Pre-Law Advice Skip Nav
These links are specifically for students at the College of Charleston who are interested in legal careers.

The links present, in order, the following information. First, what does a legal career involve. Next, there
are undergraduate preparation hints, followed by a discussion of the law school application process.
There is a brief look at the last hurdle to a legal career--the bar exam and career placement. There is a
questionnaire, which serves as a guide to where you have been intellectually and where you might want
to be, whether you end up in law school or not. Also there is a bibliography, a film guide, and a source of acknowledgements.

The links are written by Dr. David Mann, Professor of Political Science, College of Charleston
http://www.cofc.edu/~mannd/

Pre-Law Advice Links

I. Legal Careers	VI. Will You Succeed?
II. Commitment to Law School	VII. Questionnaire
III. Undergraduate Preparation	VIII. Bibliography
IV. Law School Admissions Process	IX. Film List
V. Application Time Line	X. Acknowledgements

Special Announcements:

BRAND NEW: George and Sherry: What Every Law Student Really Needs to Know
on two hour reserve, pre-law

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Special Announcement from Law Services: regarding letters of recommendation:

"LSAC’s Letter of Recommendation Service is about to change for the better. Gone are the complicated classifications “General,” “Targeted,” and “Inactive.” As of April 27, 2009, as letters are added to a candidate’s file, they will be classified as “Active.”

In order for a letter to be sent to a law school, the candidate must assign the letter to a particular school (or schools). Letters not assigned by the candidate to a particular school will not be sent to that school.

You will be able to check out the LOR process for yourself and your students at LSAC’s virtual, interactive candidate website, which will be available through your LSACnet.org account at the end of May. On the site, you will be able to replicate LSAC candidate services such as:

registering for the LSAT;
assembling credentials, including transcripts and letters of recommendation;
filling out law school applications; and
ordering publications."

--April 17, 2009

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Pre-Law Magazines:
'Best Law Schools for Practical Training"
"Which Law Schools Rank Best on Diversity"
"The Truth About the LSAT"
"Most Political Law Schools--Conservative or Liberal"
"Financial Aid"
--available at Dr. Mann's office and Career Services

American Bar Association Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund: http://www.abanet.org/fje

Applications for 2009-10 LSAC Fee Waiver Program are available from Dr. Mann

Attention All Applicants: "dean certification letter" requests are handled by Dr. Cabot, Dean of Students, Student Affairs (Stern Center, 2nd floor)

Special Law Related Events at C of C, Fall '08-Spring '09

September 4th: Pre-Law Advising Session; open to all C of C students;
4:00 pm, Maybank 206

September 12-13: Law School Forum, Intercontinental/Buckhead, Atlanta, GA--see lsac.org for details

October 4th: Charleston School of Law: Law School Preview Day; USC, Charlotte,
and Charleston; for information/registration (free): http://www.charlestonlaw.edu/diversity

October 25th: LSAT pre-test sponsored by Stanley Kaplan; registration required;
go to http://www.Kaptest.com for information

October 29th: Career and Professional Expo, 1230-300 pm, Gaillard Auditorium;
law schools already registered to attend include: Charleston School of Law,
John Marshall Law School, Ohio Northern Pettit College of Law, Samford University Cumberland School of Law, Stetson University College of Law, University of Mississippi School of Law; The Institute of World Politics (Washington, DC)

November 10th: Mock Admissions:  Taking the mystery out of the law school admission process; sponsored by Elon University School of Law
6:00 pm, Maybank 110

November 12th: Meet Admissions Deans from Mississippi College School of Law,
University of Tennessee, Memphis, and Mercer (George School of Law)
4:00 pm, Maybank 206

November 18th: Personal Statement Workshop with Issa Disciullo, Admissions Dean of South Carolina School of Law; 4:30 pm, ECTR 101.

January 29th: Tommy Pope, former solicitor (prosecutor):
Caught in the Camera Eye: Prosecuting (or Intensive Media and) the High Profile Case.
6:00 pm, Maybank 100.

March 19th: Richmond and Charleston Admissions Deans: "Mock Admissions" See real application materials; decide who gets in. 7:00 pm. Maybank 105. Pizza.

March 25th: Detroit Mercy School of Law Mobile Law Office,
Physicians' Promenade, 11-1.

Pre-Law Advice Resources
General Pre-Law Information

Alphabetical list of American Bar Association approved law schools:
http://www.abanet.org/legaled/approvedlawschools/approved.html

Law School Admissions Council (LSAT information; check geographic search function especially)
http://www.lsac.org

LSAT sample tests free on line:
http://www.testprepreview.com/lsat_practice.htm

LSAT Prep Course on campus for C of C students/alums:
Contact Center For Student Learning (Addlestone Library): 953-5635 or Steve Gibson at gibsont@cofc.edu

Legal Education Opportunities for minority students
http://www.cleoscholars.com

"Out and In: Information for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Law School Applicants"--
brochure published by LSAC--available at http://www.LSAC.org/LGBT

Pre-Law Advisors' National Council--lots of great links on pre-law advice and advising
http://www.planc.org/

Southern Association of Pre-Law Advisors--some nice links
http://www.sapla.org/

Elon College's Web Site on Electronic Pre-Law Advising
http://www.elon.edu/pre-law/epla.htm

Law School Locator from Boston College. Based on your GPA and LSAT scores find out which Law
Schools are best for you.
http://www.bc.edu/offices/careers/gradschool/law/lawlocator.html

Find out which law school is best for you based the ranking of your criteria. 
Indiana University School of Law Bloomingtion.
http://monoborg.law.indiana.edu/lawrank/index.html

Other Undergraduate School Pre-Law Web Sites
http://www.elon.edu/pre-law/index.htm
http://www.davidson.edu/student/organizations/prelaw/page2.html#Top
http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/cas/Pre-Law/
http://www.aas.duke.edu/trinity/prelaw/

Financial Aid Web Sites
http://www.lsac.org/LSAC.asp?url=lsac/financial-aid-introduction.asp
http://www.accessgroup.org/
http://studentaid.ed.gov/guide
http://www.finaid.org/
www.fafsa.ed.gov

Bar Association Information

Charleston County Bar Association
http://www.charlestonbar.org/

South Carolina State Bar Association
http://www.scbar.org

American Bar Association Legal Help Site
http://www.abalawinfo.org/

For C of C students and others who seek specific pre-law information:

LSAT Prep Course on campus for C of C students/alums:
Contact Center For Student Learning: 953-5635 or Steve Gibson at gibsont@cofc.edu

For C of C students, there are electronic reserve articles in PLAW. These are law review articles
that discuss LSAT, pre-law majors, and a variety of other topics. The password is: aspire

For a set of hints on how to make it through law school, find:
29 Stetson Law Review Number 4, Spring 2000:  "Maximizing the Law School Experience II",
a copy of which is on Reserve at the C of C Library.

BRAND NEW: George and Sherry: What Every Law Student Really Needs to Know
on two hour reserve, pre-law

A copy of ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools 2008 Edition
is on Reserve at the C of C Library.

A copy of Law School Without Fear by Shapo and Shapo is on Reserve at the C of C Library.

A copy of Law School Lists, 2007-8 Edition, is on Reserve at the C of C Library.

Copies of the following pre-law magazines are available at Dr. Mann's office and in Career Services:
"How to find great schools for minorities and women"
"Best Schools for your money"
"Which Law School fits you best?"
"Admissions: Behind closed doors"
"Great schools for minorities"
"How will you afford law school?"
"Do Rankings really matter?"
"Diversity Comeback"

Boston College Advice on Personal Statements
http://www.bc.edu/offices/careers/gradschool/law/lawstatement

A list of legal resources is available from Dr. Mann's home page:
http://www.cofc.edu/~mannd/newlaw.html