Robert H. Miller - Law School Confidential: A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience: By Students, for Students

Praise for
Law School Confidential

Miller covers every aspect of the law school experiencefrom surviving the first semester to seeking summer internshipswhich makes this book unique. He presents experiences of other law students to help readers understand what is expected of them and how these expectations will affect their social and personal lives. The author emphasizes that discipline and conviction are the keys to successfully completing law school. Chapters are of course included on how to study for entrance tests and select an appropriate school. Recommended for all college and larger public libraries.

Library Journal

Law School Confidential walks the reader through the law school experience, from the decision to go to law school through that real-world graduation from law school, the bar exam. Nine recent law school graduatesmentorsassist.... A useful and worthwhile book.

New York Law Journal

Know someone who wants to apply to law school or is getting ready to start law school this fall? A new book being published this month might be a worthwhile addition to their summer reading lists. Written by a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, it offers step-by-step advice on the entire process: deciding whereand whetherto go; taking the LSAT; getting the most out of law school; identifying and applying for appropriate jobs and judicial clerkships; and passing the bar exam.

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

Miller has decorously armed his readers.... A 17.95 investment in this book for the first 75 pages alone is profitable for anyone wrestling with the decision of to be or not to be (a lawyer, that is).... Excellent advice concerning 1L and 2L summer internships, law school journals, the bar exam, and choosing a firm is accompanied by informative sections summarizing required law school courses and demystifying judicial clerkships. This abundance of information is just the remedy for the nerves of a student anxious to enter law school.

The Docket (Denver Bar Association)

Today, with the help of one book, law students and those considering the field of law can prepare themselves for what awaits. Law School Confidential , by Robert H. Miller, is that book. The book is a step-by-step manual that explains it all. Topics include the mystery of the LSAT, the first set of law school exams, the bar exam, and everything in between. Although the book is lengthy (416 pages), it is effortless reading: well written and to the point. As a law student entering my second year, I wish I had read Law School Confidential before starting my first year. The books detailed and honest explanation of what to expect from the first year of law school is invaluable... the book is a must for anyone attending or thinking about law school.

The Houston Lawyer

LAW
SCHOOL
CONFIDENTIAL

REVISED EDITION

A Complete Guide to the
Law School Experience:
By Students, for Students

Robert H. Miller

S T . M ARTINS G RIFFIN
N EW Y ORK

For Mom and Dad ,

who made it possible for me to live the life

of a country lawyer. And for Carolyn ,

who kept the faith that someday ,

wed walk in the sun.

C ONTENTS

A LOT HAS HAPPENED since the First Edition of Law School Confidential was published in the summer of 2000. First and foremost, the dot.com bubble burst, sending scores of disappointed entrepreneurs scurrying for the safe harbor of graduate schools. Law schools have scooped up a not insignificant percentage of these folks, and a higher than normal percentage of college graduates in the ensuing years has set its sights on law school. This has led to a significant increase in the number of applicants that top law schools are seeing each yearat some places, 6080 percent more than just three years agoand that, in turn, has led to higher yields and lower admission rates at these schools.

Today, it is harder than it has ever been to get into law school.

Thats the bad news.

The good news is that the book you are now holding has helped many people beat the odds, get into the law school of their choice, and succeedand it can help you do the same.

As I have traveled the country speaking to prospective and current law students, and in responding to your e-mails, I have eagerly solicited and collected advice and suggestions about how to make this book better and more responsive to the needs of todays students.

To that end, this new, completely updated Revised Edition of Law School Confidential features a brand-new and significantly extended interview with Dean of Admissions Richard Geiger of the Cornell Law Schoolwho offers candid, fresh, and up-to-the-minute information and advice about the law school admissions process. It also contains the most recent counseling available about how to navigate the new federal judicial clerkship rules, and guidance throughout the book of three new just-graduated mentors lending significant, additional diversity to the mentoring team. Finally, by popular demand, weve added a chapter featuring interviews with the hiring partners at two prominent U.S. law firms to discuss what makes an attractive candidate for an initial hire and what makes someone partner material down the line.

I hope youll find the new additions to this book helpful and useful, and that if you have ideas or suggestions about how to make it better, youll continue to get in touch to share your ideas!

Of course, Law School Confidential would never have come together without the help of many people who need to be called forward into the spotlight. First, another rousing boomalacka to my literary agent, Jake Elwell, for giving me my start and providing me with such sound professional guidance over the past three years. Every young writer needs a champion, good counsel, and a steady hand, but few have the great fortune that Ive had to have an agent who provides all three.

To my original editor, Melissa Jacobs, for having the courage to reach out to a new writer; and to my new editor, Carolyn Chu, for taking over this project with the enthusiasm that has fueled its progress.

To Dean Gary Clinton who, to the great fortune of Penn Law students, remains the heart and soul of Penn Laws atmosphere of cooperation, for all the things he does to make Penn a different and better place than most law schools, and for honoring me with his Foreword to this book.

To Dean Richard Geiger of the Cornell Law School for giving so freely of his time and wisdom to take us all on a voyage into the often seemingly inexplicable world of law school admissions policy, and, more importantly, for his willingness to help future generations of law school applicants better understand what animates the process.

And finally, to my outstanding team of mentors: Carolyn, Keith, Joel, Steve, Alison, Allan, Pat, Bess, Elizabeth, John-Mark, Yvette, and Patrick for finding both the time in your busy schedules and the emotional fortitude to go back and relive your law school experiences in order to offer your good counsel to others. It is an honor for me to be associated with all of you for posterity in the pages of this book.