Wishing you all great success and happiness in 2011.  And here’s a little LSAT humor to lighten your day…

It’s the 7th Annual Hot Chocolate Run to benefit Safe Passage, the local shelter and services agency for victims of domestic violence.  Run 5K or walk 2 miles.  Get a mug of steaming hot chocolate at the end (you get to keep the mug!).  Student entry fee is just $15 (only $12 if you find 3 friends to register with you!), and all of the proceeds go to Safe Passage.

And for the first time ever, the race is NOT the same day as the December LSAT (it’s Sunday, December 5th)!  So there’s no excuse — try it out, have some fun, and maybe even glimpse your Pre-Law Advisor huffing and puffing 3 miles really, really slowly.

The 15th Annual Massachusetts Statewide Undergraduate Research Conference is coming up May 1st, 2009, and the deadline for applications and abstract submissions is March 2, 2009. The Conference offers undergraduates a rare opportunity to present their original research to faculty, peers and the public. As the Conference website states:

This is an opportunity for you to

* Learn to present academic work and experiences in a formal setting
* Receive feedback from faculty and scholars in your field
* Exchange ideas with other undergraduate scholars
* Enhance your resume

Effective presentation skills are valuable for all future careers. The conference provides an excellent public forum to practice your skills, to explore your strengths and identify areas for improvement. It is an opportunity for you to share your work, to see the work of others in your field and other areas of study, and to give and receive valuable feedback.

I highly recommend this for those of you contemplating law school (or any graduate or professional school) — it’s a great opportunity to try out your presentation skills before you get to the next level of your education.

Students can apply online here.

And go vote.

Migration in progress — check back when the Pre-Law blog has finished moving from its old location. Until then, visit the old digs at http://umassprelaw.blogspot.com/

For those of you who are now trying to decide between more than one law school, here are some resources you might be interested in using:

1. Top Law Schools. This is a useful site with rankings and (even better) discussion boards where you can compare notes with those who are applying to major law schools. http://www.top-law-schools.com/
2. Brian Leiter’s Law School Reports. Leiter is a law professor at Texas (now moving to the University of Chicago), and his website is well known as a major source of information on law schools. Also: links to other useful websites. http://leiterlawschool.typepad.com/leiter/. Leiter’s site is of particular interest for incoming law students contemplating a career as law professors. He has produced a ranking of major law schools that are oriented toward teaching careers. http://www.leiterrankings.com/jobs/2008job_teaching.shtml
3. For those of you lucky enough to be considering an admission offer from Harvard, you should be aware of one amazing piece of news about HLS financial aid policies: the law school is introducing a new policy that will waive tuition (around $40K) for all third-year students who have demonstrated a wish to pursue careers in public service and are willing to commit of five years of public-service work following law school. This is an incredible deal that everyone considering attending Harvard (even without a specific financial aid offer) should be aware of. The link to the announcement is here: http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2008/03/18_publicserviceinitiative.php

Located in major markets across the United States and in Canada, Robert Half Legal is the premier provider of experienced project and full-time professionals for law firms and corporate legal departments. We place highly skilled candidates in a wide range of specialized positions and project teams within the legal field, including attorney, paralegal and legal support professional. Our Account Executives have extensive legal industry experience and are skilled in identifying and matching client and candidate needs.Many legal professionals seek opportunities to work on temporary assignments because they can earn income while sharpening their job skills. It also allows them to “try out” work in different firms and office cultures during their search for full-time employment. In fact, many times a temporary assignment may become a full-time job. Finally, you can enjoy a flexible work schedule along with the diversity of working in different offices and practice areas.Robert Half Legal specializes exclusively in providing skilled legal professionals for law firms and corporate legal departments, and understands the intricacies of working in the legal field. Our Account Executives are experienced professionals who previously worked in positions including attorney and legal administrator. They’re uniquely qualified to match your skills, interests and career goals with the ideal temporary or full-time position.We will take the time to learn about you and your specific skills and expertise. You will be considered for every project for which you are qualified; your experience will be matched with the best and most challenging positions; and your compensation will always be competitive.There is no charge to any candidate who works with Robert Half Legal. Our services are free to you. Fees are paid to us by the law firms and corporate legal departments whom we work with to provide qualified legal professionals.You may complete an online application <http://www.roberthalflegal.com/Register> , www. roberthalflegal.com, which will automatically register you with us as a candidate. For more information, you may also contact <http://www.roberthalflegal.com/OfficeLocations> your local office or call our toll-free number, 1.800.870.8367, to reach a Robert Half Legal office nearest you.

You may also call U Mass alumna Amy Soto at the Robert Half Boston office at (617) 204-9100.

Applying to Law School: The Nuts and Bolts of the Process

A workshop with Pre-law Advisor Matthew Light

Among the topics that will be covered:
· LSAC, the LSAT, and the LSDAS
· Application procedures and deadlines
· Required forms and documents
· Mistakes to avoid

Rising seniors are especially encouraged to attend!

Thursday, May 1, 2008, 3:00 to 5:00 pm
Campus Center 803
Refreshments will be served
Free and open to all U Mass and Five Colleges students and alumni
Sponsored by the U Mass Pre-law Advising Office
With questions, please write to prelaw@acad.umass.edu.

Meredith Feltus (in Commonwealth College) and Jackie Brousseau-Pereira are organizing a “Meet the Law”event that will bring to campus attorneys who are U Mass alumni and who come from a diversity of law practice backgrounds to network with interested students. The event is happening on Thursday, April 17, 2008 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm in Memorial Hall. Pizza will be served.

The guests will include the following:

Gary Marchese (’78 BDIC), sole practictioner in Waltham
Frederick Augenstern (’75 English), Assistant Attorney General in the Mass Attorney’s Environmental Protection Division
Dwight Merriam (’68, Sociology), partner at Robinson&Cole (real estate law, zoning issues, development law)
David Sullivan (’81, Management), Register of Probate, Hampshire Probate and Family Court
Elizabeth Silver (’75, Psychology), Supervising Attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services, Lynn and Lawrence
Charles DiMare (’74, Political Science, ’83 MPA) Director of Student Legal Services, UMass Amherst

It’s time to begin thinking about the LSAC Law School Forums. I am writing to give you some information about these events being held in nine major cities-Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

The forums are a series of free law school recruitment fairs, each ofwhich attracts an average of 140 law schools from across the nation,representing public and private, large and small, rural and urban lawschools. The Law School Forums give students an opportunity to talkinformally with law school representatives and get firsthand informationabout admission requirements, course offerings, campus life, andfinancial aid. Admission is free and registration is easy. Participants may registeronline at www.LSAC.org <http://www.lsac.org/> or on-site at any timeduring forum hours and can stay as long as they like. When registered,participants receive a tracking number that they can give to schools inwhich they have an interest. The tracking number will allow law schoolsto contact potential applicants after the forum. Click here<http://www.lsacnet.org/EventsandDates/LS-forum/9cityflier2008.pdf> toview and print a PDF flier indicating the dates and exact locations ofthe 2008 Law School Forums brought to you by LSAC and participating lawschools. For a breakdown of who should attend the Law School Forums,click here<http://www.lsacnet.org/EventsandDates/ls-forum/attend2008.pdf> .