how important are school activities? Forum

[Leonardo DiCaprio]

feeling kinda bad that i will just be a "member" or "participant." should i be gunning for board positions of clubs and orgs? or is it all just flame and doesn't matter at all for jobs (outside of really big stuff like LR)

[star fox]

NOT important

[TheSpanishMain]

Not important. Maybe helpful if you're a k-jd trying desperate to put stuff on the resume, but even then only marginally. Also, might be more helpful if you are gunning for PI and are trying to demonstrate interest or commitment to a specific niche area. But in general, yeah not a big deal

[Lobolaw1984]

Not important unless you are doing then for fun or to build connections in law school.

[jbagelboy]

I joined a couple students orgs to meet people with similar interests and host fun events, and served on the board with people I liked and where we could deploy the student org budget towards copious drink tickets. Only one organization turned out to be a lot of work. It can help you meet faculty and signal an interest in a specific area of law on your resume, but those are marginal at best; it's mostly just socializing and participating in the law school community. So no, it's not important whatsoever from a functional career perspective.

[Companion Cube]

I got asked in ONE interview what school activities I planned on being involved in. Totally dodged the question and didn't suffer for it.

[totesTheGoat]

Not important unless you are doing then for fun or to build connections in law school.

This ^^. I have 3 extracurriculars, all of which are enjoyable and are also conduits to meet judges and partners in top law firms not only in town, but across the country. I think 3 is a bit of overkill, but 1 or 2 "officer" type positions will give you enough exposure to do some good networking.

[Ravenclaw23]

Journal & mock trial/moot court are the only activities law firms will actually care about. (Mock Trial/Moot Court is something to focus on if you're interested in litigation, but if you're planning to go transactional I wouldn't worry about it too much).

If you're interested in PI then some volunteer work (or work in your school's clinic) is going to be more valuable than saying "I planned an event for the sport law society" or whatever).

I wouldn't stress about it - focus on grades and getting onto a journal & you'll be fine.

[TheSpanishMain]

focus on grades and getting onto a journal & you'll be fine.

I think you can roll with the above unless you're talking main journal.

[totesTheGoat]

The only ones that matter are the ones that have actual lawyer chapters, and those only matter because you can network and because interviewers may be a part of them. I've had a certain extracurricular become a topic of discussion in 2 or 3 interviews because the interviewers were part of the lawyer chapter of the group.

[pancakes3]

you sound stupid when you introduce yourself as moot court chancellor