In This Issue
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About Us  

 Pre-Law Advising Office
Dr. Joseph E. Devine
U
niversity Pre-Law Advisor (Baker Hall 154; for an appt.ΒΈ stop in or call 412-268-2831; fax: 412-268-5288; e-mail: [email protected])
  
  Thomas M. Kerr, Jr. Student Pre-Law Society
Irene Sun
senior, Music Performance (Violin) major and President, Thomas M. Kerr, Jr. Student Pre-Law Society
      
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The Newsletter of the Carnegie Mellon University
Pre-Law Program
Volume 8, Issue 18
March 2018
 
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Articles

How to get the best financial aid package
If you're still in the planning stages of the law school application process, it is never too early to think about financial aid.
 
LSAT Notches Unexpected Victory in Ongoing Slugfest with GRE
Members of the administration of this law school have changed their minds about accepting the GRE for this application season.
Read more.

Majority of Recent JDs Think There's Too Much Emphasis on Rankings
Rankings are important, but are they too important?
Read more.
 
'Do Nothing' is the Best LSAT Advice You'll Receive Today
We are about three months away from the June 2018 LSAT and a little more than four months away from the brand-new July 2018 LSAT. If you're planning to take the test during one of these LSAT administrations, you're in all likelihood thinking about starting the study process in the next coming weeks.
 
LSAC is Giving $1.5M to Increase Diversity
Five law schools will receive financial grants from the Law School Admission Council to assist first and second year college students who want to learn more about the legal profession and earn a law degree.

A Closer Inspection of the Trump Bump
Previous studies indicated the existence of a "Trump Bump" in which more people planned to go to law school as a reaction to the 2016 presidential election. A new survey from Kaplan Test Prep further reveals pre-law students' political motives for applying to law school.
 
Kaplan Test Prep: Do you have what it takes to be a lawyer?
You already know that your career as a lawyer won't look like it does in the movies, but other than a thorough knowledge of law and procedure, what traits are important for successful legal professionals?
 
The Next Hot Area of Law: Privacy
The demand for lawyers who understand privacy is high - and will only get higher in the years ahead.

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LSAT/PreLaw 
 
Achieving Success in the Application Process (ASAP)
The ASAP program curriculum will focus on aspects of the law school application process that are commonly overlooked or undervalued by students when applying for law school.
 
Score-Cancellation Option Simplified
Starting with the June 2018 LSAT, test takers will have the single option of cancelling their score through their account in LSAC.org, starting the day after the test administration. Test takers will still have 6 calendar days to log in to their account to cancel their score.
 
University of Houston Pre-Law Pipeline Program
The award winning UHLC Pre-Law Pipeline Program is a preparatory program specifically designed to provide resources to undergraduate students who are first-generation, low-income, or members of groups underrepresented in the legal profession and who are interested in pursuing a career in law.
 
CLEO's Pre-Law Summer Institute Application Deadline Extended
Pre-Law Summer Institute (PLSI) is an intensive, summer boot camp prior to starting law school. The application deadline has been extended to March 31, 2018.
 
STEPS to the LSAT
A minimally priced support program for students prepping on their own for the LSAT. STEPS is designed to support students form underrepresented groups, as well as other students who may not have the resources for personal LSAT coaching.
As a reminder, OYEZ does not formally endorse any one of these specific study plans.
 
Summer Prelaw Intensive (SPI) Program
A 10-week intensive summer program addressing all aspects of law admissions. SPI allows students intensive law admissions prep from their home.
As a reminder, OYEZ does not formally endorse any one of these specific study plans.
 
How to prepare for LSAT Logic Games and Reading
Two sections on the LSAT pose major, seemingly contradictory obstacles to those beginning their LSAT studies. One, colloquially known as logic games but called analytical reasoning by the makers of the test. The other, reading comprehension, is so familiar to test takers and tests a skill so ingrained that it's tough to figure out whether or how to even study.
The registration deadline for the new July 23, 2018 LSAT is available
View the registration deadlines here
 
Duke Law D.C. Summer Institute
Thinking about law school? The Duke Law D.C. Summer Institute on Law and Policy is a great way to try it out and a chance to learn from premier Duke Law faculty - without ever leaving Washington.
Registration is now open. 
 
Summer Law & Leadership Academy
This is a free one-week experience designed to introduce current undergraduate students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to law school and various careers that they may pursue with a law degree. It will take place June 3-9 at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
 
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Events / Seminars
   
Book Salon: Race & American Progress with Doug Coulson & Gregory Laski
Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at 4:30 pm in the Rachel Mellon Walton Room, Posner Hall
Who gets classified as "white"? What does progress for racial equality really look like? In two new books that examine periods of American history in which ideas about race shifted dramatically, authors Doug Coulson and Gregory Laski tackle these thorny, vital questions. Coulson and Laski will join together in a conversation, moderated by Andreea Ritivoi and Kathy M. Newman, to discuss race and American democracy.
 
The 2018 Thomas M. Kerr, Jr. Lecture on Law & American Society: Jonathan Turley
Thursday, April 26, 2018 from 5-6 pm in Porter Hall 100
Professor Jonathan Turley has spent decades in courts and commentary as one of the most active champions of the free speech both in the United States and around the world. An unabashed defender of Classic Liberalism, Turley views free speech as an essential human right and the touchstone of any free society. He will be discussing what he views as the erosion of free speech in the West. Professor Turley has written " Free speech is dying in the Western world. The decline of free speech has come not from any single blow but rather from thousands of paper cuts of well-intentioned exceptions designed to maintain social harmony." In his lecture, Professor Turley will explore how the criminalization of speech is on the rise around the world as well as other curtailments from anti-discrimination laws, private speech enforcement, and other sources. Turley warns that "the West is falling out of love with free speech" as it embraces new forms of speech regulation from campuses to workplaces to the Internet. He argues that this trend has created "an existential threat" for democracies around the world, particularly the United States which has long been a bastion of free speech values.

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Law Schools

Syracuse "Live Online" J.D. Program
After several years of "intense scrutiny and review by education experts," Syracuse University College of Law received a variance from the American Bar Association to offer an online juris doctor program. The online program is described as "extraordinarily interactive."
Berkeley launches Consumer Law Center
The University of California Berkeley School of Law is launching the Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice, a new center that will position the school as a leader in the study, research and practice of consumer law.
 
Cleveland-Marshall new Legal Tech Lab
Cleveland State University's Cleveland-Marshall College of Law announced a partnership with Technology Concept and Design, Inc. to create a new legal technology lab and training program.
 
Hofstra University, Maurice A. Deane School of Law
Hofstra University School of Law, located in Hempstead, N.Y., 20 miles outside of New York City, has been a pioneer in integrating clinical education into a law school curriculum. "Our number one goal is to get our students practice-ready from the day of graduation," said Dean Gail Prudenti, who was a judge for 24 years before joining the school.
 
Best Law School Buildings
Don't forget that once school starts, you could be spending 40 to 60 hours a week at the law school. We rank campus facilities, looking at aesthetics, technology, libraries and amenities.
 
The Best Law Schools for Getting a Biglaw Job (2018)
Use these rankings wisely - or ignore them, at your peril.
 
Best Schools for Practical Training
It wasn't long ago that law schools got hammered for not preparing students for real lawyering. Schools reacted by adding more practical-training offerings, and that appears to be no short-term trend.
 
How to choose your law school
Congratulations! You have been accepted to law school. Rankings and cost are important, but students need to look beyond them when making the final decision about which school to attend.

I am on a Law School Waitlist. What Now?
On a waiting list, you are still in the running. On a waiting list, you still have some control over your future. On a waiting list, you can get into your dream law school. A waiting list means hope! (As does a "held" and "reserve" decision, by the way).
 
ONU Establishes Two New 3+3 Partnerships
Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law has entered into two partnerships that will allow students at Trine University and the Indiana Institute of Technology to fast track their way to a law degree.
 
Pepperdine University School of Law
Pepperdine University School of Law is located in Malibu with stunning views of ocean coastlines. The university is affiliated with the Churches of Christ and is known for its work in the global justice movement. It hosts legal institutes around the world on human rights, religious freedom and global development.
 
The Law Schools with the Best and Worst First-Time Bar Exam Pass Rates in 2017
Yikes! Some of these pass rates are absolutely horrendous.