Just curious....how many JDs and/or lawyers on the DU?

[Hepburn]

I was just reading on the thread about Obama being a professor...and I noticed a lot of us were posting on legal academia. It looks like a lot of us are or have been involved in the practice of law.

So...just being curious and not saying that having a JD or being a lawyer is any big deal, how many of us are or were "word merchants"?

:hi:

Me? Female, nearly age 60 and from SoCal. Have only practiced in Calif. Law was a second career for me ~~ HS teacher first. Not a great deal to do with a degree in PolSci but teach or go to law school. I am retired now for a bit over 10 years.

[Raven]

1. Hi. I'm a JD, second career also, female also. Loved practicing

law, loved what I did before that and love what I'm doing now. There has always been a controversy about what JD means and whether it is, in fact, a PHd. It means doctor of jurisprudence and I'm not sure you can get a PHd in Law. I know you can get a Master's Degree in various areas of law like tax law or labor law.

[powergirl]

2. Reporting for duty, Hepburn

I'm female, age 43, Plano, Texas. I've been a divorce lawyer for 19 years. I'm married to an awesome husband, who is a Democrat, of course. I have three kids, ages 13, 8, and 6. Our entire family supports Obama. :hi:

[UALRBSofL]

4. I'm not a lawyer but my partner starts law school in august at the University

of Arkansas. He says he wants to do medical malpractice since he is a nurse. We are both Democrats We have two children named Brinkley and Samantha, golden retrievers. :) Our family supports Clinton. :hi:

[powergirl]

17. Tell your partner good luck with law school!

The first year really sucks. It's not that hard, academically, it's just a big hazing/boot camp type experience. And if you can stick that out, everything else will fall into place. :)

[UALRBSofL]

21. Powergirl we have heard that. A friend of ours went to school there

And what she did was allocate her time for study, housework and taking care of her disabled mother. She said she had her schedule and knew hour to hour what she had to do for the day. Anyway, thanks for the words of encouragement. :)

[Nia Zuri]

3. Happily nonpracticing lawyer here JD/MBA.

[Saint in the City]

5. Currently at Columbia for Law n/t

[Umbram]

6. 3L - hire me!

Just kidding - that seems to be the only thing a 3L has worth saying though.

[Blue_In_AK]

7. I'm not a lawyer

but was a legal secretary/paralegal here for 25 years and have often been told by my bosses that I know as much as they do or that I "should have been" a lawyer. For the past seven years I've been working at home as a legal transcriptionist. My oldest daughter is self-employed as a legal support person, and my middle daughter has been a practicing lawyer in Los Angeles for 5-6 years now. It must be in the genes.

[Raven]

12. It's a sickness! My GF was a judge, my Dad and all my uncles

were lawyers, my brother and me. Genetic disorder, I guess!

[powergirl]

My awesome paralegal should be a lawyer

She runs my office. I always tell her, the day she quits, I retire. I LOVE paralegals and thank you Blue In Ak for all that you do!!!

:woohoo:

[Hepburn]

31. There is NOTHING more valuable than a top-notch legal secretary!

Anyone with your talent is a blessing. I am tellin' ya...when I got my ticket, I did not have a clue and thank the lord for a retired legal secretary who came to work for me. This lovely lady even did Gregg shorthand. She saved my ass more times that I can say!

Hey...it does look like you passed those law genes on to your kiddos! So glad they found a career they like...and LA is a tough place to practice. I did that one for far to long!

:hi:

[Blue_In_AK]

46. My daughter was five years at O'Melveny & Myers

She's just started at a new firm a little closer to where she lives in Santa Monica and where she can have more responsibility ... and more reasonable hours. They almost worked her to death at OMM.

[merh]

8. does it count that I have worked with

"word merchants" for over a 1/4 of a century?

:hi:

[Blue_In_AK]

9. I think it does, Merh...

:hi:

[merh]

11. hey ya Blue

:hi:

[olkaz]

10. Studying for the LSAT right now, planning to enroll fall 2009

So probably a future JD here.

And the LSAT is a bitch, holy mother of god.

[Umbram]

13. By the time you are done school, you'll think the LSAT was fun. (nt)

[olkaz]

15. trust me, I'm praying for that situation

I'm hovering at around a 3.0 GPA (going to be close), and I can't seem to break 152 on the LSAT.

So if I'm looking back and thinking this was fun, that would mean I got into school, which is the best possible scenario.

[Umbram]

25. Don't listen to people who say LSAT scores can't be improved

It's not true at all. I added almost 12 points to mine from the time I started.

Take official past tests and learn the basic techniques.

If you are having trouble with the Games section, you might give "LSAT Logic Games Bible" by PowerScore a try. It's not for everybody, but it is helpful if you are having a hard time finding efficient ways to diagram the different sorts of problems.

If you ever have any questions about law school or anything, feel free to PM me.

Good luck!

[olkaz]

30. Wow, 12 points?

Before I even looked at the test, I set a goal of 165. I figured that is what I would work toward. Now, after four strictly timed preptests, 20 or so hours of studying (and a weekend workshop hosted by a nearby college) that 165 is rally pretty much a pipe dream. I mean, I miss 10+ questions on EVERY section.

I have all the powerscore materials, and it has helped on the games section. I have a lot of room to improve still, especially with the grouping games and anything that has extra variables.

However, my logical reasoning and reading comprehension scores have not improved **at all** and I'm starting to think about pushing my test date back from June. I think I probably need to start from scratch on these two sections, and try to find all the advice I can.

The underlying problem is that I have always struggled with reading long (or sometimes even short) tracts of text without my mind wandering. It's almost impossible for me to stay focused in the way that the LSAT requires. Even with enough time and practice, I'm not sure I can overcome this (in school I just take notes and highlight, so it's not as much of a problem there, I'm not being timed). I may just have to improve what I can and hope for the best. I'm to the point now where I'm considering seeing a doctor about adult attention deficit disorder. Maybe that would help.

I know I'll be fine in law school, but it looks like I'll have to settle for a lesser school, and even then not get much scholarship money (and holy mother of god, law school is expensive these days).

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm not going to give up, but this is the most discouraging academic pursuit. I'm sure it's built that way on purpose.

[Sir Jeffrey]

37. Umbram is right re: improving...

You need to practice over and over until you start "getting" the test. I recommend taking all of the previous exams under actual settings (timed, no breaks, etc.). After you finish scoring it, go back over each of your answers and try to determine *why* you got each answer wrong.

Powerscore has a logical reasoning book that boosted my scores an extra 3 or 4 points the last month of studying. You might grab that one if you don't have it.

I did all of the above and scored 14 points over my diagnostic on the actual test. Improving your score isn't magic. It is just a function of targeted practice.

edit: clarity

[olkaz]

44. Good god, 14 points?!

I am so jealous of you guys.

I have the powerscore logical reasoning bible as well. It's been slow going with that book, since LR is just really difficult for me.

I think I just haven't spent enough time on this, and the time I do spend on it is probably not focused correctly. I work full-time, am finishing my Business Administration degree part time, spend an hour or so a day working out, and have a beautiful wife that requires a lot of attention. Time is short. I guess I need to streamline my day more.

I'll be taking a preptest tomorrow, and I'll take your advice in trying to learn exactly why I missed the questions I missed.

Thanks so much for the advice.

[powergirl]

20. LSAT sucks, for sure

Get past it, become a lawyer, and it will be a faint memory. Good Luck and Kick some butt, OLKAZ!!

:headbang:

[olkaz]

32. Thanks!

I just can't wait until this thing is over.

I remember thinking the ACT test was bad 11 years ago.

[Shakespeare]

14. Senior litigation assistant here.

With an M.A. in English Lit/Shakespeare thrown in for fun. AND I used to be a newspaper reporter.

I'm a weird kind of career mutt, I guess! :hi:

[phrigndumass]

16. Does tax law count? Not a practicing lawyer ...

... but anyone who holds a degree in accounting at the bachelor's level or higher has to go through tax law. I'm a non-profit executive and my field of expertise is 501(c)(3).

:hi:

[Hepburn]

34. My best male pal is a CPA and he and I just finished a BRUTE of a Tax Court Opening Brief...

...for his petitioner client. OMG...hats off to you if you have to deal with District Counsel and the IRS! I did not do the trial, the petitioner was proper and did a decent job....but I got stuck with reconstructing the record and where it did not exist, flying by the seat of my pants. NOTING is uglier than all those freaking citations and bullshit that are required in a Tax Court brief.

You have a hell of a tough job if you have to deal with stuff like this...:hi:

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

18. I am not a lawyer but I play one on TV

just kidding, but I'm an immigration paralegal/consultant/specialist. I know more about immigration law than many practicing immigration attorneys out there. Scary, isn't it?

Immigration is 90% word merchandising or, in better terms, presenting the best case in the best possible light by creatively arranging words and sentences :)

[dchill]

36. I am not a lawyer,

but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express...
:hi:

[Hepburn]

38. Last time I dealt with immigration law was in law school and I took it...

...as an elective class. It is a tough field and my hat is off to you!

[jefferson_dem]

19. I AM "jd".

But don't have one.

From a family of lawyers, I chose the Ph.D. route instead.

[Umbram]

27. If I could do it over again, I'd probably do the same...

Law school has made the idea of being a lawyer pretty unappetizing.

I had an undergrad prof try to talk me into grad school instead - if only I'd listened.

I need a violin...

:nopity:

[tishaLA]

29. I don't know which is worse

As I write my dissertation, Law School looks like a pleasant experience. I think part of earning a PhD is making academia look unappetizing, too, so it's probably 6 of one, half dozen of another.

[insanity]

22. I might be a JD student soon

Not much to do with a degree in political science except teach or practice law

[Sir Jeffrey]

23. 1L and taking a study break...

law school sucks. The first semester is pure terror. The rest of law school is bor-ring.

[backscatter712]

24. Nope, not a J.D. but I do have a question.

Personally, I'm a B.S. in C.S. (Bachelor's in Computer Science).

Does having a J.D. (Juris Doctorate, IIRC) degree give you the right to the title "Doctor"?

I kind of like the sound of "Dr. Obama".

[olkaz]

39. Yes, it technically does.

But people don't do it.

I do see "esquire" (Esq.) sometimes next to attorney's names, though.

[Hepburn]

40. I suppose it does....

...but I would never use it. I think it goes back to the English tradition that lawyers even tho we hold doctorates do not use the "Dr." title.

[Faygo Kid]

26. Yup. Long-time lawyer, and (now) non-practitioner

[MrCoffee]

28. non-practicing JD, licensed in TX

[kiranon]

33. Lawyer, Teacher, Army Officer, Mom, Special Needs Advocate

Have had many careers with lawyer/special needs advocate the last career. Hardest job was teaching school. Teachers deserve much better pay and respect.

[Hepburn]

41. Amen....

...I taught HS before I went to law school...and I taught in the barrio. Talk about a tough job! Wow!

[DefenseLawyer]

35. A proud member of the black sheep of the legal family,

the criminal defense bar, for the last 15 years.

[Hepburn]

43. Hey, IMO, the BEST trial attorneys are crim defense attys...

...because they are in court all the time and they have to know how to make a really good record in case of an appeal. It is like you guys and gals literally learn how to wear a courtroom and make it part of you.

I love trial work...and my partner did a ton of criminal defense ~~ both state and federal. So....the last thing I think of about crim defense attys is that they are black sheep. IMO, to be good, you gotta be one hell of a trial atty, IMO!

:hi:

[DefenseLawyer]

48. No arguments from me!

:) You are very kind, thank you.

[Blue_In_AK]

45. Criminal defense lawyers are my very favorites.

I worked for several years for one of Alaska's top criminal defense lawyers, and I had so much respect for him. You all are on the front lines defending our Constitution every single day.

[OldBlueDem]

42. Practicing lawyer here in the reddest of red states . . .

but hoping to at least make a dent in the GE. We did fill the Omaha Civic Auditorium when Senator Obama came to town--I didn't know there were that many Dems in the entire state!

[musiclawyer]

47. I practice law

and am one the privilged few who gets paid to tell the unvarnished truth all the time.

[woolldog]

49. Present!

:hi:

[Ysabel]

50. i'm not a lawyer however...

there are a number of lawyers within my family (a first cousin is a lawyer for habitat for humanity another first cousin won a big case against denny's restaurant concerning racial discrimination)...

[abbyg8r]

51. Florida attorney here.

I certainly never had a professor like Obama.