Richardson
Prep Centre- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Law Students
So you’ve decided you want to become a lawyer, now what?
Being a law student, I am one of many who can tell you that deciding to become a lawyer is merely the initial step in an invariably high stairway to achieving your goal. This should not be disconcerting; the truth is, anyone can become a law student, so long as they work hard enough and diligently push through all of the steps in the process. This journey is long and arduous, but if you are determined, you will be successful!
My initial advice is twofold: firstly, work as hard as you can in school, the better your grades are the better chances you will have getting into law school. Secondly, always keep up with the law admissions process and be ever aware of what the next step is in achieving your goal. Unfortunately, I can’t help you with the former, but I can with the latter.
Have you ever heard the term, “don’t reinvent the wheel”? Always remember that every lawyer you have ever looked up to, or any lawyer that did something in some special way to make you want to follow in his or her footsteps, also went through the law admissions process, and there are many things they can teach us to make the law admissions process a successful one.
This is where John Richardson’s Law School Preparation Program comes in. John Richardson has developed a program that, according to your needs, can help you work through the various steps it takes to becoming a law student in Canada. The easiest way to explain the program is by analogizing it to having your hand held by someone who has gone through the law admissions process, especially the LSAT test (the newest four letter word in your vocabulary), and can part with some wisdom that can seriously be the difference in becoming a successful candidate for a law degree.
The first step is to look for someone from the Richardson program around your university. John Richardson provides seminars (free of charge) where students can get their first glimpse at the law admissions process. Richardson will provide important dates, facts and methods needed to get through the process.
This is where I first learned of the program I managed enough confidence to walk into the seminar and sit down with everyone else who I thought was more inclined to become a lawyer than myself.
After this initial seminar, the next step is determining how you want to tackle the LSAT. The LSAT is a complacency test that, along with your grades, determines if you will go to law school. It is a hard test, but its bark is worse than its bite, and with help from Richardson’s program, one can learn to master the test and gain a successful mark.
Now I am sure I won’t be telling you anything new by saying that everyone has their own way of thinking and studying, and this is why I found the program so helpful. There are different approaches to preparing for the LSAT, and as a student you will pick the one that suits you the best.
You will find that, generally speaking, three types of people will write the test:
The first are those who try the LSAT and do well their first time. Unlike me, these people need only purchase one of Richardson’s “Mastering the LSAT” texts to tune-up some skills and keep fresh by practicing tests on a regular basis.
The second are those who need a little help now and then to figure out the nature of the questions and basically get put in the right direction. Again, unlike me, these people will benefit from Richardson’s single weekend courses. These courses are designed to help able-minded students practice for the LSAT for the most part, on there own.
The final group are those who find that the LSAT might as well have been written in a different language. Like me, these people can benefit from Richardson’s intensive one-month long program that essentially teaches the student how to think in a way conducive to writing the test – right from scratch.
Under any of these methods, Richardson will also spend time providing insight into other less intensive but equally important areas to the law admissions process. Under any of the three above-mentioned paths, students can learn how to write a successful writing sample for the application process, how to obtain letters of reference, and most importantly, how to apply to law school with a wholly competitive package.
In one way or another, Richardson’s prep courses and materials WILL increase your LSAT score and chances at becoming a law student. Richardson teaches the course in a manner such that anyone can learn easily and find the confidence and skills necessary to do well. For those of you much like myself, Richardson can be the difference between getting into law school or not.
I recommend Richardson’s program to all Canadian students who are seriously considering the profession of law. Attend the initial seminar, keep up with the application process, try an LSAT on your own and determine what kind of LSAT writer you are, and then use Richardson to get your LSAT score where it needs to be to get into law school.
Good Luck!
- Matt Sutton
University of Windsor & University of Detroit Mercy, School of Law.