23 Aug, 2006
Learning about law school through current students
This post has been up awhile over at Clever Wot, but for some reason I didn't get around to reading these short student written essays about the first year of law school until today. You should take a look at them.
These essays remind me that it is extremely important to get seek the perspective of real or recently graduated law students if you want to honestly understand what law school is really like.
A lot of commonly suggested movies/books are out of date or completely irrelevant (Turow's 1L or The Paper Chase). Professors are a great source, but their personal experience as law students are usually a ways in the distant past. Not to mention their teaching experiences can give them an unrealistic or idealistic perspective of what law school is like for a student. The materials you get directly from a law school are likely given from a marketer's perspective.
So in addition to those sources mentioned above, continue to seek out resources by current and recently graduated law students. I realize there is a lot of junk out there, but blogs, message boards, etc. can help you gain a real, honest, and up-to-date perspective through the eyes of people experiencing law school.