Weekly News Roundup

Law School Offers Prospectives a Trial Run

William & Mary plans to offer prospective students a three-day trial of law school

William & Mary plans to offer prospective students a three-day trial of law school

William & Mary Law School’s Center for Legal and Court Technology is giving prospective students the chance to spend three days in an on-campus mini-course—a solid option for applicants who aren’t keen to take on mountains of loans. The class, “Introduction to the U.S. Legal System,” is intended for professionals who want to gain a better understanding of the U.S. legal system, along with people who want to work in it directly. The class has an additional online component, which bumps up the cost to $2,049, but attendees can choose to go without it.
“This program can help people decide whether law school is right for them,” Chancellor’s Professor Fredric Lederer said. “If they do go to law school, it should give them a major leg up in their first year.”
Law school hopefuls who plan on getting competitive from the get-go should take note.
Source: Law Technology News
For Law Grads, Employment Opportunities Vary Widely By State
It has been widely acknowledged that law school graduates have a difficult time finding jobs. Nevertheless, Matt Leichter, creator of Law School Tuition Bubble, showed that some states—and regions, for that matter—present more difficulty than others. The attorney used data from the American Bar Association, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and projects by state agencies to calculate the ratio of law school graduates to job openings. Though the data is from 2011, it could prove useful when deciding where to take the bar exam.
Some of the disparities were startling: for example, the ratio in Mississippi was 10.53 to one. Some were more comforting: New Jersey’s ratio is 1.04 to one, perhaps undoing a bit of the damage MTV’s “Jersey Shore” has done to the state’s reputation. The regional differences are also telling. Though New England is famous for Harvard and Yale Law Schools, the region has a ratio of nearly three to one. Law school graduates might have better luck in the Southwest or the Rocky Mountains, where the ratios are 1.41 to one and 1.31 to one, respectively.
Source: The Atlantic
Septuagenarian Receives Law Degree

Seventy-year-old Sandra Wilson studies for the bar exam. Her study sessions can be as long as 10 hours

Seventy-year-old Sandra Wilson studies for the bar exam. Her study sessions can last as long as 10 hours

This past May, 70-year-old Sandra Wilson gave substance to the phrase “it’s better late than never,” graduating from Faulkner University Jones School of Law. Though she had left college to raise a family many years ago, Wilson tackled her bachelor’s at Florida State University in 2009 and enrolled in law school promptly afterward.
Moving to Montgomery, Ala., for law school presented a new challenge. “I never lived by myself,” Wilson said. “I left my parents’ home when I married my husband [Steve].” Nevertheless, she enjoyed the opportunity to study a subject she had always loved. “I found that every time I was writing a paper I was writing about the law,” Wilson said, commenting on her initial undergraduate years. “Then, when a couple of classmates of mine decided to go to law school, I thought, ‘I wish I could do that.’” Having finally fulfilled that dream, Wilson is now preparing to take the bar exam. “I really want to do something in the public interest,” she said. She is considering a career in child advocacy.
Source: The News Herald

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