Loving the Law: Handling Stress During Law School

That first semester in law school may be the most difficult time you will ever face in life. Trying to get used to the huge workload, the unusual classes, and the new environment is always hard on students, and the prospect that you're stuck here for the next three years doesn't help.

Talk to Older Students

One of the best things you can do for yourself is talk to older students. Get their opinions and advice on classes, teachers, and stress. They have been where you are and can be an important fountain of wisdom when the going gets tough.

Ask For Help

Never be afraid to ask for help in law school. If you are facing problems in your classes or have personal issues that are affecting your performance, go ahead and ask for help. Waiting until it's too late is a mistake that too many students make due to pride.

Be Realistic

Remember that unless you really want to specialize in some areas or work for certain sections of the government, you don't need to be the top person in your class. In fact, all you really have to do is graduate, though it would be ideal to be in the top fifty percent of your class.

Study with Friends

Study groups are a fun source of amusement in law school. Since you really have to keep studying as much as possible, you can always take a short break by studying with friends. Take a picnic or snacks and groups can get together to study and have some fun before the big test.

Find a Great Internship

When it comes to finding your internship or externship, be sure that you find something that truly interests you. After all your hard work in classes, you deserve to do something that you enjoy. Start early and find something that really fits in with your career goals and dreams. What to Remember

When you're stressed out in law school, particularly during your first year, remember these things:

Talk to Older Students

You can ask for help.

Be realistic.

Study with friends.

Find a great internship.

Amber Smith is a feature writer for CareersandEducation.com. Review more of her work and read about using a Career learning center and explore her thoughts on online degree programs and online colleges.

Getting Into Law School - Getting Into Law School is the First Step in a Very Long Road

Getting into law school is a piece of cake.

Getting into a good law school - good being defined as whatever the popular law school rankings consider good this week - isn't such a big deal either. That's what my book, Covert Tactics for Getting Into the Law School of Your Choice is all about. But getting into law school is just the first step in a very long road. Once you accept that offer of admission you have committed yourself to spend three years and, potentially, hundreds of thousands of dollars educating yourself so that you will be qualified to practice law. Of course, these costs don't even include the potential income you are sacrificing during your additional studies.

Then, unless you are one of the few fortunate law school students who manage to land a job with a big firm paying top dollar, you will likely be surprised to find yourself making less as a new lawyer than you would have been making if you'd skipped law school and instead pursued that career in pharmaceutical sales.

That's ok, if you are willing to take the long view, because getting your first job after law school is just the next step in a very long road. Getting into law school is simply the first step along that road.

After you've worked that first job for a while, perhaps a few months or even a few years, you will start to see what you like and what you hate about practicing law. If you really hate what you are doing, start looking for something else right away.

Practicing real estate law is very different from prosecuting criminals. Once you have too much experience in a narrow field it can become very difficult to switch gears. You won't feel comfortable doing something else and employers won't be interested in training you to do something entirely new, particularly if you are not willing to take new lawyer pay.

So the next step in the journey is migrating to where you want to be. If you have allowed yourself to become stuck in some narrow niche you may have to simply strike out on your own to do what you want. That's easier than you think, even if you don't have any experience - but I'll leave that for my next book.

If you are fortunate to have found an employer you like in a field of law you enjoy, then you should do everything possible to get a piece of the pie. In the law business we typically call this "making partner" - and that's the end of the road for our purposes here.

Once you make partner, either with another firm, a management position for a public agency, general counsel for a corporation, or by opening your own law practice, you're in control. It can take a few years, and it won't be as much fun as you might think, but you can get there.

This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

H. Jefferson, Jr. is an expert on on law school admission, having applied to and been admitted by 11 of the top law schools in the United States. To learn more about the the techniques and strategies you can use to get into the law school of your choice, visit http://www.coverttactics.com.