5 summer tips for 0Ls

A lot of you 0Ls have graduated and want to get a head start on law school.¹

Not buying the “relax read a novel” advice? Fine.

Here are the top 5 things you can do this summer to prepare for law school:

1. Figure out your purpose

• Why are you going to law school?
• What do you want to do after law school?

The answer to these questions is extremely important. Law students who have a clearly defined purpose for being in law school are infinitely less anxiety-prone than those who are simply wandering through the halls ala legally blonde.

The guy who doesn’t know why he’s in law school is the same guy who overcompensates in class and alienates his peers – or worse, cries and drinks in his study carrel at night. And yes, there are people who do that…

Law school grades are curved, but the measure of success in law school is how well are you progressing towards your goals – not your neighbor’s goals. And if you’re going to law school simply for money or prestige then you should probably take the GMAT because we really don’t want to read about you on ATL.

Having trouble articulating your purpose? A helpful exercise is to visualize where want to be in 10 years. Where are you working? How do you look? Who is around you? Do you want to work with a lot paper or a lot of people? Court room drama or board room drama? How much free time do you need to be happy?

Then make three lists:

• List 1: steps you can take to work towards your goal (ie, networking with tax attorneys, volunteering at the public defender’s office, working towards a judicial clerkship…etc.)
• List 2: behaviors that will help you work towards your goal (adequate sleep, taking time to review, work out, etc.)
• List 3: behaviors that will detract from your goal. (drugs, drinking, overspending…etc.)

Keep these lists somewhere conspicuous and look them over every day.

2. Upgrade yourself.
I recommend two books.

1. “First Impressions: What You Don’t Know About How Others See You” by Ann Demarais and Valerie White
2. “So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love” by Cal Newport

Find one or two people in your life that you look up to and ask them what personality traits you can improve. Yes, this will be completely awkward, but find someone you trust to give you constructive feedback (professor, boss). The benefit to this is worth more than the 10 minutes of awkward.

Also spend some time thinking how other people view you, and your personality.³

Three quick tips:

• Don’t forget to smile: There was a girl in my section who was very friendly and very well dressed, but no one could get over how distraught she looked. Seriously, we thought she was going to cry until we realized she always looks like that. I’m sure it was a “I’m concentrating” face, but it was so distracting that it was the first thing people always mentioned about her.
• Don’t be a tart: Every law school has a few students who spent all summer in the gym. Although showing off your physique may get you points on Tinder, it doesn’t translate into better grades or job prospects.⁴
• Pigpen: The opposite is also true – this is professional school. You can be personable and brilliant but we will never know if we are distracted by your sweatpants and scabbed forearms. Err on the side of looking appropriate. Some good pointers are here.
  Also: DO NOT USE THE EXCUSE OF “I CAN’T AFFORD TO BUY NICE CLOTHES.” This is like the people who pay a $zillion for law school tuition, but then won’t put up the extra couple hundred bucks to buy books and study-aids. It’s a relatively minor cost, and if you don’t do it, it will cost you more over the long haul. Remember: Appearing professional matters.

3. Find your joy, and figure out your non-negotiables.
If you aren’t a joyous, centered person before you get to law school then you’re in for three miserable years, if you last that long…

Look back to the lists from tip #1, and also think about the behaviors that do/don’t work for you right now. Do you get enough sleep? Do you exercise enough? Is religion important to you? How about family? Shopping?

Make a list of non-negotiables. These are the really important things that you will schedule law school around. Do you need 8 hours of sleep? Do you need 45 minutes of stairclimber time to fend off that second chin?

Try to put this list into practice this summer. Hint: if you can’t keep up your non-negotiables schedule during the summer, then it’s not going to work for the school year – revise as needed. The purpose of this is keep you centered, not drive you crazy…

4. Start your file.
Sign up for a Google Plus account to save all of the useful tips you come across online. G+ is a great way to save links for later…like in the fall, when you actually need them…

5. Make some money
Are you just sitting around this summer? Think about getting a job. Law school is expensive and loans do not cover everything.

Hint: if you’re moving for law school then a summer job at Target or Ikea is a good way to get discounts for stuff that you have to buy in a few months anyway…

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¹ I’ve somehow become a 0L favorite…
² Law school is a wonderful experience, but not the time to “figure yourself out.” What’s what undergrad was for.
³ And I’m not talking about what they think about your shoes, bag, or car. This isn’t high school…
⁴ In fact, you will be shocked by how plain law students are. The hotties are getting MBAs. The law school frump is more likely to be prejudiced against attractive people…