Page 1 of 1

Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:36 pm
by cesium
Say an applicant typesets his/her personal statements and resumes using LaTeX. Would adcomms notice? If so, would it suggest the applicant is tech-savvy (which is good)? Or would they think the applicant is out-of-touch with the legal world(most attorneys use MS Word)?

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:53 pm
by a.sleepyhead
I'm guessing most adcomms aren't familiar with LaTeX, but I don't think it would hurt unless it was awkwardly formatted. I used InDesign for my stuff to make the formatting cleaner, but I don't think it does anything either way.

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:53 pm
by dnptan
Not many people know about LaTex. LSAC doesn't accept PDF files for uploads. I'm assuming it's unfamiliar with dvi and tex files either. Nobody will know what program you're using. It doesn't matter in the least bit. Worry more about content than medium.

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:59 pm
by ScottRiqui
cesium wrote:Say an applicant typesets his/her personal statements and resumes using LaTeX. Would adcomms notice? If so, would it suggest the applicant is tech-savvy (which is good)? Or would they think the applicant is out-of-touch with the legal world(most attorneys use MS Word)?
1) Except perhaps on the resumé, I doubt the adcomms would notice; to the untrained eye, a couple of standard-width paragraphs isn't going to look wildly different in LaTeX compared to Word.

2) If they do notice something different, they're probably just going to assume you used a slightly different font or something like that, rather than realizing you used an advanced typesetting program.

3) Does the LSAC site even let you upload files in .tex format?

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:24 pm
by twenty
1) No one will notice.
2) Even if someone notices, no one will care.
3) Fairly sure LSAC doesn't take .tex files.
4) Just don't.

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:51 pm
by cron1834
cesium wrote:Say an applicant typesets his/her personal statements and resumes using LaTeX. Would adcomms notice? If so, would it suggest the applicant is tech-savvy (which is good)? Or would they think the applicant is out-of-touch with the legal world(most attorneys use MS Word)?
JFC.

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:55 pm
by patogordo
you should also insist on paying your application fees in bitcoin

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 12:05 pm
by papercut
I'm pretty sure LSAC doesn't accept PDFs. End thread.

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:29 pm
by iamgeorgebush
patogordo wrote:you should also insist on paying your application fees in bitcoin
titcr

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:35 pm
by xRON MEXiCOx
A lot of attorneys still use Word Perfect. I don't think it's going to impress them.

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:42 pm
by TheSpanishMain
Dude, you're really insanely neurotic.

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 2:14 am
by Skump
First I was like. (LinkRemoved)

Then I was like. (LinkRemoved)

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 2:18 am
by Hipster but Athletic
I used tex for my cover letters/resumes because it's easier to programmatically change the firm names/addressees in the tex files...although I probably could've found like a python-word plug in. I'm thinking about switching back to word though in the future becasue the software that pulls the information from resumes tends to a lot better job getting it right from .doc's than my res.sty resume. That said, I might look into ways to better format res.sty to make it HR-software compatible.

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 9:50 pm
by cach22
.

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 9:52 pm
by Clearly
cach22 wrote:....to be clear...I think LSAC does indeed accept PDFs
lsac 100% does not accept pdf's. Because they use an auto-merging software to join individual essays into an app, and pdfs often can't be merged.

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 10:11 pm
by aboutmydaylight
Is there any point to learning LaTeX for law school? I know its very popular among grad students, especially those that need to type mathematical formulas but I don't see an apparent reason why it would be necessary in law school.

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 12:59 am
by Mack.Hambleton
cach22 wrote:....to be clear...I think LSAC does indeed accept PDFs
>bumping this thread to give bad info

120 bro

Re: Using LaTeX for personal statements and resumes

Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 1:00 am
by Hipster but Athletic
aboutmydaylight wrote:Is there any point to learning LaTeX for law school? I know its very popular among grad students, especially those that need to type mathematical formulas but I don't see an apparent reason why it would be necessary in law school.
There's no reason at all