Dear 1L,

I was wrong.

You may be a good writer.
You may be an excellent writer.
You may even be a published author.
But you are not a good legal writer yet.
You couldn’t possibly be.

💌 Dear 1L,

There will be some people at the start of law school who try to brag about how much time they spent on the assigned reading before the first class.

🔹 They may say they met with one of your professors already.

🔹 They may mention that they already copied all of a professor’s sample final exams from the library.

💌 Dear 1L - Student Spotlight

Meet a two-time college dropout who, later in life, refused to let “delayed” mean “denied.”

In the 1990s, {@ALEX BELOW} failed to get a Bachelor’s from the Univ. of New Orleans (UNO), but he worked successfully in business to support his family for the next 20 years. Still, though, he aspired for more. 

💌 Dear 1L,

The summer before law school, I started to get nervous. I was excited, too, but as I sensed the magnitude of what was coming, anxiety built inside.

There were SO many unknowns:

What would law school be like?

Would the people be nice? 

In college:

Your papers and essays had to be long enough to meet a minimum page or word length (e.g. “must be at least 20 pages”). Essentially, you had to keep writing more words to make your writing long enough, and if you did, you were rewarded.

Your professors also used big, *pedagogical* words and abstract phraseology to teach you.

💌 Dear 1L,

One thing you can do before law school begins is this: Prepare your family and friends.

You’re going to be a little off-grid this fall.

A bit preoccupied.

Especially at the beginning. 

💌 But today I could not contain my joy. My daughter just got back from her first trip to the law school bookstore, and she brought me this big sweatshirt! Proud new Penn Law mom here!

💌 Dear 1L,

If you’re new to “engaging” on LinkedIn, please don’t be intimidated. I was like you last August. I still get terrible anxiety before posting. It makes me feel better when I can help you.

Today I share some info that helped me understand better how LinkedIn works. If you want to follow a real expert, I recommend the wonderful John Espirian.

💌 Dear 1L,

If you want to succeed in legal writing, you’ll need to shift your mindset. Here’s what I mean.

In college:

Your papers and essays had to be long enough to meet a minimum page or word length (e.g. “must be at least 20 pages”).

💌 Dear 1L,

Don’t worry about cold calls. I get it. I was worried, too. Scenes from movies about law school made it all seem beyond stressful. I wasn’t quite sure how I would handle them. I mean, I had always been good at class participation (when I wanted to be), but everyone said law school was so different.

Here’s some info to help you.

Dear 1L,

✏️ Read a lot of essay answers. Just read them. You don’t even need to think. Just let their wording absorb into your brain passively.

I took three different state bar exams during my pre-UBE career. Same experience each one:

💌 Dear 1L,

My goal is to help new law students get started on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn can seem scary sometimes. I still find that today, nearly one year into my own journey here.  But I’ve learned that the legal community on here is very supportive. 

Dear 1L,

In case you’ve been away, here’s a recap on advice to help you get a job at a law firm.

🔹 FIRST:  I’ve added to my website a free, 16-point checklist to help you self-edit your legal writing. You can download from my Writing Law Tutors website.  (See link at top of my profile, and DM any questions.)

Dear 1L,

Will I make friends at law school?

Will there be parties and bar scenes?

Or will I have zero time for social life at all?

These are all concerns that swirled inside my head, that July of 1993. 

💌 Dear 1L,

OCI writing samples: 3 steps to increase the odds yours is well-received by law firms.

1️⃣ CRAFT A COVER MEMO.

Include a short, concise cover memo to introduce your OCI writing sample.