Law School Discussion

A few tips --
Go to the geographic area you're interested in towards the end of summer and send letters to firms saying you'll be there from August 8-11 and would like an opportunity to interview.  Follow-up and try to finagle the "stealth callback."  I've heard this method suggested for people with no connection to the geographic area and bad grades.  The firm doesn't have to spend money on your flight and hotel, and you aren't directly competing against 15 other kids from your T10 school like at OCI.

If your school doesn't allow prescreening, I'd also still be sure to bid strategically.  Don't use your highest bid rankings on firms that specifically request top 10%.  Try to get as many interviews as possible where you won't be ruled out immediately based on falling way below their GPA cut-off.

Write on to law review.  You just have got to buckle down and try to make that happen.  Are you on mock trial/moot court?  If not, compete in those competitions next year or try to distinguish yourself in other ways.

Practice interviewing with career services and ask them to be ruthless on your cover letter/mock interviews. 

Do a great job this summer and use that employer for networking and recommendations. 

It was a joke. But you don't exactly win the "Plays Well With Others" certificate either.

I think they've formed an alliance with Jacy85.

I reserved my harshest comments for a finger-wag if there are kids involved.  My mom is a teacher.  It's not a high-paying profession, but OP should have the money for a very important $3,000 purchase or $100/mo. to pay it off in 3 years.  (Cutting cable and cellphone should get the $100/mo. right there.)  If not, he should (gasp) get a part-time job in the summer or get a part-time job from 4-9 a few days a week. 

Credit is still widely available to people who've been anywhere close to responsible with their money. 

http://www.find-attorneys.com/save_divorce_cost.htm. You should be able to find a flat rate of only $1-2k if you only have a few contested issues.  The more contested issues, the more it costs.

We are all in law school for a reason.  People are charging you several thousand dollars for a reason. Doing this stuff yourself is difficult, complicated, and almost always ill-advised.

You don't have the money?  I don't have the money to go to law school, so guess what I'm doing -- borrowing!  I don't think any of us are all that sympathetic to someone who can't set up payments for $3k for, hopefully, one of the most important legal issues you're going to resolve in your life.

And if there are kids involved, and I hope there are not, you are doing them a huge disservice if you're trying to handle this yourself with a book and by asking students on a message board.  ("Daddy loves you son, but he didn't want to get a credit card with 0% APR introductory rate and slowly pay off a $3k lawyer bill.  Daddy also loves cable and cellphone too.")