To do, or not to do? LRW Teaching Assistant? Forum

[spinks]

Hi all,

I'm not sure if this is the norm at other schools, but at my school 3Ls serve as TAs for LRW classes. They have to attend the LRW classes themselves, teach citation workshops, have office hours and they check the students' citations. I think they also help draft the writing prompts for LRW assignments.

Anyway, my professor asked me to apply to be a TA. I'm inclined to say no because I'd rather take a clinc or intern somewhere during the semester, but I'm not sure if I should. At our school it's *kind* of prestigious to do it because it means you did well in LRW. Does anybody in the outside world care?

I don't go to a top ranked school (we're talking 50--100 range, but fairly solid in our region) so I'm generally looking to do anything that will make me seem AWESOME. Also, I get good grades but I'm quiet in class and, with the anonymous exam situation, don't have tons of recommenders lined up. My LRW professor is already willing to write me recommendations but this would probably make them meatier. That being said, I've done other stuff to demonstrate my writing ability (named editor position on LR, note selected for publication, A in LRW). Should I just pursue the other stuff I'm interested in?

[jdmonkey]

Hi all,

I'm not sure if this is the norm at other schools, but at my school 3Ls serve as TAs for LRW classes. They have to attend the LRW classes themselves, teach citation workshops, have office hours and they check the students' citations. I think they also help draft the writing prompts for LRW assignments.

Anyway, my professor asked me to apply to be a TA. I'm inclined to say no because I'd rather take a clinc or intern somewhere during the semester, but I'm not sure if I should. At our school it's *kind* of prestigious to do it because it means you did well in LRW. Does anybody in the outside world care?

I don't go to a top ranked school (we're talking 50--100 range, but fairly solid in our region) so I'm generally looking to do anything that will make me seem AWESOME. Also, I get good grades but I'm quiet in class and, with the anonymous exam situation, don't have tons of recommenders lined up. My LRW professor is already willing to write me recommendations but this would probably make them meatier. That being said, I've done other stuff to demonstrate my writing ability (named editor position on LR, note selected for publication, A in LRW). Should I just pursue the other stuff I'm interested in?

Your success on law review especially with the publication and the editor position shows you can write. Employers can see your LRW grade anyways. You only are in law school once, so I'd say pursue the stuff you are interested in. You already have the LRW prof. saying she will writ a rec. It isn't too late to get to know your professors in classes you got A's in either.

[Mr.Throwback]

At my school 2Ls can be TAs and my LRW TA was exceptionally helpful. She even checked our citations and corrected them before our briefs were due. Definitely do it, it's rewarding, looks good (resumes, employers, friends&family), and it'll help you network within your school/alumni.