Countdown to the June, 2010 LSAT

Its on! I have decided that the June 7, 2010 LSAT is the right time for me to take this dreadful test. Thus, I thought it would be appropriate to start the countdown now! I have already begun the Powerscore Logic Game Bibles and will try to keep my blog updated with my progress. Fortunately, my initial diagnostic was so "sad" that I can only go up! (I hope).

Gen Y and Professional Appearances (For the Ladies)

When I think of professional attire – my mind automatically directs itself to images of the “Hilary” pantsuit or a “Jackie O” inspired skirt suit. Both of which are beyond my years and I would look ridiculous sporting either looks. Often, when I go suit shopping I feel like a little girl playing dress-up with her mother’s work clothing.

So I beg the question: how does a 20’s something professional look respectable, business-like without looking boring or “dress-up” like?

The first mistake a lot of freshy lawyers make is investing in a suit that is too trendy. If you’re going to shell out some serious cash for a killer suit – it better be one that will not only last (in quality) but will also be timeless and stay with the trends for many years to come. Hair should always look profession regardless of the length of your hair or the way you chose to style it. I think a low pony with a sidepart is acceptable as long as it is neat and tidy – same with long flowing hair or a short bob, both can fit the bill if they appear to be well kept.

I think there are two approaches to ladies suit attire. The first is to play up the slightly masculine ultra serious New Yorker look. I will call this the “New Yorker.” The New Yorker starts with a dark – usually black pant suit. This suit should boast a neatly tailored 1-3 button jacket with full-length sleeves and a straight leg pant, cuff and uncuffed pant legs are both acceptable. Now you may be thinking what I’m describing is a men’s suit – here’s where we get feminine. Heels are a must – preferably a 2 to 3 inch thin heel with a pointy toe. Accessories will playup the feminine quality in this look though accessories should be either black, silver, pearl or sparkly (but not too “bling!”) Hair should be neatly styled – not wild. My preference would be a low pony-tail or bun with a side part; the general idea is no lose hairs.

The second approach is more feminine, a little flirty, and allows for more color and accessories. The idea is to stick with a dark toned suit, but stay in the blacks, greys, maroons, navy blue color groups. Pants or skirts are acceptable, though skirts may not be shorter than two inches above the knee. Accessories can be pretty much any color so long as they fit into the color of the suit.


One could also brighten a dark suit by adding a flash of color underneath – I would recommend accessorizing the undershirt with jewelry, shoes, bag, etc.

When choosing accessories, be careful to not let the accessories overpower your attire – or yourself for that matter. Remember that the purpose of accessorizing is to compliment the entire look – think of it as a teamwork effort.

Makeup is also a big deal. Office makeup can be a little tricky. I have yet to meet anyone who looks fabulous in florescent lighting. Usually more blush is needed and pastels can help counteract the green hues glaring from the ceilings. All the while not looking like a drag queen.

Beautiful for the club, but way too much for the office.

LawSchoolDreamer Makes Duplicate Blog on Wordpress

For my readers who prefer to use wordpress, A Paralegal’s Journey to Lawyerhood is now available on wordpress at:
http://mylawschooldreams.wordpress.com/

It will contain the exact same information and posts as the blogger.com blog (http://mylawschooldreams.blogspot.com/)

Thanks for your continued support!

Professional Appearances are of Paramount Importance

The attorney profession is unique in that a client or patron of an attorney does not necessarily receive a good or item in exchange for their payment, or leave the office with something physical to hold in their hands. What a client does leave with, however, is the sound legal advice of a competent attorney, certified by that state’s bar association that they are capable of handling legal issues. The legal profession is a service industry. What the client is paying for is the attorney’s knowledge. Rather, the attorney’s main selling point is knowledge. How does one sell knowledge? Or how does one advertise that they have knowledge? In today’s discriminatory world, knowledge is often conveyed by one’s professional appearance. Like it or not, all of us, regardless of age, race, sex, or geographical placement are judged by one thing in about 2 seconds: our appearance. One may not be able to change one’s DNA or genetics, but one can certainly make sure that one does everything they can to ensure a professional image.
One of the easiest things to change with regard to one’s appearance is their hairstyle. Men have it easy. There isn’t much to do to style a man’s hair. 10 minutes tops is all is needed. But the foundation of the style is the haircut. Long hair has never been accepted in any professional setting, nor is a short buzz cut considered business-like. There must be a happy medium. Below are two examples. Clearly one has a professional (yet edgy, trendy) hairstyle, and the other . . . well I’m not sure what to call it.

Which would you trust with your legal matters?

Birthdays: A Time to Set Goals and Reevaluate

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a monumental one - a turning point where I realized there is no turning back (not that I have the option). Two years ago before I decided to attend college, I felt that I had accomplished everything I cared to accomplish. In fact, I felt ahead of the pack, I enjoyed bragging and impressing others with all I had accomplished at such a young age. I felt secure with the things I had conquered and where I stood in society.

Sadly, I no longer feel that way. While my employment status has not changed (in fact I now hold a higher position than I did prior to enrolling in college classes), my ownership of essential property hasn’t changed, and my marital status hasn’t changed, my GOALS have changed. Its not that I am any less of a person than I was two years ago, in fact I would say I am a better person now. At the time I felt as though I conquered everything I wish to conquer I really did not have any goals (after all, I had conquered everything!) But now I have both short term goals and long term goals and I couldn’t help but feel that I was behind on accomplishing my goals. Most people at my age had already accomplished the goals I had set for myself.

I spent most of the day thinking about how I had gotten so behind, and how everyone my age seemed so far ahead. I thought about the new associate my firm is interviewing and realize it is very likely that he is younger than me. Now that my goal is to not only finish my bachelor’s degree but to complete a 3-year J.D. program, I feel I have a long way to go.

Today, the day after my birthday, I decided that I must swipe this negative thinking from my mindset. Instead, I focused on the things that I have accomplished and the reasons why for me, accomplishing my collegiate goals later in life is more ideal. I find that I am much more responsible than traditional undergraduate students, I take it very seriously. I also find that I have mastered the skill of time management (between working full time and school full time this is necessary for success). I also realized that I APPRECIATE college and higher education so much more than a lot of traditional students.


My doggie bag that I would like others to take from this post is that instead of being down on ourselves about not having accomplished our goals, we should first look at the things we have accomplished, and then list the reasons why it is actually BETTER that we are accomplishing our goals perhaps slightly later in life than others. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. And who are we to scorn ourselves for not being on a particular track or checklist. If we get behind, big deal. What matters is that we DO accomplish our goals, whatever those goals might be, and that it is okay if those goals change overtime.

I did it!

I did it!!! I am now officially a ceritfied paralegal! This is not only exciting for me because it is a great accomplishment that I spent 2 years working very hard at, but it is a big deal because had it not been for my enrolling in my local university's paralegal certificate program, I would never have decided to pursue my bachelors, much less work toward law school. So kudos to me and kudos to all of you that are working toward your goals!

A Few Tips for Law Students and Associates

Having not yet been to law school, I am of no authority to assume what is or is not taught at law schools. However, my experience with fresh out of law school associates has suggested that there are definitely some things that are not taught in law school. While most of said “freshies” would not dream of allowing a mere legal assistant give them some pointers, I would like to at least give a few tips on my blog, in case a freshy would like to anonymously accept some tidbits of advice which may be of assistance in bridging the gap between 3L and associate-hood.

1. First of all, and most important, I cannot stress enough how vital is that you treat your support staff with the utmost respect and gratitude.

Yes, most assistants do not have bachelors degrees and did not endure three years of law school, but they are your support team, they are an extension of you and thus represent who you are and are often your link between you and the client. If treated properly, they will go to bat for you, field calls from pushy callers, make sure all deadlines are met, and remind you of forgotten tickles. Rather than trying to prove how much better you are than them, acknowledge that they are just as talented and capable as you, just in other areas. Think of it as an estate planning attorney telling a prosecuting attorney how to do their job.

You must never hand them your dirty work (ie send my wife and mistress flowers, book my vegas hotel, etc.) and if the task you hand to them is completely mundane and insulting, at least acknowledge that it is crap work, apologize, but ask politely if the assistant would have time to tackle such mundane task. You will probably receive a more positive response when given said task than if you were to simply plop it in front of them and say “have fun with that.”

2. As a freshy, it is likely you are unfamiliar with the local courthouse and may have questions about filing documents and proper courthouse etiquette. This applies to not only freshies but the “new kid in town.”

Getting in the door. Most courthouses now days have security checkpoints at each entrance. Some local bar associations issue identification cards which you may politely (but not arrogantly!) show to the security person so that if you trip off the metal detector, you are allowed to go through without emptying your briefcase, etc. Find out if your local courthouse or bar association uses such passes/id cards and locate one, this saves time for you and the security personnel. However, if the courthouse does not use a pass, you must empty your pockets of any items which may trip the metal detector, as well as place all handheld items (briefcase, laptop, PDA, crackberry) in the bin to be inspected and/or x-rayed. DO NOT act annoyed or indicate you are “above” this. I realize this makes you feel as though you are a “layperson” but the security people do not care whether or not you are an attorney, they are just doing their job and ensuring the safety of everyone in the courthouse.

Once you have made it through the door you need to locate the proper court in which to file your document. If you were successful in not being too pompous with the security personnel, you may quickly but politely ask them to point you in the direction of the proper court. You should specify if you need that court’s clerk’s office or the judge’s office. If you are filing a doc, you will obviously need the clerk’s office. You may need to visit the judge’s office (you will most likely not get past the secretary’s desk) to get things on the calendar, etc.

Filing documents. If the purpose of your visit to the courthouse is to file documents, stand in line (yes in line, even behind the laypeople, superman) and politely wait your turn. When you have arrived at the desk politely explain to the clerk staff that you are here to file x document in x case. Some courthouses prefer that you go ahead and pull the appropriate file and file-mark it yourself, then place the court’s file with the file-marked documents in a specific box which the clerk staff will bring to the judge’s secretary. You will usually file stamp one copy of your document for the court’s copy, one copy for each party in the case, and one copy for you to return as your own file copy; so leave all copies with the file except for your file copy.

There is a standard location to place the file-stamp. You must never stamp over any of the wording of the document, especially the cause number, this will frustrate the court staff. Here is an example of the standard location to place a file-stamp:

All files regarding juveniles (guardianships, adoptions, dissolutions) are generally kept in a separate area which you will not have access to. The clerks are usually very busy, but if you explain this is your first field trip to the courthouse, they should be happy to show you where to find files and how to file-stamp docs. They will realize this saves them time the next time you come around as they will not have to lead you by the hand each time.

The Judge’s Secretary. If there is one person to schmooze in the courthouse, it is not the judge presiding over your case, it is that judge’s secretary. This person has probably the most power of all; they can give you a court date, make sure your file or pleading is placed under the judge’s nose, and give you access to the law library. Your assistant probably also realizes that it is important to be very polite to the judge’s secretary when that person calls your office. This is another reason to keep your assistant happy, they will be happy when speaking with important people!

3. Document Drafting.

Again, I have never even seen a law school curriculum, so I am of no authority here, but my experience with associates is that they spent all of this time learning the law and interpreting the law and writing legal memos, but have no clue how to draft documents. Most firms, depending on the size will have at least one forms directory. Often, these are Anderson Forms or you can use forms from Lexis Nexis or Westlaw. My firm has all of the above-mentioned forms plus a directory of forms that have been created over the past 50 years by the partners. I happen to be the staff person that manages these forms and I try very hard to keep them current and up to date as well as organized logically so they can be easily accessible. Do not be too big-headed or embarrassed to ask your secretary for assistance with this. Paralegals are also an excellent source of forms, but most of their time is billable so they may be forced to enter a time entry that would read “idiot assoc wasted half hour of my time asking about forms.” Most firms assign a supervising attorney to associates and that partner can be your “go-to” person. However, this person is also the one that reports to the rest of the partnership on your competence. So do not go running to them for every little thing. You made it through law school, you can handle looking for forms on your own. If you do need to ask your supervising attorney, do not go empty handed, at least say “hey, I found this form, what do you think?”

4. Attire.

You may have or may not have been concerned with your attire during law school, and sure you probably had to dress up on occasion for mock trials, interviews, socials, etc. I would say most of the associates in my firm attempt to look professional, but there are usually a few things lacking.

Wrinkles. Most of the associates have wrinkled clothing. I can’t figure it out, perhaps they just wash their clothes and leave them in a hamper all crimpled up? Hanging your clothing takes 10 mins and will ensure a smooth garment. Even if you do not have time to remove a piece of clothing from the dryer promptly at the end of the cycle, or all you have time for is throwing it in a hamper and can’t hang the garment, at least take a few mins to steam a shirt before wearing it. I do not recommend ironing as it is tricky, and it takes a lot of time. While you may not be able to get the same creases with steaming as you can with an iron, steaming will at least get the wrinkles out. Clean lines and pressed seams do not get much attention anyway, but wrinkles do. Handheld steamers run $20 to $50. Do not get on that has a hose, as this often creates spurting which will leave water spots on your clothing. My favorite steamer is the Joy Mongano “my little steamer” which is often sold on HSN in a variety of colors.

Color Matching and Pattern Clashing. Most females do a pretty good job with this, so I’m speaking mostly to the males here. First, identify if one piece of clothing has a pattern. If said article of clothing has a pattern, DO NOT MIX WITH ANOTHER PATTERN! This is pertinent and you are sure to look like a clown if you wear more than one pattern. The simplest way to wear patterns is to wear a plain, one color collared shirt with a patterned tie. Somewhere within the tie, there should be at least one color that matches identically to the color of said collared shirt. Some stores make this really easy by allowing you to buy a “pre-made” combo, this really takes the guess work out of the equation. You can usually find a shirt in your size that provides a perfectly matching tie and voila your good to go!

Black is easy and is most acceptable in the law profession. The first clothing purchase you make should be a black suit. As an associate you may not have a lot of money, so hit the sales at Macy’s and rather than having the suit tailored at the store, (you must have it tailored) buy it untailored and take it to a local tailor, this will save some cash and usually will come out more “tailored” than if you had left it at Macy’s for them to ship off to a seamstress that never even saw you.

For the ladies, its important to look professional but do not misinterpret “professional” to mean “boring.” Ladies can often find suit sets easier and for less money than men. Again, Macy’s is usually pretty good and can be cheaper than going Ann Taylor. I know it may be cheasy, but Dress Barn is also a really good place to find professional looking outfits, though their attire seems to be more geared to the 35 and up crowd. You should look professional, but not older than your age; it just looks like your faking it and its like a square peg in a round hole, it just doesn’t match up.

5. Socials.

Attend every social you are invited to. It is important that you not only show you are a good attorney but that you are a good “partner” to the firm. Most partnerships want to add partners they feel they would go golfing with, share a meal with, and can have good conversation with. It really is more than just showing up and doing a good job, you have to be likeable. Never drink at these socials. The partners may drink and may even get a little tipsy, but just because they are drunk, doesn’t mean they aren’t competent to realize you are making a fool of yourself. Let the Senior Partner be the butt of the joke, not you.

These are just a few items that you may or may not find helpful. If you develop a good relationship with your assistant, you should feel free to ask them on firm-specific items such as protocol on socials, who does what, where do I find this, etc. But if you have a pompous attitude, that person is going to wish you to fail and either not provide you with any info, or worse, provide you with the wrong info.

Links to Helpful Websites

I have just added a few links to the bottom of my blog and I encourage you to check them out. I tried to add one link for each subject area I focus on in my blog and I will add to these links as I find more helpful sites.

I just found the site "LawNerds.com" and I am amazed how helpful it is, not only for myself as a paralegal student, or as a legal assistant, but I believe it will be very helpful to law students as well. Its a FREE 6-step tutorial on the basics of legal reasoning and writing, as well as studying.

Article on Attending a Part-Time Law School Program

This article was passed along at a favorite law school forum of mine, Top-Law-Schools.com and I thought some of you non-traditional students would appreciate it.

US News.com Article

Very Cool Scholarship Site

As a non-trad, I've had some issues finding scholarships that aren't so focused on full-time, traditional, low income students. I could literally get a scholarship book with thousands upon thousands of scholarships, and after 5 hours of weeding out all the ones I don't qualify for, come up with two or three. I'm willing to put in the hard work, but I have found a site that narrows it down for you, and even notifies you when there is a new scholarship added that you meet the criteria for.

The site is http://www.fastweb.com/

Its free to register and use, it does take some time to go through the Q & A's but this is worth the extra time, because it narrows the scholarship results down to only the scholarships you are eligible for, which saves time in the long run.

Whew . . . another semester down, more than ten left to go!

As I complete the spring semester and have one week off between the Spring Semester and the Summer I Session (my undergrad institution has two summer sessions) I realize that while this last semester was very challenging, and kept me very busy, it was a rewarding experience that I can walk away from feeling a sense of accomplishment. My lowest grade was a 93% A. Something I feel very proud of. Especially since it was a class that going into, I felt like it was over my head. Its just such a great sense of empowerment to know that I tackled something a little out of my comfort zone.

Aside from learning a lot, and earning all "A's" I was also chosen to speak at my school's public speaking competition, where I presented my speech on the importance of reporting occurrences of animal abuse (I won at the preliminary level and then advanced on to finals). I also researched and wrote an essay on capital punishment (I think it turned out great!).

So here's to another challenging upcoming semester!

The Life of A Legal Assistant

Ya know, somedays, I just feel like I'm over-stressed, underappreciated, and not one person cares. A friend sent me this cartoon a long time ago, and its just so appropriate to depict the life of a legal assistant.

Writing for Comics!?

As an adult, full-time working student, I often find myself having to take whatever class fits a given requirement that will actually fit my working schedule. This means, I really miss out on taking classes of interest, and am just stuck taking whatever class fits my schedule. So after speaking with my advisor and trying to juggle around the schedule, I am enrolled to take a class which meets the "arts, aesthetics, and creativity" general education requirement. The problem is, the topic is "Writing for Comics." I've never even picked up a comic book in my life!!!

Complications of being a Full-Time Student and Full-Time Legal Assistant

Non-traditional college students are faced with many challenges that other "traditional" college students do not even comprehend. Not necessarily in order of importance, here are a few off the top of my head:

1. Very few scholarships are available for part-time students; most non-traditional students who must work to put food on the table do not have enough time in their already busy and complicated schedules to attend a full-time academic program.

2. Even if you can get a scholarship as a part-time student or if you do attend college full-time, if you work full-time, and even worse, if you hold a good paying job, your chances of getting a scholarship go out the window if you make more than $15,000 a year, which most non-traditional, adult, working students do. Unfortunately, the fact we often have mortgages or high rent payments, car payments, insurance premiums to pay, hungry tummies to feed, which all leave us pennyless and poor, most college financial aid offices look at us as though we must be nuts for asking for any money!

3. When the heck do we have time to get the homework/studying done!? As if working 40+ hours a week and attending classes was hard enough, I spend an average of 8 to 10 hours every week studying. Time management is key. I also try to find ways to study whenever I find myself with a few minutes to spare. In fact, this semester I am taking a class on real estate law which requires a lot of reading from a very thick textbook. My intention is to take the book to Staples or Office Max, have them unbind the book, scan it into an electronic format which can be read in Adobe/Acrobat so that I can sneak some reading in on my smartphone while on the go.

4. It is getting harder and harder to refrain from strangling these snot-nosed clueless 18 and 19 year old kids every time they claim they are just too busy to complete assignments (especially when working on group projects). Just the other day I heard a young lady say she had to drop a class because she has way-overextended herself. Hopeful I had found someone I could relate to, I chimed in and said, "yeah, I know what ya mean!" She then added that she feels so much better now only taking 2 classes. I asked what else she does when she's not at school (assuming she would say she has a job or volunteers). She said mostly sleeping and hanging out with friends!!!

My Dream

Lets face it, none of us wants to be at the bottom of the food chain, don't we all want to make something of ourselves?

I've been a pee-on legal assistant for the last 5 years of my life. I thought I was content, even decided to go on to a paralegal certificate program. It was through that paralegal certificate program, and by working for a firm of well-versed attorneys that I realized I want to pursue my own law degree, I don't want to put up with "scan this, copy this, go fetch this" for the rest of my life. Darn it, I'm going to law school!

This blog will mostly focus on my dreams and aspirations of becoming an attorney, with a little other stuff mixed in. I hope it will be both entertaining and useful not only to other undergraduate students thinking about going to law school, but to other paralegals, and other adult, working, college students. Follow me as I bust my you know whats as a legal assistant while going to school full-time to attain a bachelor's degree for the sole purpose of applying to law schools.