| Author's Note |
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xvii | |
| Foreword |
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xix | |
| Part 1: So You Wanna Be a Lawyer... |
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1 | (76) |
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3 | (2) |
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I am a college student thinking about applying to law school, or I'm thinking about changing careers and applying to law school |
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5 | (1) |
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I've already been admitted to law school, and I'm nervous... |
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5 | (1) |
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But I'm already in law school... I wish I found this sooner |
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6 | (1) |
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I'm the parent, friend, sibling, or significant other of someone going to law school |
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6 | (11) |
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The Law School Confidential Mentors |
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8 | (9) |
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Thinking About Law School? Think Again... |
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17 | (18) |
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My relative the lawyer made me do it |
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19 | (1) |
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I can't ignore this amazing LSAT score, can I? |
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19 | (1) |
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I don't have a mind for science, so... |
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20 | (1) |
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20 | (1) |
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This ain't Hollywood, son |
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21 | (4) |
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A Realistic Evaluation of Your Fitness for Law School |
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23 | (2) |
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25 | (1) |
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25 | (3) |
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28 | (1) |
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29 | (1) |
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30 | (1) |
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Plan Your Application Process in Advance |
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31 | (1) |
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31 | (1) |
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32 | (1) |
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32 | (1) |
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33 | (1) |
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33 | (2) |
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Your Five Most Critical Hours: How to Beat the LSAT |
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35 | (7) |
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So what is this ``LSAT'' anyway? |
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36 | (1) |
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The reading comprehension section |
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37 | (1) |
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38 | (1) |
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38 | (1) |
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The minutiae and related suggestions |
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38 | (2) |
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So what about the test prep courses? |
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40 | (1) |
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I bombed it---I know it---Should I cancel my score? |
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41 | (1) |
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Applying to Law School: Bait the Hooks Carefully and Cast the Nets Wide |
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42 | (19) |
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Interview with Janice Austin, Dean of Admissions, University of Pennsylvania Law School |
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42 | (16) |
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Try to decide where you want to practice before you apply |
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58 | (1) |
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File your application as early as possible |
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59 | (1) |
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59 | (1) |
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Visit your top schools and then reference your visit |
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59 | (1) |
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Attend any informational sessions given by the admissions office in your area |
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60 | (1) |
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Choose Your School Wisely |
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61 | (8) |
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The school's regional and national reputation |
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61 | (2) |
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Pay the greatest attention to a school's placement record |
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63 | (1) |
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64 | (1) |
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65 | (2) |
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67 | (2) |
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An Investment in Your Future: Funding Your Legal Education |
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69 | (8) |
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70 | (1) |
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71 | (1) |
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Some terms they'll throw around in your aid package |
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72 | (1) |
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72 | (2) |
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The Subsidized Federal Stafford Student Loan (SSL) |
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73 | (1) |
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The Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Student Loan |
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73 | (1) |
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74 | (1) |
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The Federal Supplemental Loan for Students (SLS) |
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74 | (1) |
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Private institutional loans |
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74 | (1) |
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74 | (1) |
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75 | (2) |
| Part 2: The First Year, They Scare You To Death |
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77 | (138) |
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The Ten Things You Must Do Before Classes Begin |
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79 | (20) |
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Before You Arrive on Campus |
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80 | (1) |
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Read this book from cover to cover |
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80 | (1) |
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81 | (4) |
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Use the summer to get in shape |
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85 | (1) |
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85 | (1) |
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Buy a computer and become computer-literate |
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86 | (2) |
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Check in with the registrar |
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88 | (1) |
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After You Arrive on Campus |
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89 | (1) |
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89 | (3) |
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Learn the ``lay of the land'' |
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92 | (1) |
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93 | (2) |
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Get your books, study aids, and other supplies |
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95 | (4) |
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Recommended commercial outlines |
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97 | (1) |
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Bonus: Go to orientation! |
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98 | (1) |
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Contacts for commercial outlines |
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98 | (1) |
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So What Is a Tort Anyway? A Brief Overview of the First-Year Curriculum |
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99 | (12) |
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100 | (11) |
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100 | (2) |
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102 | (2) |
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104 | (1) |
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105 | (2) |
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Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure |
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107 | (1) |
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108 | (1) |
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109 | (2) |
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Getting Out of the Gate---Applying the Lessons of Futures Past |
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111 | (16) |
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Case briefing---their way |
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112 | (2) |
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114 | (10) |
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Start each night with a lesson from your commercial outline |
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114 | (2) |
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116 | (4) |
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Supplement your notes and tab your statutes in class |
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120 | (2) |
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122 | (2) |
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Determining your work schedule |
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124 | (1) |
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A word about study groups |
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125 | (2) |
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The Unspoken Code of Law School Etiquette |
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127 | (15) |
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128 | (1) |
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It's your duty to follow the honor code |
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128 | (2) |
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Share your class notes, hornbooks, and outlines with anyone who needs them |
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130 | (1) |
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Phrase in-class comments as questions---not statements |
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131 | (1) |
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The wrong way to make a point |
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132 | (1) |
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A better way to make the same point |
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132 | (1) |
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When you're speaking, speak up, and when you're not, shut up! |
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133 | (1) |
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When referring to cases or statutes, provide page or section numbers |
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134 | (1) |
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Reign in your electronics |
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134 | (1) |
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Maintain a sense of humor |
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135 | (1) |
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Resist the urge to make unsolicted, tangential, or politically charged comments during lectures |
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135 | (2) |
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Don't boast about your study habits |
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137 | (1) |
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Safeguard your reputation |
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137 | (1) |
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Adhere to your school's recruiting guidelines |
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138 | (1) |
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Avoid all post-mortem discussions about exams |
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139 | (2) |
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141 | (1) |
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The T-Minus One Month Checkpoint: How to Arrive Ahead of the Competition |
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142 | (9) |
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I've missed a couple of classes, a couple of reading assignments, and I'm two weeks or less behind in outlining for each class |
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143 | (1) |
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I've fallen way behind in my outling---what do I do? |
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144 | (2) |
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146 | (2) |
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Read Legalines to catch up, and find four good student outlines for your courses |
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147 | (1) |
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What else do I have to do between now and exams? |
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148 | (1) |
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148 | (1) |
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Clarify exam rules with each of your professors |
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149 | (1) |
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Send query letters to potential employers |
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150 | (1) |
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Making Your Summer Plans: How to Win the 1L Recruiting Lottery |
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151 | (15) |
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153 | (6) |
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159 | (4) |
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Working for a public service organization |
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163 | (1) |
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Researching for a professor |
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164 | (1) |
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165 | (1) |
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Your First Semester Endgame |
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166 | (20) |
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It's time to find an off-campus location to study |
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167 | (2) |
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169 | (2) |
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How to Create a ``Case Map'' |
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170 | (1) |
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Creating a bullet outline |
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171 | (1) |
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172 | (1) |
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173 | (2) |
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175 | (1) |
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176 | (1) |
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176 | (3) |
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But wait...my exam is closed-book! |
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179 | (1) |
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The ``doomsday scenario'' |
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179 | (7) |
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The Performance Self-Examination (Part One) |
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181 | (5) |
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Looking Behind and Looking Ahead: Assessing the Damage and Charting the Course for Your Second Semester |
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186 | (10) |
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I got straight A's, mostly A's and B+'s, or I am ahead of the curve in most classes |
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187 | (1) |
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I got a mix of grades, some ahead and some behind the curve |
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188 | (1) |
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One grade is widely disparate from the others |
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189 | (1) |
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All grades at or below the mean |
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190 | (6) |
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The Performance Self-Examination (Part Two) |
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192 | (4) |
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First Year Endgame: Succeeding in Exams and the Law Review Competition |
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196 | (9) |
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202 | (3) |
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Working for Free or Working for Pay, Your First Summer Paves the Way |
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205 | (10) |
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For those clerking for a judge |
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206 | (2) |
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For those going to a firm |
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208 | (4) |
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For those going into public service jobs |
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212 | (3) |
| Part 3: The Second Year They Work You to Death |
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215 | (98) |
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Charting a Course for Your Upper Years |
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217 | (11) |
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The bar exam preparation approach |
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218 | (1) |
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219 | (3) |
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The major or career-focus approach |
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222 | (4) |
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223 | (3) |
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226 | (1) |
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227 | (1) |
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Your Survival Guide to Recruiting Season |
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228 | (12) |
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How to decide where to interview |
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229 | (1) |
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How to prepare yourself for the screening interview |
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230 | (1) |
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230 | (2) |
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232 | (1) |
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232 | (1) |
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So what are they going to ask me, anyway? |
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232 | (4) |
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When a ``stunner'' goes over the line |
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236 | (1) |
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237 | (1) |
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The things you should avoid |
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238 | (1) |
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A few horror stories to calm you down |
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238 | (2) |
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Everything You Need to Know About Callback Interviews |
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240 | (9) |
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So what the heck is a ``callback'' anyway? |
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240 | (2) |
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242 | (2) |
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Tackling the callback interview |
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244 | (2) |
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How to handle the recruiting meal |
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246 | (1) |
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When the callback is over |
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247 | (1) |
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Some horror stories to clam you down |
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248 | (1) |
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The Future Is Now: Using the ``Relevance Calculus'' to Choose a Firm |
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249 | (15) |
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How to compare starting salaries |
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249 | (4) |
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The salary comparison chart |
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253 | (1) |
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Choosing a firm using the ``relevance calculus'' |
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254 | (1) |
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Description of factors in the relevance calculus |
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255 | (9) |
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Back on the Chain Gang: Advice About Journal Membership |
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264 | (9) |
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Writing your note or comment |
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268 | (2) |
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268 | (1) |
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269 | (1) |
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Choose a topic that fascinates you |
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270 | (1) |
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Find a mentor on the faculty |
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271 | (1) |
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Stay organized, and stay on deadline |
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271 | (2) |
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Restoring Balance: Moot Court, Public Service, and How to Reclaim the Life You've Lost |
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273 | (7) |
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Public service opportunities |
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275 | (1) |
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276 | (1) |
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277 | (1) |
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278 | (2) |
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Demystifying Judicial Clerkships: Heigh Thee to the Chambers |
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280 | (19) |
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281 | (2) |
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State trial and intermediate appellate courts |
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281 | (1) |
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State supreme courts (highest court) |
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282 | (1) |
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283 | (3) |
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283 | (1) |
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284 | (1) |
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Federal circuit courts of appeal |
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285 | (1) |
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The United States Supreme Court |
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285 | (1) |
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286 | (1) |
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How to Apply for a Judicial Clerkship |
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287 | (12) |
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287 | (2) |
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289 | (1) |
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289 | (1) |
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290 | (1) |
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290 | (1) |
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How to choose your recommenders |
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291 | (2) |
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Preparing your applications |
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293 | (1) |
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293 | (2) |
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295 | (2) |
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297 | (2) |
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Keys to Ascension: Turning 2L Summer Employment into a Permanent Offer |
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299 | (14) |
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300 | (1) |
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301 | (1) |
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302 | (2) |
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304 | (1) |
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Using Westlaw and LEXIS at the firm |
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305 | (1) |
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Getting the work you want |
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306 | (1) |
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Getting feedback on your work |
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306 | (1) |
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Escaping the clutches of a possessive partner |
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307 | (1) |
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Confront problems immediately |
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308 | (1) |
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Getting along with the other summer associates |
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308 | (1) |
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Proper etiquette at firm social events |
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309 | (2) |
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311 | (2) |
| Part 4: ...and the Third Year, They Bore You To Death... |
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313 | (29) |
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But It Doesn't Have to Be Boring... Designing a Plan to Avoid the Third-Year Doldrums |
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315 | (5) |
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Opportunity Knocks Again... A Second Chance at Recruiting |
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320 | (6) |
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How to handle phone calls from people at your old firm |
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322 | (1) |
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If you didn't get an offer from your 2L firm |
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323 | (3) |
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Last Semester Cross-Checks |
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326 | (9) |
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Ensure that you have enough credits to graduate |
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326 | (1) |
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Ensure that you've taken and passed all required courses |
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327 | (1) |
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Co-curricular or extracurricular requirements |
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327 | (1) |
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Verify that your tuition has been paid |
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328 | (1) |
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Register for the bar exam and get your firm to pay for it |
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328 | (2) |
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Register for and take the MPRE exam |
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330 | (2) |
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Arrange a start date with your firm, judge, or placement |
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332 | (1) |
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Make advance accommodation in your new place of employment |
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333 | (1) |
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Make arrangements for your move well in advance |
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334 | (1) |
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The Final Hurdle---Strategies for the Bar Examination |
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335 | (7) |
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340 | (1) |
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341 | (1) |
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342 | |
Other versions by this Author
