Law School Discussion

Hi. When y'all are being nice and not persnickety, you're a wonderful resource for ideas. So I'm going to bounce this off of y'all to see what you think.

I want to spend this summer in Costa Rica with my family, something I haven't done since I was a little girl. There will be plenty of time to be with family and friends in the evenings and to go to amazing beaches and rain forests on the weekends. But during the week, I want to do something that will be useful in the future.

Here's where you come in.

In a future incarnation of self, I hope do be doing some type of International Business Law work - at first with a large firm to learn the ropes and possibly later on my own. (I said possibly.) I would like to work with Latin America (and maybe parts of Europe) and the legal aspects of running branches of American companies in Latin America or vice versa. The kicker is that I have no real business experience. My degree is in International Studies, and I've worked in a medical office, a law office, and as a substitute teacher.

So what I'm thinking is I need to find a job while I'm down there. But what kind of job? It would be nice to make money, but the salaries down there aren't so hot anyway so do you think there are better possibilities if I volunteer? Do you think I should be working for a big company in order to get a foot in the door and establish contacts there, or should I consider something smaller so I actually get to DO something?

Mostly I'm asking for your thoughts/opinions/ideas/anything that would help or you would suggest. I don't know if that's even a valid question.  Help

Me:
Crappy numbers (163, 2.68 [3.48 Degree])
URM
4 languages
WE, EC, and community involvement
Good enough reason for crazy GPA difference to think maybe 50/50 chances they'll take the Degree one instead of cumulative.

Setup:
Several months ago I got a fee waiver from Columbia. First I was excited, then I thought "You have less than 1% chance they'll let you in, why waste your time?". I didn't apply. Today there was a packet from Columbia in my mail box with another viewbook and a letter saying, "We are writing today to encourage you to consider applying to Columbia Law School ... deadline is a number of weeks away ... we can assure you, if you apply and complete your application promptly, that your candidacy will be carefully considered."

Question:
WHY??
Why on earth are they sending this kind of mailer out - don't they have plenty and a bajillion of applicants already? And they aren't even going to get any money out of it.

Sub-question:
And why are they sending it to me? They get my hopes up that my 163 + soft factors might magically = acceptance at a badass school. Maybe they were hoping my application would read "163 Wins Pulitzer" or something like that. Is it crazy for me to want to submit my application now, playing into exactly what they want, just so they can reject me? Apps for them are due on 2/15, I didn't think anyone would get in applying this late there.


Uhh... Yeah. That was long. Please discuss for the sake of my curiosity.

One thing that I think will distinguish the 'lawyer of the future' is the ability to use technology effectively. Undergraduate work has been great, but I'm tired of learning a bunch of theoretical stuff -- If I'm going to go into major debt, I want a school that is going to teach me more than the theory of law. I want one that is going to put an emphasis on using technology in the classroom -- and not just powerpoint presentations! Certainly these are things I can teach myself, but which schools are actually incorporating them into their curriculum?

I think it's important to learn about practice management programs, making presentations for trials, doing research, etc. This of course is not my MAIN concern for picking a school (I'm looking at schools with good international law programs, possibilities for joint MBA or LLM in international business law, 'good' location...), but it IS important to me that the schools be wired and the professors adept at bringing us into the way law is practiced this century.

Is anybody else making this a big part of their considerations of schools? Which ones have you decided have incorporated lots of technology into the classroom? Which ones have you struck completely off the list?

I'm trying to register for one of the prep courses over the summer. I'm undecided between Powerscore or TestMaters180 (which is the REAL one, yes?). But, it seems in Texas TestMasters is called Score Perfect, instead. Does anyone have more information about this?

Is it the same thing/same company/just as good?