Who thought Leviticus would show up on the Tort exam?
There are a couple of stock issues to address when some bright eyed 0L approaches and asks for advice on going to law school. The first is to tell them not to go to law school. No, seriously, please give it some thought. Many a liberal arts degree grasping for what to do after their BA in Basket Weaving has looked to law as a path toward a 6 figure starting salary and proud parents, only to find that most lawyers don’t end up at Cravath and, even if you do get the Biglaw gig, you aren’t guaranteed to like it.
After they inevitably don’t listen, I’m sure you go down the usual list. Find a study group. Go read “Getting to Maybe.” Once you tell them to find a way to cope with stress that doesn’t involve hitting the bottle or Tinder, that’s usually where the info dump stops. Another thing we should add — consider the religious background of the law school you’re applying to.
One law student had a rude awakening when they got this email from their JD mill:
I assume that most people don’t think about what their law school will think of their twitter, protest attendance or finsta posts while they’re suffering through learning the rule against perpetuities — character and fitness concerns are usually once you’re already minted. But surveillance is real, and few do discovery better than lawyers. Do not drink the Kool-Aid that universities are a no holds barred forum to voice your thoughts and concerns. I’d also be wary against dismissing this as “Welp, that’s what happens when you go to a private religious school, should have read the fine print.” Nothing really stops other private institutions from mums the wording politically divisive content for the sake of saving face, see Facebook.
One commenter followed up the post with this:
“Best you can do is forward it to Above the Law. They’ll publish it with commentary, and it’ll warn potential incoming students”
They weren’t wrong. Try not to get cancelled by your administration for sharing radical notions like “people should have access to adequate healthcare” or that “the outcome in Obergefell was not morally contemptuous.”
Idk How To Feel About This Email From The Dean Please Help [Reddit]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
