working during law school?

[vansgirl12]

hello.  i was wondering how everyone manages to support themselves throughout law school?  it's expensive enough...and i was looking at someone's 1L schedule and it looked like there  wasn't much time for a decent part time job during the year.


I have one more question.  I understand that some law firms only choose students from certain schools.  How do I know which law firms are looking at which firms? 


Thanks!

[Burning Sands]

Working during 1st year, highly unrecommended.

I've seen a few classmates take some part time jobs but their grades did suffer.  Since first year is so important you don't wanna chance too much by working.  Time is essential.

Look at nalpdirectory.com to see which firms recruit from which schools to give you an idea.

[tacojohn]

You don't support yourself in law school with a part time job.  You should normally get loans for all of your expenses.

The ABA restricts law students to only 20 hours of work.  Some law schools prohibt 1Ls from working at all.

The only really really good arguement for having a job is that it's an internship which is giving you valuable experience, or it's something that you enjoy doing a lot and that you can work minimal hours at if neccessary.  Never, ever, ever work the first semester of law school.  So I've been told.

[vansgirl12]

thanks a lot for the responses!  i am grateful.

[zilla]

For full time students, i'm told first year should be no-work time. I was a part-time student (average of 12 credits per semester). I worked a full time professional job and went to school at night. If you are very committed to a part time program, it is possible! And as for what schools firms hire from: don't fall prey to the idea you must go to a Tier 1 to get a job. A lot depends on market factors. I went to a Tier 3 as a part time student, and had offers from 3 large firms in our market (cleveland). something around 96  percent of our grads were employed within 6 months of graduation.
I also know several full time students who after their first year took part-time work as law clerks or research assistants/tutors etc. I wouldn't suggest taking a serving job to earn money, but the clerking experience is so valuable to your training as a lawyer, not to mention it leads to jobs, that I think it is worth the extra hours of work required on your part. Anything is possible if you put the effort in. Good luck!