Practice Management

Ann Levine at Law School Expert has posted a list  of the 5 top mistakes applicants make when re-applying to law school.

The point of the article is that people who are unsuccessful in their attempts in applying to law school, or are not happy with their choices of schools, often re-apply.  When they do, they often make common mistakes.  Ann Levine outlines these as follows:

1. Sending the same personal statement and letters of recommendation to the same law school that rejected you last year.

2. Thinking that simply getting an internship/paralegal position in a law firm will make all the difference in the world, even when you have a letter of recommendation from an attorney.

3. Attempting to "go back to undergrad" to improve your UGPA. It doesn't work. And getting a paralegal certification isn't going to impress anyone. But do take care to update your transcripts.

4. Failing to re-take the LSAT when you did not prepare adequately the first time.

5. Failing to evaluate your schools list with a candid view of your credentials.

From my perspective I believe that the last mistake is the worse.  I hear from applicants all of the time that are determined to get into a particular law school or else.  The problem is that it is almost impossible to change the past, and that is what is often keeping the applicant out.  Often times the decision of the school to reject the applicant was not even close.  The applicant just has his or her sights set too high.  The issue for me is do you want to be a lawyer or no?  If the answer is yes, then you need to make reasonable choices based on where you can reasonably get accepted.  This helps you achieve your ultimate objective.  If the answer is that you want to be a lawyer, but only if you can get into a particular law school, then the true answer is that you do not want to be a lawyer.  You just want to be a student at a particular school.  That is not a career, however.  That is not an ultimate goal.  And, that does not pay anything.  Just save yourself the aggravation.