Law Students – NWSidebar

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Meet the Law School Representatives of 2023

Consider that a student who expects to graduate law school this year will have spent most of their education amid a global pandemic. Their legal academia would have taken place during historic global protests, a historic attack on the U.S. Capitol building, and the reversal of massively controversial legal precedent. In all, law students today are looking at a world full of inflation and, arguably, some of the greatest challenges for our legal system in modern history. Each year, the Washington State Bar Association partners with our state’s three law schools and selects a law student representative from each. These student representatives both serve as liaisons who communicate issues facing students to the WSBA, and who share WSBA resources with their fellow students.

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Gift Ideas for the Lawyer or Law Student in Your Life

Unfortunately, you probably can’t get lawyers and law students the gift they really want: eliminating their student loans. However, there’s still time to find a gift that will delight the legal wonk in your life. We can’t endorse specific products, but the WSBA ranks are chockfull of lawyers full of ideas. Here are a few WSBA-approved gift ideas for the lawyer or law student in your life.

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Meet the 2021-2022 Law Student Representatives

Each year, the WSBA partners with Washington’s three law schools and selects a law student representative from each. These student representatives both serve as liaisons who communicate issues facing students to the WSBA, and who share WSBA resources with their fellow students. Read on to meet the 2021-2022 law school representatives.

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What it’s Like Being a WSBA Law School Representative During Strange Times

Faced with a global pandemic, a massive civil rights movement, uncertain economic futures, and most recently a blanketing of smoke as much of the Western United States burns, it’s no small feat to manage three years of intensive legal study on top of that. Even so, this year, as in years past, student representatives from Washington’s three law schools have partnered with the WSBA to serve as a vital link between their classmates and (hopefully) future professional regulator. Read on to learn what’s on the minds of the 2020-2021 law school representatives.

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Regarding the Bar Exam and Competency

When the Washington Supreme Court modified the Admission to Practice Rules to grant admission under diploma privilege criteria, it spurred a great deal of discussion about the bar exam. Some of this discussion appears to assume the Supreme Court order is permanent. This does not appear to be the intent of the order. Many attorneys have complained about granting admission to practice law to individuals who have not taken the bar exam, essentially arguing the exam is a “rite of passage.” While I understand the sentiment, I reject its validity.

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Why Choosing Not to Take the Bar Exam Proves You Are Qualified to Practice Law

Let me be abundantly clear: In my hiring decisions I will never ever care whether someone took the bar exam. The best data available, through comparative tests, malpractice suits, and ethics complaints, indicates that passing the bar exam has zero correlation with being a good lawyer. But that doesn’t mean I won’t ask if interviewees took the exam.

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Where’s the Hurt? Part 3: The Coronavirus Impact on Law Students and What That Means for the Future of the Profession

For countless law students, the ongoing Coronavirus crisis has halted their young careers before they’ve even begun.

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Meet the 2019 WSBA Law School Representatives

Each year WSBA partners with law student representatives from our state’s three law schools. They serve a unique and important function as liaisons who share with their classmates the programs and services the bar offers.

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To GRE or not to GRE? Seattle University Test Pilots GRE for Law School Admissions

Seattle University School of Law’s Gregory Silverman sheds light on the school’s plan to get on board with an emerging trend in admissions.

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Pro Bono Puts Education Into Practice at University of Washington School of Law

University of Washington law students gain real-world experience while contributing their time and expertise to their community through pro bono work.

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Pro Bono at Gonzaga Powered by Students Giving Back

Part of Gonzaga law’s mission is to educate students to serve the public good, which is one reason its future lawyers must complete at least 30 hours of public service. Here’s what they’re doing with that time.

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Academic Altruism: Seattle University’s Pro Bono Programs and the Students Who Contribute

Service to others is at the heart of Seattle University School of Law’s mission. Find out how its students are answering that call.

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Why I Want to Be a Lawyer—A Fat, White-Passing Womxn of Color and the Law

My decision to go into law began in the dark. That’s the first thing I remember: darkness. I was eight years old and about to see something no eight year old should. I remember realizing I wasn’t alone when I saw the circular glow of flashlights sliding across the walls of our two-bedroom apartment just […]

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Why Law School is an Investment in More than the Law

Recently, there has been debate about the prudence of a legal education vis-à-vis other alternative career choices. Such deliberations stem from the suggestion that there are too many law graduates chasing too few jobs. Yet the true nature of law school as a good investment remains undiminished. I have several reasons why my legal education […]

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So You Didn’t Pass the Bar: 3 Tips for Reassuring Someone Who Didn’t Make the Cut

There are few moments in life as pivotal as taking the bar exam. Being a lawyer is a dream, a life’s journey that has been incubating for years. But first you have to know the password to get in. So much hinges on this exam: mountains of debt; the expectations of friends and family; and, of […]

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WSBA Law School Representatives: The New Class

Every year, hundreds of law school grads emerge bleary eyed and discombobulated, but with J.D.s in hand and the immeasurable feeling of accomplishment having passed the bar. Yet they might have spent those three years not knowing what programs and services the Washington State Bar Association offers for law students or getting familiar with the […]