Law School Success: A Guide to Navigating Your 3L Year from an Insider

Summary

Law school can be a challenging and exciting experience, especially for 3Ls. A 3L is a student in their third and final year of law school. This article is an insider guide to help 3Ls make the most of their last year and to help them prepare for life after graduation.


The article explains that 3Ls should focus on building relationships with professors, mentors, and classmates. Building relationships is important for networking and for achieving academic success. 3Ls should also seek out internships, clerkships, externships, and other opportunities that can help them gain experience and build their skills. These experiences can provide valuable insight into the legal field and can help 3Ls develop connections in the legal community.

For 3Ls looking to enter the job market after graduation, the article suggests that they start researching potential employers and update their resumes. It is also important to create a portfolio with examples of their best work. This can help 3Ls stand out to potential employers and make them stand out as a competitive job applicant.

Finally, the article emphasizes the importance of prioritizing self-care during the third year of law school. 3Ls should remember to take time to rest, relax, and enjoy activities outside of law school. This is important to avoid burnout and to help maintain motivation and focus throughout the year.

3Ls can maximize the third year of law school by taking advantage of opportunities, building relationships, and prioritizing self-care. Networking, researching potential employers, and creating a portfolio are all essential for 3Ls looking to make a successful transition into the legal profession. Taking steps to prepare for life after graduation can help 3Ls make the most of their last year of law school.
 

What Every Law School Student Should Know

The third year of law school is the most important year in your graduate law study. Not only is it a year where you will learn a great deal of legal knowledge, but it is also the year that you will need to build upon the knowledge gained in your first two years of study in order to qualify for a position in the legal profession. For this reason, it is important that you become familiar with the ins and outs of 3L during your preparation and courses.
 

Seminar Classes

One of the most significant components of 3L is the seminars that you will be required to take. These seminars are designed to provide the student with additional legal education and training on various legal topics such as Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Procedure and Torts. Generally, these courses will last for the entire semester and will consist of both classroom and hands-on activities. Students should be prepared to put in a lot of effort in order to successfully complete these courses.
 

Developing Your Legal Writing Skills

Another important component of 3L is the development of your legal writing skills. In this portion of your law school study, you will be required to learn how to draft legal memorandums, motions, and other legal documents that are required by the court. This part of your law school experience is incredibly important, as it will provide an excellent introduction to the practice of law and can help you become more attractive to potential employers.
 

Legal Research

Legal research is an integral part of 3L and should be a priority for any student intending to enter the legal profession. In order to become proficient in legal research, you will need to learn the basics of both the federal and state laws, conduct legal research using the various legal databases, and become comfortable with the research methods and techniques used in the legal profession.
 

Building a Professional Network

In order to ensure success in the legal profession, it is essential that 3Ls establish a professional network. These connections will help you during your job search, provide you with resources and advice and even provide you with potential employment opportunities. It is important to start building your network early in your law school career as it will be instrumental in helping you find the job of your dreams.

Academics
By the time your third year rolls around, whatever terror accompanied 1L courses will be a distant memory. ''Expect to be challenged, not tortured'' in your last year, says Heather Parker, a 2000 graduate of The John Marshall Law School in Atlanta. ''You can absorb information much more easily and rapidly.''

You may find that the real difficulty lies not in staying up to speed in your classes, but in simply staying motivated. If your 2L summer went as planned, you will probably have your post-graduation job lined up already. As long as you don't flunk out, your offer is safe. So unless you're in the running for a degree with honors (and you care about making it), grades are just as irrelevant as they were during the spring of your senior year in high school.

Since the pressure is off, you finally have the opportunity to study what you like and to learn for learning's sake. ''You are going to learn what you need to know for the bar when you take the [bar review] class over the summer, so choose classes that truly interest you and that you have wanted to take since you got to school,'' says an NYU 3L. Chances are, this is it for your academic career, so don't miss the chance to try a course in a new field.

Extracurriculars
If you'd rather not use this year to catch up on sleep, focus on extracurriculars. ''I've worked more this year than I have in years past, but that is entirely because of my activities,'' explains David Bigge, a Harvard 3L.

While extracurriculars may become more intense as graduation approaches, you may also find that the nature of the work changes in positive ways. 3Ls usually run the show at journals, so 2Ls are stuck with the scut work. Take the opportunity to develop your leadership skills, and mentor 2Ls as they learn the ropes at your organization.

Jobs
If you end up without a tempting offer after your 2L summer, the job hunt will dominate your 3L experience. ''The earlier you find a job, the less hectic third year will be,'' says Kevin Willen, a 3L at the Washington College of Law at American University. Even if you have an offer from a firm, you might want to defer it to apply for a public-interest fellowship or other special program. ''Looking for jobs didn't help [make third year any easier],'' says Bigge, who explored public-service options despite having an offer from a prestigious firm. ''I tried (and failed) to get a fellowship; that was very busy and stressful.''

If your school provides services to make the process easier, take advantage of whatever help is available. ''Be sure to make use of all that your school has to offer in the way of career services and mock-interviewing sessions,'' Parker recommends.

Tip: Since personal contacts are key to finding jobs outside of the organized interview process, attend as many networking events as possible.

Remember that your first job is only that—a first job—and that greater opportunities may present themselves after you've spent a year in the market.

Bar Prep
Although the bar exam isn't until late July, you'll probably take one part of it before you graduate—the professional responsibility exam. Depending on the state, over the summer you will take some combination of the multistate bar exam, a state essay exam, and a performance exam. For more information, check out our article Behind the Bar.

You can sign up for a bar exam review class any time (doing it early often allows you to lock in a low price), but try to do so by spring of your third year. The class runs from May through July, wrapping up just before the test date. Popular courses include Bar-Bri and PMBR.

Tip: Sign up for a review class as early as possible to lock in a low price.

Saying Goodbye
While most 3Ls say that they feel ready to move on, they also encourage their 2L counterparts to enjoy the freedom of their last year in school. ''Take advantage of it, make plans to see people you don't always get to see, explore the city you live in, pursue any hobbies or things you have been wanting to try—because your schedule will never be this flexible again,'' advises an NYU 3L. You may also feel that your final year is whizzing by much more quickly than the previous two. ''I did actually start to see the light at the end of the tunnel,'' Parker agrees. ''Your third year will be over before you know it.''

After three years of bonding with your classmates, saying goodbye may be one of the roughest challenges of the last year. ''I have met lots of great people at law school, and many of them are good friends that I will miss,'' says Robert Wolinsky, a Harvard 3L. Hopefully, you'll feel the same way about your class after you've been scared, worked, and bored to death together. Try to stay in touch with your classmates after graduation; after all, no one else will truly understand what you've been through.