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I know everyone in law school just brushes off the "practical" things that rarely get taught and says you'll learn them when you start practicing. As I only a year away from the bar exam and having spent two summers doing pretty good substantive law I've learned a lot but not nearly enough to make me feel comfortable. Are there any lurking attorneys or just knowledgable students who have any suggestions on becoming competent at the simple "practical" things. It's amazing how little they go over motions practice or how to deal with filing or general practice management concerns.

I'm currently in a state that has a very concise "Practice Book" that summarizes all the dos and don'ts for courts, example motions, etc. The state I'll be practicing in doesn't have such a concise manual.

My personal take is that even within a given jurisdiction, different employers do things so differently, you're just going to have to accept that you learn on the job and that you'll feel uncomfortable about it for quite a while. I say this because I really can't think of any way that law school could have taught me/I could have taught myself how to do my job - *especially* the practical stuff rather than BLL - before I got here.

(Although there are probably useful resources for general practice management - I'm not in a firm so I can't help on that.)

If you are doing lit and are going to even a mid-size firm:

(1) You don't have to worry about "motions practice" in the sense of when to file motions or why to file motions. Someone higher level will be making those calls. Your job will be to do legal research on discrete topics, write portions of the motion, pull together evidence, etc. You are in a supporting role and you will figure out the strategy over time.

(2) You don't need to know the nitty-gritty of filing from Day 1. Most firms have paralegals or other support staff who are very familiar with filing systems and filing rules (e.g. what has to be hard copy, what type of signatures are acceptable, and whatnot).

(3) Generally, you also don't need to worry about "practice management." Higher level people will handle the managerial aspects of the case. Your job will just be to finish whatever you need to do by the deadlines given. To the extent you need management skills at all, you need basic social skills: how to gracefully turn down work when you are too busy, who the appropriate people to e-mail are for various issues, how to get along with other associates so that you do not become a piranha, etc.

If a place is hiring entry-level attorneys, it's all but certain they expect to have to train you to do even simple things. It's perfectly OK, and in fact they may prefer it so they can train you their way.

Does your law school have any clinics and/or practical classes (pretrial practice, trial tactics, appellate practice)? If so, take several of those 3L year. I did, and it made my 3L year so much more enjoyable (and rewarding) than the previous two years.

It's a nice thought, but unless you're planning on opening up a solo practice, you likely won't be needing/using these skills for a long time (if ever).