It’s been like this since I went to law school in the 1990s, and it’s largely the same today.

LRW profs rarely get tenure.
They often have no vote.
And they typically make less than $100,000/year.

That’s a lot less than clinical profs, and only about HALF of doctrinal-prof pay.

Dear 1L,

The No. 1 question 1Ls are asking me this week is, “Can you explain CREAC?”

So if you, too, are confused, you are not stupid and nothing is wrong with you.

It is very hard to start writing in a structure that is completely unlike anything you have ever written before.

“How many of you have gotten a job because of a connection?”

There must have been at least 100 lawyers in the room.

Every single one raised their hand.

👉 Law students: This is the way to get jobs.

🔹 On turning 55:

—“Yikes!”

(We are definitely more than half way through now.🙀😱)

—But also, “Ahhh!”

(At least compared to 25, a birthday on which I cried, as I was 100% single and thought I’d grow old, a spinster, and die.)

Beta-readers.

👉 A beta-reader is like a test case.

—The idea is that you send a very early draft of your book to people who resemble the types of readers you're targeting.

—Then, you get all their feedback; you make the draft better; and you send it to a new set of beta-readers.

For the very first time EVER:

I gave a big speech.
It was before a whole section of 1Ls.
It was for “Welcome to Law School” Day.
And it was my alma mater, Boston College Law School.

Never having given a true “speech,” I was NERVOUS.

They may say they already:

-finished 2 pre-law prep courses,
-did the first month’s worth of reading,
-met with your professors at office hours, or
-copied all the final doctrinal exams from the library.

They didn’t give you much of a break, did they? Since right after exams, you’ve had the write-on, your first “legal” job, early recruiting, OCI, and whatever you’ve had going on in your personal life.

Whether you have a 2L summer job lined up or not, it probably hasn’t felt like much of a summer “break.”

I knew it would happen eventually, but wow, it still sucked.

Last evening, as I played the otherwise terrible day back in my mind, the review was the thing that really stuck in my craw.

Then a real friend came through for me.

And I emphasize “real.”

The JDs coming from law school do not know how to write.

🔹 Yes, law schools are too academic + unfocused on the practical skills needed.

🔹 But legal-writing professors face a mounting challenge:

The students coming out of college do not know how to write, either (at least not anywhere near as well as they used to).

Some 2Ls try to do everything under the sun.

-They do every affinity and interest group.
-They do law review and moot court.
-They assume roles on committees.
-They attend each social event.
-They even work part-time.

--> They have no free time.

(Old law-school deans apparently used say that on the first day of law school.)

Here’s what I want you to think about today instead:

⬇️

Look left; look right;
30 years from now,
1 will be your boss,

Dear 1L,

You will do better this year if you decide how the important parts of each day go in advance.

Most 1Ls choose to play things by ear.
They let external factors dictate their days.

It starts with what time they wake up.

🔹 When you wrote in college, you got rewarded for writing MORE.

—You had to write papers LONG enough to meet a page or word MINimum.

E.g., “must be at least twenty-five pages.”

🔹 But in law school, you get rewarded for writing LESS.

Hello! I hope your summer has been going well and that you’re getting excited for law school to start.

Most people also feel some anxiety, and as orientation approaches, the fear of uncertainty can come on pretty strong.

I am going to try to alleviate some of that for you by sharing helpful info and tools you can use throughout the year.