Law Schools

Back In The Race: How Law School Scholarships Can Demonstrate Effective Lawyering Skills

Employers should look at whether an applicant attended law school on scholarship and what types of scholarships or discounts she received.

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If you graduated from an average law school with average grades, it will be hard to stand out in the job market. This is because most law firms hire new graduates primarily based on which law school they graduated from, GPA, and class rank. Now I agree that GPA/class rank is important. But I am not sure how much more information it provides other than someone’s ability to take a test regurgitating information in a tightly controlled environment.

The problem with this antiquated method of hiring is that it severely limits the applicant pool. Those who won the law school gamble will rightfully sell themselves to the highest bidder or to the employer of their choice.

Here’s another problem I have noticed. Many job advertisements I see want a candidate who has the following:

  • Excellent research and writing skills
  • Ability to negotiate with opposing parties
  • Ability to advocate the client’s position clearly and concisely

It is common knowledge that law school teaches mostly theory and “thinking like a lawyer” and spends less time teaching how to research, advocate, and negotiate. The problem is that it is hard to test these skills in a law school exam. It’s like learning how to drive by playing Super Mario Kart on the Sega Playstation. These skills are best learned through real-life observation and participation.

So is there a way to determine whether someone has the talent or at least the potential to research, advocate, and negotiate effectively? I think it’s possible by looking at whether he attended law school on scholarship and what types of scholarships or discounts he received. Obtaining law school scholarships requires a certain level of diligence and negotiation skill that can easily transfer to a professional setting, as I will explain below.

I want to distinguish between two types of scholarships. The first is the traditional scholarship typically awarded by various organizations. The other is a scholarship from a law school which is really a tuition discount offered as an incentive to attend.

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Scholarship winners have research and writing potential. There are all sorts of scholarships out there, including some weird and unusual ones. They are awarded based on a variety of factors, including financial need, grades, personal background, hobbies, and future goals, to name a few. If someone searches hard enough, they may qualify for at least 10 scholarships and may even win a few.

Most scholarships require applicants to submit a personal statement. Some require the applicant to write for or against a position, an important skill in law. For example, the New Look Laser Tattoo Removal Scholarship requires applicants to write a 200 to 400 word essay that expresses an opinion of the societal impact of laser tattoo removal.

Those who have won multiple scholarships probably have good research and writing potential. While the internet has made it easier to find many scholarships, it still takes a lot of work finding some of the more obscure ones and applying for them. Also, they must have written excellent essays in order to win. Now, it’s possible that they may have hired someone to do all of this for them. These people should be considered for a management position.

They are not afraid to negotiate aggressively and take calculated risks. Negotiating a law school tuition discount is one way to see how a law student handles an adversarial setting because a law school and law student have different financial interests. Law students want the biggest tuition discount they can get in order to minimize debt. A law school is reluctant to give discounts because it needs tuition money to stay in business.

Unless the potential law student has above-average credentials, he will be accepted with no discount offers. In the past, most applicants just went to the highest-ranked law school they were accepted to without trying to reduce their tuition. They were afraid to negotiate because they thought that doing so would result in revocation of their acceptance offers. Even today, some people still don’t negotiate, usually minorities from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who end up subsidizing Privileged Pierce’s free ride.

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Due to declining enrollment in recent years, and savvier applicants, law schools have no choice but to be more flexible about giving tuition discounts. But they still have the upper hand because they ultimately have the power to accept the student. Also, schools may be reluctant to give large tuition discounts as they may be better off financially by rejecting the applicant instead.

So if a résumé shows that a job applicant attended law school on a large or full-tuition discount, this means several things. First, he had options back then, which means he is likely to have options later. This should appease those who refuse to hire the unemployed. But more importantly, this can be an indicator of his ability to negotiate and handle himself against someone more powerful or with a stronger bargaining position. This is a crucial litigation skill and is not something that can be easily tested on a law school exam.

I should acknowledge that some schools have excellent clinical programs and students can participate in externships to get practical experience. However, each person’s experience will vary.

I encourage more employers to give law school scholarships serious consideration when making their hiring decisions. It’s a win-win deal if you ask me. Law students will have greater incentive to get scholarships and tuition discounts as it will make them more employable and reduce their debt burden. Employers will hire new graduates who have potential to research and negotiate effectively in the law firm setting. And they are less pressured to leave for another job that pays better so long as they are treated well.

The only possible losers are law schools, which may have to deal with further reduced tuition revenue. But I wouldn’t shed too many tears for them. They’ll survive. They somehow do.

Shannon Achimalbe was a former solo practitioner for five years before deciding to sell out and get back on the corporate ladder. Shannon can be reached by email at sachimalbe@excite.com and via Twitter: @ShanonAchimalbe.

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