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Dr. Jack E. Call, prelaw advisor Office phone: 831-5391 jcall@radford.edu Slide 2 Creation of pre-law web page http://www.radford.edu/content/chbs/home/pr elaw.html http://www.radford.edu/content/chbs/home/pr elaw.html Placement of pre-law information booklet online Rejuvenation of Phi Alpha Delta Mock trial course Spring 2013 Slide 3 Slide 4 Why do I want to go to law school? Why do I want to be a lawyer? Do I know what lawyers do every day? What quality of life do I want during law school? What quality of life do I want after law school? Should I go to an expensive or an inexpensive law school? How will I pay back my student loans? Can I handle the pressure? What could I do before going to law school? If I couldnt go to law school, what would I do instead? Slide 5 Education requirements Slide 6 4 years undergraduate school plus 3 years full- time law school Slide 7 Education requirements 4 years undergraduate school plus 3 years full- time law school Exceptions Slide 8 Education requirements 4 years undergraduate school plus 3 years full- time law school Exceptions Some part-time schools (Neubauer says about a third of accredited schools) Slide 9 Education requirements 4 years undergraduate school plus 3 years full- time law school Exceptions Some part-time schools (Neubauer says about a third of accredited schools) Reading for the law Slide 10 Education requirements 4 years undergraduate school plus 3 years full- time law school Exceptions Some part-time schools (Neubauer says about a third of accredited schools) Reading for the law Virginia is one of the few states that still utilizes this method See http://www.vbbe.state.va.us/reader/readerrules.html for the program ruleshttp://www.vbbe.state.va.us/reader/readerrules.html Slide 11 Education requirements 4 years undergraduate school plus 3 years full-time law school Exceptions Some part-time schools (Neubauer says about a third of accredited schools) Reading for the law Virginia is one of the few states that still utilizes this method See http://www.vbbe.state.va.us/reader/readerrules.html for the program ruleshttp://www.vbbe.state.va.us/reader/readerrules.html According to an ABA chart (2010), the following states permit reading for the law: California, Maine, New York, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming Slide 12 Education requirements 4 years undergraduate school plus 3 years full-time law school Exceptions Some part-time schools (Neubauer says about a third of accredited schools) Reading for the law Virginia is one of the few states that still utilizes this method According to an ABA chart (2010), the following states permit reading for the law: California, Maine, New York, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming www.abanet.org Slide 13 ABA-accredited: graduates can take bar in any state Slide 14 Unaccredited: graduates can take bar only in state where school is located Slide 15 University of Virginia College of William and Mary Washington and Lee University University of Richmond George Mason University (1979) Regent University (1986) Appalachian School of Law (Grundy)(1997) Liberty University (Lynchburg)(2004) now fully accredited Slide 16 SchoolAnnual Tuition (2010/2011/2012) Half to Full Scholarship (2011/2012) University of Virginia$38,800/42,500/44,6007.5%/13.7 William and Mary$21,646/23,800/26,2003.0/1.3 Washington and Lee$38,062/39,937/41,94718.5/26.5 George Mason University$20,556/22,222/23,7201.9/1.8 University of Richmond$32,450/34,070/35,4307.7/9.7 Regent University$29,852/31,410/32,78016.8/18.5 Appalachian School of Law$26,825/28,325/29,8259.9/11.5 Liberty University$27,847/29,120/30,60438.6/47.2 Slide 17 Multi-state bar exam (all but 2 states Washington and Louisiana use it) First administered in 1972 Source: Bar Admissions Requirements, 2009, published by National Conference of Bar Examiners and ABA Section of Legal Education Slide 18 Multi-state bar exam (all but 2 states use it) Bar review courses Slide 19 Multi-state bar exam Bar review courses Percentage that passed the Virginia bar exam in: 1990: 71% 1995: 67% 2000: 65% 2004: 64% 2008: 73% 2009: 69% 2010: 70% http://www.ncbex.org/ - provides national statistics http://www.ncbex.org/ Slide 20 Law School Rankings U.S. News: http://grad- schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com /best-graduate-schools/top-law- schools/law-rankings/page+2 http://grad- schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com /best-graduate-schools/top-law- schools/law-rankings/page+2 Slide 21 Writing ability Ability to synthesize complicated information Reading comprehension legal materials Ability to reason by example Slide 22 Slide 23 Lawyers do a lot of different things things that appeal to people with different interests and different skills Slide 24 19742001 Private practice51.957.8 Judicial clerkship8.411.6 Government18.513.1 Business9.711.3 Public interest5.32.9 Academic3.51.5 Slide 25 Slide 26 Slide 27 Slide 28 Slide 29 Slide 30 Slide 31 Slide 32 Slide 33 LSAT score and undergraduate GPA the two most important factors Slide 34 LSAT Score Range% of students 175-1800.5% 170-1742.1% 165-1696.0% 160-16410.9% 155-15917.3% 150-15418.6% 145-14917.7%