a party or a happy dance. For those who would rather have a lump of coal than your June 2012 score, proceed by first taking a look at our Retake Manifesto to decide whether it is worth your efforts to reregister for the exam. If you are set on retaking the next available exam, be aware of some of the upcoming dates and deadlines pertaining to the October 2012 LSAT.

On a final note, remember to sign up for our Free Online Review of the June 2012 LSAT on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 from 8:00-10:30 (EDT). Two of our 99^th percentile teachers will be reviewing and analyzing some of the most difficult logic games from the June exam.

Need to talk more about your June 2012 LSAT score? Leave a comment below, tweet @manhattanlsat, or email StudentServices@manhattanprep.com/lsat/.

Merry LSAT-Christmas to all, and to all a good score!

Check out some of the top law links from this week!

Undergrad Ponders Law School  (Law School Podcaster)

Adam Goodman, a rising senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, documents his decision to go to law school and his progress through the law school admissions process.

Where the Fortune 500 CEOs Went to Law School  (U.S. News Education)

Did you know that 46 chief executive officers listed on the 2012 Fortune 500 list hold J.D.’s? Find out where they attended law school.

Attention, Shoppers: Law School Bargains (The Careerist)

According to The Careerist, now may be the best time to snatch up a law school scholarship. With the decline in law school applicants nationwide during the past two years, many law schools have responded by accepting a larger percentage of applicants and sweetening their scholarship packages.

Use News to Customize Law School Essays (U.S. News Education)

In order to best customize your law school admissions essays, U.S. News recommends keeping up with the news from your top choice law schools. Check out the full article for links to recent news articles from top law schools.

Want to Be Content in Your Legal Career? Great Advice from Happy Go Legal ( The Girl’s Guide to Law School)

Chelsea Callanan from Happy Go Legal has some great advice for people concerned about the work-life balance, budgeting, networking, and overall happiness in the legal profession.

For all its flaws that arise in practice, and for all the valid criticism that can be wielded against it, the judicial system currently in place in America is one that—at least theoretically—places a premium on two fundamental ideas: (1) individuals are innocent unless proven otherwise, and (2) everyone, regardless of who he or she is, is entitled to this presumption.

These principles aren’t sufficient for a fair and balanced judicial system, but they sure are necessary.

This week, I visited the Conciergerie in Paris, which is a pretty grim building in France’s judicial history. It was a royal palace until, during the French Revolution, it became a prison where hundreds of people were housed before being carted off to the guillotine to be executed. Marie Antoinette was among them. The Revolutionary Tribunal also sat for a time in the building, which is jarringly small considering all that happened there. Read more

As the month is coming to a close, anxiety levels are sure to be on the rise for those who took the June 2012 LSAT. If you turned to Mary’s advice for playing the waiting game, we hope that painting your apartment or manufacturing your own drama has brought you some relief. Here at Manhattan LSAT, we have invented our own waiting game, where the goal is to analyze previous trends to try to figure out which day the June scores will be released.

According to LSAC, the scheduled date for the release of the June 2012 LSAT scores is July 6, 2012. However, if we look at the score release dates from the last eight years, there is a possibility that you will know your score by this time next week! Read more

Here are some of the top articles about the LSAT, law schools, and the legal profession from this week.

LSAC, ABA Step Up Oversight of Law School Student Data (The Wall Street Journal Law Blog)
The Law School Admission Council and the American Bar Association have agreed to increase oversight of the undergraduate grade-point averages and Law School Admission Test scores schools report for incoming classes.

The June LSAT is Over- Now What? (U.S. News Education) 
Whether you canceled your June 2012 LSAT exam or you are anxiously awaiting the score-release date, U.S. News Education gives advice for what to as you look ahead to the next few months.

It’s Your Legal Career, Take Charge (Lawyerist)
Learn what you can do to get your law career going on the right track from the moment you graduate from law school.

Best Law Schools for Biglaw (Above the Law)
Above the Law says “if you want to get into Biglaw, it’s all about the Ivy.” Find out which law schools are best at sending their graduates to large law firms (aka Biglaw).

Is Law School Still a Golden Ticket? (Forbes)
Jessi Fred, a 0L, explains why she still believes that a law degree is her key to success.

There is no denying the fact that law school is dreadfully expensive and that after graduating from a four-year undergraduate college, the last thing any student wants to do is take out another daunting set of educational loans. In a recent interview with Bloomberg Law, Paul Campos, professor of law at University of Colorado at Boulder School of Law, explains in great detail how financially detrimental law school can be for some students.

Alleviate student debt with Loan Repayment Assistance Programs

Tacking law school loans on to those from undergraduate education has incurred an average educational debt of somewhere between $125,000 and $130,000. Campos goes on to tell Bloomberg Law that incoming 1Ls this September will graduate with around $150,000 of educational debt.

With such a low percentage of people acquiring jobs straight out of law school that justify these high debt levels, it is more important than ever to do your research and to understand why it is that you want to go to law school. These initial steps will help you make an informed decision about where you want go and how much you are willing to pay for your legal education.
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