Top Law Schools

I'm sure this has been addressed a number of times already, but I'm brand new to this forum and the idea of law school and the sheer number of posts here is rather daunting. To keep this simple, I'm just wondering what the BEST way to prepare for law school is. I know most people recommend taking the courses, but they're a bit out of my price range right now so I'd really like to start with some self study. What are the best books to start studying with?

Also, this is a long shot, but I'm going to apply to a joint J.D./M.A. program in Women's Studies. I've found this list:

George Washington University - JD/MA Women’s Studies

University of Cincinnati - JD/MA Women’s Studies

University of Florida - JD/MA Women’s Studies

University of Arizona - JD/MA Women’s Studies

University of Indiana, Bloomington - JD with a minor in Gender Studies

American University’s Women and International Law Program — LLM in International Legal Studies with a specialization in Gender and International Law

But does anyone know if there are any other programs that are joint JD/MA in women's studies OR any other law programs with a specific gender focus? Thanks!

What do you want to do with your JD/MA?

Why did you post this in the LSAT forum?

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rad law wrote:What do you want to do with your JD/MA?

Yeah. You might want to rethink that combination. Not sure how useful that really is.

I want to go into some kind of anti-gender discrimination or women's rights / maybe even family law type work.

shocktreatment wrote:I want to go into some kind of anti-gender discrimination or women's rights / maybe even family law type work.

You do not need an MA to do family law. To get into real heavy civil rights work, you'll need to go to Harvard, Stanford or Yale and you probably won't need the MA from those schools either.

I basically want the MA just because I find gender issues the most interesting of all academic fields and the JD for the practicality...

paratactical wrote:

shocktreatment wrote:I want to go into some kind of anti-gender discrimination or women's rights / maybe even family law type work.

You do not need an MA to do family law. To get into real heavy civil rights work, you'll need to go to Harvard, Stanford or Yale and you probably won't need the MA from those schools either.

Agree with the above.

If you want to get involved in anti-discrimination policy concerns or whatever, law school is probably not the bast place to get into this.

shocktreatment wrote:I basically want the MA just because I find gender issues the most interesting of all academic fields and the JD for the practicality...

I think you do not have a realistic understanding of the cost of education versus how much you can get paid in the fields you are looking at. It is not particularly fiscally responsible to get a MA because it's "interesting".

Unless of course you're a trustie, in which case, have fun.

paratactical wrote:

shocktreatment wrote:I basically want the MA just because I find gender issues the most interesting of all academic fields and the JD for the practicality...

I think you do not have a realistic understanding of the cost of education versus how much you can get paid in the fields you are looking at. It is not particularly fiscally responsible to get a MA because it's "interesting".

Unless of course you're a trustie, in which case, have fun.

Wait... 200k in debt to work as a family lawyer, i.e. doing divorces for anyone that walks through the door, earning 47k + free pizza on friday is not fiscally responsible? Why not?

Also See... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMvARy0l ... r_embedded and understand that as you type... What I hear is, essentially, the words that are coming out of the mouth of the female character.

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Joint degrees are almost entirely useless unless they are:

JD/MS in engineering.
JD/MBA at Harvard, Stanford, Penn, or Northwestern.
JD/MD.
JD/LLM Tax.

If you're interested in gender discrimination suits, then get a JD from the best school you can (or the one you can go for the least debt) and try and work for a plaintiff's firm that does gender discrimination lawsuits. It'll be pretty low paying work (40-50k) but that's fine if you can keep your debt down.

As for preparation, buy the "Bibles" series from PowerScore and the official LSAC PrepTests (all can be found on Amazon). Take at least 10-15 of the PrepTests over a period of several months, trying to improve your score 10-15 points from your initial diagnostic.

Hey there
While most of these people have a point about the investment and possibilities of troubles in repaying loans, keep this in mind. Most people on this site don't understand what it means to pursue something you are interested in because it excites you. In fact, it downright makes them angry. The people who make a difference in the world are the people who are courageous and study what they want, not these fools for whom everything is black and white. Like I said, be very careful what you invest and do your homework, but don't let these idiots talk you out of what you care about. If you search this site you will see what it means to be a soulless, money-obsessed, sheltered child.
Good Luck

kwais wrote:Hey there
While most of these people have a point about the investment and possibilities of troubles in repaying loans, keep this in mind. Most people on this site don't understand what it means to pursue something you are interested in because it excites you. In fact, it downright makes them angry. The people who make a difference in the world are the people who are courageous and study what they want, not these fools for whom everything is black and white. Like I said, be very careful what you invest and do your homework, but don't let these idiots talk you out of what you care about. If you search this site you will see what it means to be a soulless, money-obsessed, sheltered child.
Good Luck

FWIW, I've done a lot of pursuing what excites me but I've tried to do it without financially shooting myself in the foot because I don't have parents that can support me.

FWIW, I've done a lot of pursuing what excites me but I've tried to do it without financially shooting myself in the foot because I don't have parents that can support me.[/quote]

Courage and prudence are different things. Both admirable, but different.

paratactical wrote:

kwais wrote:Hey there
While most of these people have a point about the investment and possibilities of troubles in repaying loans, keep this in mind. Most people on this site don't understand what it means to pursue something you are interested in because it excites you. In fact, it downright makes them angry. The people who make a difference in the world are the people who are courageous and study what they want, not these fools for whom everything is black and white. Like I said, be very careful what you invest and do your homework, but don't let these idiots talk you out of what you care about. If you search this site you will see what it means to be a soulless, money-obsessed, sheltered child.
Good Luck

FWIW, I've done a lot of pursuing what excites me but I've tried to do it without financially shooting myself in the foot because I don't have parents that can support me.

True-fucking-that sister.

kwais wrote: Courage and prudence are different things. Both admirable, but different.

I saved enough money so that I could take 3 months off of life and go to rebuild some of the most toxic, decaying and collapsing structures in NOLA. If you would like to tell me that's not a combination of both, I'd love to tell you what it's like to find a rotting corpse.

rayiner wrote:Joint degrees are almost entirely useless unless they are:

JD/MS in engineering.
JD/MBA at Harvard, Stanford, Penn, or Northwestern.
JD/MD.
JD/LLM Tax.

If you're interested in gender discrimination suits, then get a JD from the best school you can (or the one you can go for the least debt) and try and work for a plaintiff's firm that does gender discrimination lawsuits. It'll be pretty low paying work (40-50k) but that's fine if you can keep your debt down.

As for preparation, buy the "Bibles" series from PowerScore and the official LSAC PrepTests (all can be found on Amazon). Take at least 10-15 of the PrepTests over a period of several months, trying to improve your score 10-15 points from your initial diagnostic.

What about a JD/PhD from a T6? I wouldn't be wasting my time if I wanted to be a law professor, right?

JurisDoctorate wrote: What about a JD/PhD from a T6? I wouldn't be wasting my time if I wanted to be a law professor, right?

if you have the confidence to embark on such an endeavor you probably shouldnt be looking to an internet board for affirmation

I'm not really looking for affirmation, I was just trying to (meekly) refute his assertion.

paratactical wrote:

kwais wrote: Courage and prudence are different things. Both admirable, but different.

I saved enough money so that I could take 3 months off of life and go to rebuild some of the most toxic, decaying and collapsing structures in NOLA. If you would like to tell me that's not a combination of both, I'd love to tell you what it's like to find a rotting corpse.

Courage indeed. Two things though. Did you do it to boost your law school apps? Why don't you encourage the same type of courage in others to do what they think is right?

kwais wrote:

paratactical wrote:

kwais wrote: Courage and prudence are different things. Both admirable, but different.

I saved enough money so that I could take 3 months off of life and go to rebuild some of the most toxic, decaying and collapsing structures in NOLA. If you would like to tell me that's not a combination of both, I'd love to tell you what it's like to find a rotting corpse.

Courage indeed. Two things though. Did you do it to boost your law school apps? Why don't you encourage the same type of courage in others to do what they think is right?

1) No.

2) Because getting a MFA in women's studies to do family law might be what the OP thinks is right, but if she does some research, she'll see that it is superfulous and she will be selfishly extending herself into deeper debt, preventing her from being able to work for salaries that will allow her to actually help the people she professes to want to help.

2) Because getting a MFA in women's studies to do family law might be what the OP thinks is right, but if she does some research, she'll see that it is (might be) superfulous and she will be (might be) selfishly(?) extending herself into deeper debt, (possibly)preventing her from being able to work for salaries that will allow her to actually help the people she professes to want to help.

You have forgotton the differences between possibilities and facts. It is good for people to know the potential problems with their chosen path. I just don't understand why people think that their warnings are gospel and fail to give any substantive advice once said gospel has been spoken.

kwais wrote: You have forgotton the differences between possibilities and facts. It is good for people to know the potential problems with their chosen path.

Okay, so allow me to rephrase:

OP, the MA will not actually help you reach any of your goals, but sunshine and puppies, go for it!