Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Choosing an Area of Law as a Specialty

You've probably heard (or read) my speech about not "picking a major" when applying to law school unless you can really, really, really back it up.

Anna Ivey's recent post about the downside of choosing International Law as an area of specialization when applying to law school is extremely relevant and I hope you'll find it helpful (although I'm sure a portion of my audience will find it discouraging).

I do agree with Anna on this point: most people applying to law school really have no idea what being a lawyer is really all about. I think that Anna has a great idea - if you're interested primarily in a specific area of law, you should try out that area as your profession before trying out the law part. (For example, try out the Entertainment Industry before trying out the Entertainment Law Industry).

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Posted by Ann K. Levine, Esq. at 1:58 PM

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3 comments:

  1. UnknownNovember 27, 2008 at 7:57 PM

    Hi Ann,

    I'm a big fan of this blog as it has helped me greatly through this entire admissions process. When you mention not picking a specialty does this mean only for people who don't have the credentials to back it up? For example, if I were to stress public interest law and I've been working in a PI law firm for 2 years, would that be looked favorably when the admissions committee reviews your application?

    Also, what do you think UCI is going to look for? I know this has been a big topic on the discussion boards and I'm curious as to your insight on this topic.

    Arash

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 30, 2008 at 11:37 PM

    Sorry for peppering you with questions. It's just that you're much more sensible and informative than the insane law school forums.

    Does the longer the wait for a law school's response indicate a higher chance of rejection?

    Thanks,
    Kiki

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ann K. Levine, Esq.December 1, 2008 at 6:54 AM

    Kiki, there is no correlation between the amount of time you wait and the likelihood of acceptance. Seriously. Your file may have been given to a faculty member who is really slow, for example. Stop reading the discussion forums - that's the most valuable advice I've given you all year ; )
    Ann

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