Top Law Schools

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looks like it got bad reviews on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R73K2IALR4 ... hisHelpful

bedbathandbeheadings wrote:looks like it got bad reviews on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R73K2IALR4 ... hisHelpful

Yeah, from an anti-Semite.

just bought it, excited to read.

Anti-Semitic Amazon.com Reviewer wrote:

Encyclopedia Brown wrote:

bedbathandbeheadings wrote:looks like it got bad reviews on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R73K2IALR4 ... hisHelpful

Yeah, from an anti-Semite.

Walton's book is called "Guerrilla Tactics for Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams." Walton actually is right that there are guerrilla tactics you can employ to boost your odds of getting a legal position, but she fails to mention what they are. If you really want a legal job, and you are willing to do anything, then consider: (a) changing your last name to Silberfarb, Rosenfeld, Goldberg, Kaplan or Silverstein; (b) wearing a yarmulka to your legal interviews; and (c) putting down something about a love of Israeli history in the hobbies/interests section of your resume. I cannot guarantee that my "guerrilla tactics" will get you a legal job, but I feel strongly that following my advice will get you further than any of the advice contained in Walton's book. Good luck!

rofl

http://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Tactics ... addOneStar

As for getting into a huge firm via the "backdoor method" even if you don't have the grades or go to the right school: this is ludicrous. I've worked for several BIGLAW firms. There are schools that they absolutely will not hire from. Not no how, not no way. In fact, I worked with a woman who tried to get in to a firm from a non-approved school. She worked for the firm as an assistant during her last two years in law school. They told her straight out: we love you, we love your work, we'd love to hire you, BUT YOU WENT TO THE WRONG SCHOOL. (And yes, they were that blunt about it).

The author went to Yale for crying out loud. She has no idea what she's talking about on this one.

hi_im_josh wrote:http://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Tactics ... addOneStar

As for getting into a huge firm via the "backdoor method" even if you don't have the grades or go to the right school: this is ludicrous. I've worked for several BIGLAW firms. There are schools that they absolutely will not hire from. Not no how, not no way. In fact, I worked with a woman who tried to get in to a firm from a non-approved school. She worked for the firm as an assistant during her last two years in law school. They told her straight out: we love you, we love your work, we'd love to hire you, BUT YOU WENT TO THE WRONG SCHOOL. (And yes, they were that blunt about it).

The author went to Yale for crying out loud. She has no idea what she's talking about on this one.

I have the book. The author didn't go to Yale, she went to Case Western and mentions it several times. She talks pretty fairly about her own legal career path.

Whoever wrote that review read the summary and not the book.

Just downloaded it for Kindle for Mac for $16... (my first Kindle download -- See how the format works for me.)

Purchasing soon.

Thanks for the plug.

I plan to order this and I'm sure it is a good book, but I have two reservations:

1. The more people utilizing these tactics, the less beneficial they become. Networking is huge, but when everyone is doing it and doing it the same way, you really don't stand out and reap the benefits you would otherwise. The TLS community has been raving about this book for months, and it is currently out of stock on Amazon. A lot of the book reviewers say that they used all the tips in this book and still came up empty. With the market the way it is, everyone is relying on networking (or they should be).

2. Even if you network, you really can't be a social misfit or rub people the wrong way. I am sure some of the tips in this book will be useful, but if you are a mouth-breathing awkward turtle with no personal skills whose very presence screams "NO FUN," then you're probably outta luck no matter what books you read.

(I guess 2 isn't so much a personal reservation since I am far from socially inept, but I just thought I'd throw that out there. This book ain't gonna be a fix all, especially if you have bad interpersonal skills. But I definitely am going to read it and put a lot of it to use.)

I'm casually reading this now and it contains some very good information, but I'm so tired of her wonky tangents. The number of times I've read, "So you may be saying, "Well Kimmbo, blah blah blah. Here is example blah blah blah"" increases the size of the book (already established as high on the tomeitude scale) by a good amount.

Seriously, I'll take your word for it without the zany side stories.

romothesavior wrote:I plan to order this and I'm sure it is a good book, but I have two reservations:

1. The more people utilizing these tactics, the less beneficial they become. Networking is huge, but when everyone is doing it and doing it the same way, you really don't stand out and reap the benefits you would otherwise. The TLS community has been raving about this book for months, and it is currently out of stock on Amazon. A lot of the book reviewers say that they used all the tips in this book and still came up empty. With the market the way it is, everyone is relying on networking (or they should be).

Seriously, even the people who buy this book, read it and try it won't be enough to give you much competition. The book was written to tell people who to find jobs on their own, even with guidance, most people will suck at it or do it half assed. Look at how many people on this board are going to LS because "they sent out 100 resumes and could not find a job with their X degree." These will be the same people who will say in three years I sent out 300 resumes and can't find a job with my JD it must be: TTT law schools fault, the ABA's fault, illegal immigrants fault, Obama's fault, everyone but themselves fault. That attitude is RAMPANT among law school students/graduates because they have grown to think, and therefore do little else, that the school is supposed to find them a job.

TheBigMediocre wrote:I'm casually reading this now and it contains some very good information, but I'm so tired of her wonky tangents. The number of times I've read, "So you may be saying, "Well Kimmbo, blah blah blah. Here is example blah blah blah"" increases the size of the book (already established as high on the tomeitude scale) by a good amount.

Seriously, I'll take your word for it without the zany side stories.

Agree with this.

But you have to realize where she is coming from, before this book (and allot of the info in the book comes from this) she was the "Job Goddess" basically the Ann Landers of law jobs, answering questions sent in by lawyers/law students. So allot of the advice she gives is in that "tone" and if you have ever read any "advice columns" they are written like that for some reason.

Also people should note this is NOT her advice coming from having done this, but if you look in the front of the book there are 100's of names/titles of who gave the actual advice (a lot of them long time career services folks at law schools or people who hire law students). Like any advice columnist, she is not personally an expert on every facet of job hunting, but she had access to people who where, so she took their advice and put it into one book that covers everything you can think of.

Again just like Ann Landers would get some question then go find and expert on the subject, get the answer, and write it up. There are tones of responses from legal ceare experts throughout the book. You just need to understand it's not a "I did this book" but a "the experts all agree you should do this" she was just the writer, not the comer up with the suggestions. Hence she ads her won little, wacky, edge to the advice likely so as to not just have a book full of quotes from other people.

All that being said I agree with about 85% of the advice given in here, the rest I won't do, or just won't work for my personality. So take from it what works for you and discard the stuff that won't.

Matthies wrote:

RW65 wrote:A friend of mine gave me the first edition, is the second edition really that much better?

Second edition is update with more infor on using the internet for job searching, e-mail stuff, electronic correspondance, chgaing hiring pratices ect. Is it worth it, i dunno, if it lands you a good job then its well wroth the 20 bucks? I think so.

I just ordered the second edition from amazon along with never eat alone. I didn't realize that there was such a difference between the two editions.

Hopefully it is money well spent.

Thanks for the tip!

For those who have this book: how useful is it for on campus interviews? It seems like a lot of the advice may be for people looking for jobs outside of the OCI-track.

I just finished 1L at Yale. Don't know my grades yet (we don't have any first semester, and second semester professors have yet to post). We have a lottery process for OCI, I think. I'd like to get as good of a job next summer as possible. I suppose I will be hired based on the strength of my OCI interviewing. Are the tips for interviewing and OCI really stellar? Worth buying the book just for that?

tinman wrote:For those who have this book: how useful is it for on campus interviews? It seems like a lot of the advice may be for people looking for jobs outside of the OCI-track.

I just finished 1L at Yale.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this book probably wasn't written with your kind in mind. I think you're good to go just having a pulse.

tinman wrote:For those who have this book: how useful is it for on campus interviews? It seems like a lot of the advice may be for people looking for jobs outside of the OCI-track.

I just finished 1L at Yale. Don't know my grades yet (we don't have any first semester, and second semester professors have yet to post). We have a lottery process for OCI, I think. I'd like to get as good of a job next summer as possible. I suppose I will be hired based on the strength of my OCI interviewing. Are the tips for interviewing and OCI really stellar? Worth buying the book just for that?

It's probably worth it for stuff like that too if you think your resume/cover letters/interviewing are sub-par. There is also a chapter called "I Go to an Elite Law School", and there is a chapter about being no-offered in case that happens to you. There are also sections on academia, clerkships, etc. which might apply to you.

But the bulk of the book is really for the 90% that aren't getting a job through OCI.

Mr. Matlock wrote:

tinman wrote:For those who have this book: how useful is it for on campus interviews? It seems like a lot of the advice may be for people looking for jobs outside of the OCI-track.

I just finished 1L at Yale.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this book probably wasn't written with your kind in mind. I think you're good to go just having a pulse.

it never hurts to get as much info as possible. The days of just having a pulse at a top law school and securing a job are over.

Just got my copy!

Fuck tomitude.... the thing is FUCKING HUGE!!!!

Legal Career Services at UGA praises this book to high heaven...I really need to get on that! lol

FYI, the book is also available on Westlaw Rewards for 1700 points.

For books and supplements, they quote 3-4 weeks for shipping.

This book has a great section on cover letters.

The downside to its size is that you need to be on some sort of significant break to be able to fully take it in.

I agree though. One of the best reads a law student can have.

TLS007 wrote:FYI, the book is also available on Westlaw Rewards for 1700 points.

For books and supplements, they quote 3-4 weeks for shipping.

nice. Let's hope I get this book before OCI so I can read over it

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