Customer Reviews

Letters from Law School: The Life of a Second-Year Law Student

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This is a good book for prospective law students. It's also a good book for anybody who wants to get a sense of just how blinkin' _weird_ American legal education is.

Lawrence Dieker conceives the book as a sort of sequel to Scott Turow's _One L_ (which I've never read, so I can't compare the two). It's a fictional, or at least fictionalized, account of a law student's _second_ year at Tulane Law School. (Law school is ordinarily a three-year program, so Year Two is when students typically start trying to find jobs in the legal profession; much of this book is taken up with the ups and downs and ins and outs of the Job Hunt. And according to a common saying about law school, reproduced on the book's back cover, the second year is when they work you to death.)

It's well done. The authorial voice is that of the student, and the story is told as a series of vignettes that read rather like diary excerpts. The slice-of-life effect is earned; the tale is a pretty realistic account of what second-year law students go through, although I suspect things are probably a good deal more intense at the "top" schools than at the not-so-top ones. (I'm in a four-year evening program and I've had a day job for years, so I've missed out on a lot of these 2L joys myself.)

The writing is solid and competent, the style crisp and clear, the characters usually at least interesting. Anal-retentive readers will also want to award Dieker extra credit for correctly spelling "minuscule" (though he loses a couple of points for confusing "principal" and "principle" in the passages about agency law and for using "criteria" as a singular at one point). The students' dawning realizations about the nature of law-school exams are spot-on. Plus there are a few good lawyer jokes scattered throughout.

I'd strongly recommend it to anybody considering a law career. (Don't wait until your second year to read it; read it before you start.) I'd also recommend it to anybody who wants some insight into what education tends to become in a guild-like profession entry into which is limited by law.

Probably the greatest value of this book is its insights into the reality of law school, the second year in particular. Its style differs from that of a regular novel in that it spends less time developing characters and plot, focusing instead on painting a graphic, although perhaps discouraging, picture of what the law school experience can be like.

The main theme repeated throughout the story is the endless stream of rejection letters which Ken Westphal receives from various law firms to which he is desperately applying for work. This constant deluge of rejection comes in spite of the fact that Ken scored reasonably well on his LSAT and has a respectable standing in his class in a good law school. Ken realizes the hard way, as many law students probably do, that there are more law school graduates than there are jobs for them, and that the search for a job can be a real meatgrinder.

Connected to this theme is the notion that only those students who stand out above the rest of the crowd in a significant way can write their own ticket. Therefore, Ken's quest for a job becomes a quest to distinguish himself in any way possible. This is where the author captures the essence of the advantage which law journals can give those students who get onto them, especially law review. When Ken falls short of that coveted prize, he is nonetheless elated to achieve the next best thing--a place on the environmental law journal. This seemingly minor achievement breathes fresh hope into Ken as he continues to struggle to find a job.

The book ends on a rather somber note, causing the reader to wonder whether or not law school is really worth it. The race to be in the top 10%, the hope to make law review, the contrasted styles of different professors, the interminable schedule conflicts, the plunge into despair followed by a sudden rise to euphoria, then back into the mundane abyss--it's all portrayed here in the account of the fall semester of Ken's second year of law school.

This is an excellent book for those who are considering law school.

As a 3L, I recently read this book to see how similar it was to my 2L experience. I would recommend that anyone thinking of starting law school - particularly if you are thinking of going to a law school that is not ranked in the top 20 or so - to read this book. The writing is crisp and clear and does capture the misery of the juggling 2L year, including the job search, journal experience, and trying to keep up with classes. It also drives home the point that not everyone will make law review, get A's, get a job through OCI, etc. My one complaint about the book is that by the end, I couldn't sympathize with author anymore. Although he certainly is subject to more misery than is deserved, he also brings a lot upon himself and refuses to admit it. He begins the book by going through an interview with a firm where he didn't bother to ensure the firm practiced in the area that he was going to mention an interest in, he admits to having a "don't care" attitude towards the firm he was at the previous summer, he can't keep his class schedule straight, he doesn't put forth the required effort for the law review/journal competition, he forgets to go to an interview, and he is actually dumb enough to include a sexual reference in a thank you letter to an attorney. When I read the last part, I seriously questioned his professional judgment and whether he had bothered to read any legal job search materials or talk to Career Services at all. He also insists on viewing his school as "one of the more outstanding law schools in the country" when in fact, the name of his law school doesn't help in a job search anywhere but Louisiana. That is one of the reasons I suggested that anyone who is planning on attending a law school ranked out of the top 15-20 read this book, because the fact of the matter is that firms don't view your school as outstanding unless it is somewhere in that ranking (and even then, many firms only view the top 7-8 schools as being truly outstanding). This greatly affects your job search.

If nothing else, read this book in order to avoid the same mistakes the author makes.

This fictionalized autobiography in diary form is absolutely spot-on about the trials and tribulations of the second year of law school.

Once one learns to "think like a lawyer," a trite but real occurence sometime in one's first year, then what? Dieker is a poor man's Scott Turow as he drily depicts his struggles to write his way onto a journal, keep abreast of a torrent of reading matter, and, most important, get a summer job which will lead to a real job. One of the best uses of black humor in the book is the rejection letters regularly quoted in the text, each one more unctuous than the last.

The book summoned up the angst of law school for me so effectively that I had a hard time finishing it. That speaks well for the power of the author's writing. Mercifully, he includes an epilogue to assure us that this was long ago and far away and that things turned out all right for him in the end. That's good. By the end of the book, I found I really cared for the protagonist.

I had an odd sense of deja vu reading this book. Just coming out of my 2L year, I found the experience of the author to be very true to life. It was depressing, tense, and interspersed with dry humor (b/c at some point you have to appreciate a rejection letter that doesn't try to sugercoat the fact that they don't want you).

I highly recommend that every potential law student read this book. The author is not exagerating his experience. My one complaint: it had a "happy" ending. Not every 2L winds up with a job after all that he/she goes through...

This fictionalized version of a law student's second-year experience at Tulane Law School is must reading for law students, anyone considering law school, and lawyers who conduct job interviews of law students. The story, told in diary and letter form, is a clear, readable, and sobering depiction of the all-too-common fate of students who are neither attending one of the top 2 or 3 law schools nor ranked in the top 10 (not top 10 per cent) of their law-school class. While the lucky few may have no trouble finding a job, the great majority of law students face rejection after rejection in the effort to find a job practicing law, anywhere, in any specialty, for (almost) any salary. Dieker provides a reality check for prospective law students, much-needed consolation for law students now seeking jobs, and a reminder for interviewers of what it's like to be on the other side of the table.

This book offers a completely different perspective on law school (specifically the second year) than others out there (at least what I have read). This text doesn't list out what you should or shouldn't do. Instead, it presents one man's story during his second year from August to December. You walk away from each reading deciding for yourself what were his good and bad choices. This text is written journal-style. As such, some topics skip around. The overall text seems lengthy, however it gives a realistic illustration of how tedious the second year can be. It focuses a lot on "the job search"...listing out rejection letters, following phone calls, and divulging interview blunders. These on-goings coincide with trying to manage coursework as well. An excellent book to read during the summer before the second year or for anyone trying to piece together what law school is all about.

If you want a book that explains what the second year of law school feels like, where the mind and heart of a second year student can be found, this is the book.

Lawrence Dieker's book, Letters from Law School, captures some of the feelings I had in law school -- but more importantly, it captures the way it feels to be in the top part of a top tier law school -- the pain and the agony that most students feel. Well, the pain that the 90% of the students who aren't in the top 10% feel. It is an unfortunately accurate story.

The truth in America is that only the pain or the confusion of the literate seems to count. If you can't articulate your feelings or beliefs, the law,the press, and your own family won't believe that they exist. For most law students in Dieker's position, the stress and the anxiety are intensified by the fact that they are unable to communicate just what they are experiencing.

The Paper Chase is fine. It is the story of a gifted rebel who finds contentment in the top 10% at Harvard. Letters from Law School is still about someone at the top, with better than normal skills and better than normal results putting in back breaking effort, but it is a much truer story.

While he hits many true things only lightly (it is easy to find yourself wondering why he didn't stay at Ohio school with the same recognition and ranking as Tulane -- only a quantum level less expensive and near to home) and you find yourself wondering if there are that many law professors that inept (yes, it is true that law is the one place that professors are not chosen on the basis of having any teaching experience or ability)he manages to touch on all of them, at least once.

He also hits the emotional state that many students experience with the current state of placement. Law students are encouraged and taught to broadcast their resumes to every possible opening. As a result, a firm with two openings will often get 300 to 400 resumes (I've talked with people who do the interviewing). The smallish mid-sized firm I work for gets a steady stream of faxed resumes (which we universally hate and despise) and mailed resumes without any openings being listed -- often with naively high salary requirements prominently displayed in the cover letters like an act of charity offered to us (sad to say, we have taken to hiring JDs to work as paralegals because they are easier to find and cheaper than certified paralegals. Of four paralegals we have right now, three have JDs, one from a first tier, top 14, school).

Law Firm hiring is completely out of control. While a very few will get six figure incomes, most will either get paid less than an RN with a bachelor's degree, if they find employment at all. A job opening for thousands a year will draw experienced attorneys and for those not in the crucial top 10%, things are surreal, like a nightmarish Kafka scene.

Letters from a Law Student catches that process very, very well.

I wish that I had been able to read something like Planet Law School before I began law school. Even more, I wish that my friends in law school had been able to send copies of Letters from a Law Student to their families and loved ones so that someone could explain just what was going on and what they were feeling.

The book is cleanly written, honest, and I'm glad to read that the author is still married with children. I wish him well in his legal practice and future, and recommend the book strongly. In spite of everything, one more lawyer has started to survive -- and every reader of this book should realize that their law student can survive too.

If you want a book that explains what the second year of law school feels like, where the mind and heart of a second year student can be found, this is the book.

Lawrence Dieker's book, Letters from Law School, captures some of the feelings I had in law school -- but more importantly, it captures the way it feels to be in the top part of a top tier law school -- the pain and the agony that most students feel. Well, the pain that the 90% of the students who aren't in the top 10% feel. It is an unfortunately accurate story.

The truth in America is that only the pain or the confusion of the literate seems to count. If you can't articulate your feelings or beliefs, the law,the press, and your own family won't believe that they exist. For most law students in Dieker's position, the stress and the anxiety are intensified by the fact that they are unable to communicate just what they are experiencing.

The Paper Chase is fine. It is the story of a gifted rebel who finds contentment in the top 10% at Harvard. Letters from Law School is still about someone at the top, with better than normal skills and better than normal results putting in back breaking effort, but it is a much truer story.

While he hits many true things only lightly (it is easy to find yourself wondering why he didn't stay at Ohio school with the same recognition and ranking as Tulane -- only a quantum level less expensive and near to home) and you find yourself wondering if there are that many law professors that inept (yes, it is true that law is the one place that professors are not chosen on the basis of having any teaching experience or ability)he manages to touch on all of them, at least once.

He also hits the emotional state that many students experience with the current state of placement. Law students are encouraged and taught to broadcast their resumes to every possible opening. As a result, a firm with two openings will often get 300 to 400 resumes (I've talked with people who do the interviewing). The smallish mid-sized firm I work for gets a steady stream of faxed resumes (which we universally hate and despise) and mailed resumes without any openings being listed -- often with naively high salary requirements prominently displayed in the cover letters like an act of charity offered to us (sad to say, we have taken to hiring JDs to work as paralegals because they are easier to find and cheaper than certified paralegals. Of four paralegals we have right now, three have JDs, one from a first tier, top 14, school).

Law Firm hiring is completely out of control. While a very few will get six figure incomes, most will either get paid less than an RN with a bachelor's degree, if they find employment at all. A job opening for $24,000.00 a year will draw experienced attorneys and for those not in the crucial top 10%, things are surreal, like a nightmarish Kafka scene.

Letters from a Law Student catches that process very, very well.

I wish that I had been able to read something like Planet Law School before I began law school. Even more, I wish that my friends in law school had been able to send copies of Letters from a Law Student to their families and loved ones so that someone could explain just what was going on and what they were feeling.

The book is cleanly written, honest, and I'm glad to read that the author is still married with children. I wish him well in his legal practice and future, and recommend the book strongly. In spite of everything, one more lawyer has started to survive -- and every reader of this book should realize that their law student can survive too.

If you want a book that explains what the second year of law school feels like, where the mind and heart of a second year student can be found, this is the book.

Lawrence Dieker's book, Letters from Law School, captures some of the feelings I had in law school -- but more importantly, it captures the way it feels to be in the top part of a top tier law school -- the pain and the agony that most students feel. Well, the pain that the 90% of the students who aren't in the top 10% feel. It is an unfortunately accurate story.

The truth in America is that only the pain or the confusion of the literate seems to count. If you can't articulate your feelings or beliefs, the law,the press, and your own family won't believe that they exist. For most law students in Dieker's position, the stress and the anxiety are intensified by the fact that they are unable to communicate just what they are experiencing.

The Paper Chase is fine. It is the story of a gifted rebel who finds contentment in the top 10% at Harvard. Letters from Law School is still about someone at the top, with better than normal skills and better than normal results putting in back breaking effort, but it is a much truer story.

While he hits many true things only lightly (it is easy to find yourself wondering why he didn't stay at Ohio school with the same recognition and ranking as Tulane -- only a quantum level less expensive and near to home) and you find yourself wondering if there are that many law professors that inept (yes, it is true that law is the one place that professors are not chosen on the basis of having any teaching experience or ability)he manages to touch on all of them, at least once.

He also hits the emotional state that many students experience with the current state of placement. Law students are encouraged and taught to broadcast their resumes to every possible opening. As a result, a firm with two openings will often get 300 to 400 resumes (I've talked with people who do the interviewing). The smallish mid-sized firm I work for gets a steady stream of faxed resumes (which we universally hate and despise) and mailed resumes without any openings being listed -- often with naively high salary requirements prominently displayed in the cover letters like an act of charity offered to us (sad to say, we have taken to hiring JDs to work as paralegals because they are easier to find and cheaper than certified paralegals. Of four paralegals we have right now, three have JDs, one from a first tier, top 14, school).

Law Firm hiring is completely out of control. While a very few will get six figure incomes, most will either get paid less than an RN with a bachelor's degree, if they find employment at all. A job opening for $24,000.00 a year will draw experienced attorneys and for those not in the crucial top 10%, things are surreal, like a nightmarish Kafka scene.

Letters from a Law Student catches that process very, very well.

I wish that I had been able to read something like Planet Law School before I began law school. Even more, I wish that my friends in law school had been able to send copies of Letters from a Law Student to their families and loved ones so that someone could explain just what was going on and what they were feeling.

The book is cleanly written, honest, and I'm glad to read that the author is still married with children. I wish him well in his legal practice and future, and recommend the book strongly. In spite of everything, one more lawyer has started to survive -- and every reader of this book should realize that their law student can survive too.