All Hail the Mighty FICO Score!

Fastweb recently posted a terrifying article: Excessive Debt Bars Students from Law Careers.  It's terrifying because it's true.

The first student profiled in the article, Hassan Johnathan Griffin, is being denied permission to take the bar because he has racked up $170,000 in student debt. Mind you, $150,000 of that was for attending law school. He still had a little undergraduate debt, but it was a pittance compared to the law school debt, proportionally.  He also has just over $16,000 in credit card debt. Read the full opinion.

What burns me about this scenario is that Griffin is currently working in the public defender's office, making $12 an hour.  Doesn't take a genius to understand why he racked up over $16,000 in credit card debt - no one can live off of $12 an hour - not even a law student. So, he is being denied admission to the bar because he

• got an education without being a burden on his family;
• has dedicated his working time to public defense; 
• refuses to survive on a steady diet of ramen noodles and day-old baloney sandwiches.  

What an irresponsible slacker! The stupidest part of all is that he wants to work in the public defender's office, meaning most if not all of his law school loans will be forgiven anyway!  

(Note: A number of people have commented that he was denied the ability to sit for the bar not because of his outstanding debts, but because of his inability or lack of a plan to repay them. However, that isn't really the case in the opinion.  The court finds fault with the fact that he chose to work part-time at the Public Defender's office, rather than get rehired as a stockbroker. His intention was to get full-time employment at the PD's office after he passed the bar.  So, the court basically told Griffin that in order to be allowed to sit for the bar he should go back to work as a stockbroker and pay off his loans. The opinion never discusses the fact that Griffin will likely never owe on those loans due to loan repayment forgiveness. They stuck him in a Catch-22; keep doing what you love in the law and never be a lawyer, or give up working in the law in order to become a lawyer).

So, having a lot of student debt is indicative that a person lacks "the requisite character, fitness, and moral qualifications for admission to the practice of law"? Nevermind the fact that Griffin's parents were both civil rights activists, and his sole desire for going to law school was to help the indigent. That isn't indicative of good moral character?  Smooth move, Ohio Supreme Court. Way to encourage people to finance their own educations, and provide the government much needed money off of interest payments.

And yes - it could happen to you! The bigger issue is how much we have let the 3 major credit companies take control over our futures in this country.  Anyone can be denied loans for having bad credit (obviously), but these days you can also be denied jobs and housing because of questions about your credit. Nevermind the fact that identity theft is rampant, the economy has forced many people to use their credit cards as a means of subsistence, and credit reporting agencies screw up.  Alot.  Now, we can even be denied the opportunity to sit for a professional exam if we have a high debt/income ratio.  This is absurd.  Our debt is high because of law school tuition. The moral?  Only people who can afford to go to law school and pay out of pocket should be allowed the right.  Lower-and Middle-Class applicants need not apply. 

Can you tell that I'm disgusted by this? So, basically, let this article serve as a warning to get your financial affairs in order before you need to sit for the bar.  I never used to think that having law school debt would be a negative when applying to practice law, but then again, I'm not an idiot.  Granted, this isn't just about Griffin.  It's about the fact that having a negative credit history could make your law school career worthless. So, be sure to clean it up.

Check out these tips for paying off your debt quicker. The sooner you do this in your law school careers, the better.  And be sure to watch out for that credit, folks, because things like divorce, identity theft, family medical problems, or housing purchases could mean that you're unfit, and immoral! Who knew?

Bar Review: Where Will we Find the Time?

I have recently blogged about clinics, law review, and write-on: the Holy Trinity of evening student concerns.  However, the topic that's weighing most heavily on my mind these days is the bar exam. Much of that has to do with the fact that everyone I meet, when they find out that I'm graduating in May, immediately says "Oh, then you'll have to take the Bar!"  EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON.  They say it as if I didn't already know. It's like telling a pregnant woman how much labor will hurt. I know what's coming, and I know how hard it is.  Stating the obvious to me doesn't help, it actually just sucks the joy right out of the fact that my hard-earned graduation's coming.

Ok, ok, maybe I'm just taking my own frustrations out on certain people. (Seriously though, it's everyone.). The fact remains that the bar exam (exams, in my case), is looming and I don't know how I'm going to find the time to study while working full-time.

As you may have heard, things have not gone according to plan for law school grads for the past few years. High post-graduation unemployment, and fewer "big law" jobs have changed the game for a lot of people. In the past, the idea was that you would get a summer job at a firm in your second (or third, for evening students) year.  As long as you didn't burn the place down, that firm would typically make you an offer for permanent employment after graduation. Many would even let you draw a salary while you took off time to study for the bar.  Reality no longer works this way, so many people are finding themselves having to take extra loans to cover their expenses while they study from May to July.

It's different for evening students.  Many, such as myself, still don't have anything firm lined up after graduation.  Which means that we will have to continue working at our present jobs after we graduate. A few of us evening students got together recently for dinner and lots of questions came up:  What if we can't take enough time off to study for the bar? What if we have just started a new job and haven't accrued enough vacation?  How will it affect our relationship with our employers, since they know we will be looking to bail as soon as something "legal" comes along?  Yeah, good times.

These aren't easy questions, and the answers are highly specific to each person's situation. One thing that many of us will be doing is taking an "early start" course this spring.  Basically, that just means that bar review begins in February rather than in June.  I don't know if it will help, but I'm happy to know that this is an option.  The sooner I can get a jump on studying for the bar, the better I'll feel.  It also means sacrificing 5 Sundays this spring to study.  Big deal - like I was doing anything interesting to begin with? 

So, faithful reader, just know that if you, too, are worried about having enough time to study for the bar over 8 weeks in the summer, fear not.  You will be able to kill your entire spring as well. I'll keep you posted throughout to let you know if I find them helpful.

When was it a "Winning Proposition?"

Room for one more?

There has been a lot of talk recently about the "value-added proposition" of a legal education, and the "lose-lose" game of going to law school these days.  A recent New York Times article features this addition to the fray. Well, far be it for the New York Times to exaggerate a story (snark). The Times seems to indicate that all is doom and gloom. Recent law school grads and current 3Ls are in the "perfect storm" of unspeakable debt, scaled back employment options, and an ever-increasing backlog of competition.

Others have been talking and writing about the prestige and opportunity that come merely from having a J.D.  Simply expand your search parameters outside of Big Law, and you too can join the ranks of the successful Juris Doctorates. If you aren't being tapped for interviews for your "dream job," it's your own fault for having such limited dreams. Besides, no one promised you a rose garden. It's a tough world out there. Suck it up and stop feeling entitled.

The truth, of course, is rooted somewhere in the middle. It is a horrible job market for people looking to be associates in law firms (big or small). However, you can bet that by the time you have thought of an alternate career, there are 1,400 other applicants in ahead of you who already thought their way out of that same box.  Simply looking for other ways to make use of your J.D. really isn't going to be enough for everyone.

Why are we in this pickle? Are law schools to blame? Law firms? Clients? Dirty hedge funds, Ponzi schemes, and unregulated banking? If you picked "E: All of the Above", you're right. For decades we have been inundated with images, real and fictional, of the glamor and prestige of legal careers.  Law firms overpaid young associates in order to attract bright talent, and tuition rates skyrocketed commensurate with graduates' salaries. Clients spared no expense, and didn't bother questioning exorbitant legal fees, because people grew accustomed to massive legal bills.  Law firms charged what the market would bear, but now we know just what the limits of the market are.  Clients scaled back in a panic over cost-cutting measures (and many reached for the smelling salts when they noticed partners charging $600 per hour for legal "work"). Rather than trimming budgets and bringing expenses in line with sanity, firms went into massive lay-offs and hiring freezes. Think Billy Zane pushing the last half-empty lifeboat away from the Titanic.

So why does this matter, and how does it affect evening students?

It matters because people graduating law school feel so overwhelmingly ill prepared to practice law, that we are made to believe working in a multi-practice law firm is the only way to really get our feet wet, and build up credibility with clients.  (That's largely true. Law schools could benefit by being more pro-active in prepping students for real-world practice, and balance that with the need to prepare them for bar exams). The European practice of apprenticeship makes a lot of sense - there is too much to know and too little that can be covered in doctrinal classes. (see my piece on the importance of Clinics). So, we are looking at a very large wave of the next generation of attorneys who are being shut out from perhaps the best form of on-the-job training. That sound you just heard was a collective "gulp" from the next generation of clients.

However, much like the poor in 1929, evening students were already in a bad position to start with, so this current climate hasn't changed things much for us at all.  If anything, we are slightly better off economically if we have maintained our income while in school.  So there are fewer jobs out there, students have to do more to distinguish themselves, and work harder to network and make good connections.  Welcome to the world of evening students! This is nothing new for us; there are just more people in our lifeboat now.  Cue Billy Zane.

Just please, PLEASE, no Celine Dion!

Healthy Competition

I have been trying to mix it up with these blog posts, and give you new things to think about pursuing that won't take up daytime hours. A great option for evening students is to enter legal competitions. Two popular options for evening students are writing competitions and trial competitions. These are things that you can prepare for in your spare time (I know, "ha ha" you say), on weekends, and evenings when you are not in class.  Writing competitions may be especially apt for evening students, because you could presumably find something to write about related to your work experience.

Related to my last post, bar associations are the best place to learn about these competitions.  The ABA has a wide variety of them across all sections.  (http://www.abanet.org/lsd/competitions/home.html). Check out this page for a long list of writing competitions by area of law:  http://www.abanet.org/lsd/competitions/writing-contests/home.html. These contests are time consuming, to be sure, but even an honorable mention or other nominal prize is a great resume booster, and bragging rights go a long way.  The best thing about writing competitions for evening students is that you write at your own pace (with an eye on the deadline, of course), but there is no daytime hour commitment.Be sure to check your local bar associations for their local competitions as well - there may be fewer entrants, which increases your odds of placing highly.

Trial competitions can also be a great idea for evening students. Granted, these competitions will take place during the day, but you can prepare for them during any available time you may have.  These will usually involve compiling a team and working through a trial problem. They are a great way to gain experience, and are highly recommended if you want to be a litigator. (I have been involved in the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity Mock Trial competition for the past 3 years, and it has been a great learning experience.  In related news, if your school has a PAD chapter, you should join it).

Remember, every little bit helps.  I'm not advocating that you overextend yourself too much, but if you pick a select few activities you may just discover more about what areas of law interest you most, and you can gain some great exposure and experience.  One competition or activity per your 4 years of law school should be enough for most people to handle. Let's call that my rule of thumb.  Below are some links to writing competition sites.  Also, don't forget to check with your school's Career Service office. Now, go find the competition that interests you most, and enter it. Good luck, faithful reader!

• ABA
• University of Idaho List of Writing Competitions
• University of Arkansas List of Writing Competitions
• Lewis and Clark Law School
• American Association for Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition

Am I missing some important ones? Post them in the comments!

Staying Connected: Bar Associations

Have I mentioned how important it is to network yet?  If I haven't yet, it's probably because everyone else in the world has written on how important it is to network.  And you know what, faithful reader?  They're all correct! Networking, especially in a down economy, is critical to developing a good law practice and getting your name out there for referrals. 


You're probably already doing it on some level, but evening students need to do more, and ramp it up.  This is critical to the legal profession,no matter what type of legal environment you wind up working in.

One great way to network is by joining your local bar associations. They often hold free events in the evenings, and they are a great resource for meeting people, and learning about new aspects of the law that you might not otherwise learn in school. Yes, I know you're in class in the evenings.  If you weren't, I'd have no blog to write. But, as you get through your semesters and your course selection is up to you, you won't have class 4 nights a week. If you join a bar that is close to your job, it may even be easier to attend events there than it is to attend events at school.  I know this is the case for me.  I work a few blocks from the New York City Bar, and it's much easier for me to get there by 6 PM than it is for me to get to Newark.  I strongly urge you to check out your local bar.  (Insert favorite "bar" joke here).

In addition to the local bars, there is of course the American Bar Association. Student membership is cheap, and it's free to join many of the sections, so you can pick the areas to receive information. Many sections of the ABA put out regular magazines (great for paper topic ideas), and email newsletters. I know you're probably inundated with emails and articles, and reading for class.  But, keeping up on recent legal events helps you to stay focused on the "real world" practice of law, and how what you're studying fits into that world. Besides, you will have to stay current with CLE credits after you graduate, so might as well get a sense of what's offered.

So, that's my advice on bar associations.  They are great resources, and can really help evening students feel like they're in the loop. 

The Clinic Experience

Let's begin at the beginning.  A clinic is like a mini-law firm within the school.  The clinic faculty act as the partners, and the students are the associates.  Clinics manage a variety of issues, from family law to tax law.  Every law school has a few different clinics.  They are taken like classes, for class credit, and can be done for as many semesters as your school allows.

For most evening students, clinics are not a viable option. The clinics that tell you they are open to evening students may mean well, but they probably aren't giving you the whole story.  There will be times when you will need to be available during regular business hours, talking or meeting with clients, or making court appearances.  However, I would recommend making this work within your schedule if at all possible.

I had basically counted out clinics as an option, because all of the clinics at Rutgers were during the regular school year, and you needed some daytime availability. But, this past summer the Community Law Clinic opened up during the summer for the first time. I believe that of the 12 students that jumped at the opportunity, 11 were evening students. What made the summer option more viable than the spring or fall was the fact that a) it was only a 10 week commitment, and b) you could select the number of hours per week that you committed to. Finally, some flexibility!!!

Community Law basically acts as a free legal service for community organizations, not-for-profits, and the like, who need help with all manner of things. This clinic handles some real estate, not-for-profit formation, by-law drafting, contract drafting, and even litigation where necessary.  I knew that I wanted to make this work, but I also knew that to be really effective, I needed to be available to my clients during the day.  I arranged to take Wednesdays off from my full-time job, and made up those 8 hours during the rest of the week.  Was it brutal?  Yes.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely.

Since I have a non-legal job, and the summer associate market completely dried up for the second year in a row this past year, I was panicked about how I would get legal experience.  The clinic was the perfect place for this. Yes, in a sense I had to pay to get legal experience, but being an evening student will force you to make these kinds of decisions.

Aside from the experience, being a part of the clinic was a lot of fun. I met great professors, worked with some of my favorite evening people, and learned a lot about the role of my law school in the greater community (dare I say that I felt a sense of pride?). If there is any way that you can finagle the flexibility to get involved with a legal clinic at your school, do it.