Yes. I have written about the pay hikes at top firms around the country, but an extremely important article in The Wall St. Journal, "Hard Case: Job Market Wanes for U.S. Lawyers" focuses on another facet of the legal profession: the graduates of non-elite programs who have less spectacular salaries (or even short-term, contract positions) and struggle to pay off their law school debt.

Richard Matasar, Dean of New York Law School, predicted this situation in his more complete article "The Rise and Fall of American Legal Education."

I strongly recommend that anyone considering a legal career read both these articles, especially if they are not going to programs ranked in the US News top ten or if they don't want to deal with 2000-billable-hours-per-year requirements. A legal career can be a wonderful profession, but anyone choosing it needs to see the whole picture and not just the $160K salaries that a few earn upon graduation.

Neither the WSJ article nor the articles about sky-high salaries nor the articles about unhappy lawyers can tell you where you will end up. But you need to consider all the possibilities, the potential rewards, and the very real costs when you apply to law school. 

For more thoughts on these points, please see Cali's Pre-Law Blog. He has an excellent summary of blog posts about and in reaction to this article.

In the recent BusinessWeek chat, "Make Your B-School Application Stand Out," Cassidy asked me "I've done my homework on a school and I am preparing for an interview. Any suggestion as to a good question I might be able to ask?" I thought I had a blog post that addressed this question. It turns out I didn't, so here goes.

It is difficult to provide general advice on questions you should pose because the best questions will reflect your individual knowledge of the program and your background and goals, but let me give you some guidance or at least a place to start.

First prepare yourself to ask intelligent questions:

1. Review the school's web site and literature thoroughly. You don't want to ask a question that's answered on p. 2.
2. Review your application.

As you conduct your review, jot down questions that come to mind. The questions about those programs, clubs, and activities that are most relevant to your goals, educational preferences, and life style are the creme de la creme. Those questions are going to be very individual and I can't give you samples, but here are a few more general questions that may trigger queries in your mind:

• Is it difficult to register for popular classes such as yadda yadda? (Give examples of the classes you are most interested in.)
• What are the criteria for participation in a business plan competition? (if you are interested in entrepreneurship. Substitute another program if entrepreneurship is not your goal.)
• How are interviews given out for internships and full-time positions? (The latter can be a critical question if you are a career changer. Do students bid for a portion of interview slots or is it entirely recruiters' choice?)

If your interviewer is a second-year student or recent alum, ask about his or her experience at School X. For example:

• What were your favorite classes? Professors?
• Any activity that is simply not to be missed?
• What do you wish you had done differently before or while at School X.
  

BTW, we have been receiving absolutely terrific feedback on INSEAD interviews and IMD interviews in the MBA Interview Feedback Database (MBAIFDB). The MBAIFDB is a free, searchable database with feedback from MBA admissions interviews at all the top MBA programs around the world. You can use it to prepare for your interview, and please also to remember to share your interview experience after you interview.

Although most schools have not yet started interviewing, let me remind you of a few additional Accepted MBA interview resources:

• MBA Interview Coaching
• MBA I.V.: Mainline to Top MBA Programs, an ebook.
  
• MBA Interview Prep Course (free)
  

I just want to update you about an exciting chat this week and a couple of MBA admissions chat transcripts that are now available.

• Linda Meehan, Columbia Business School's Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid, and Lauren Sickle, CBS MBA '08, will be our special guests at a chat this Wednesday Sept. 26 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/5:00 PM GMT.  If you are interested in learning more about Columbia's famed financial program, the advantages of studying in the heart of the Big Apple, Columbia's ties to media and health care, or the preparation it provides to budding entrepreneurs, this is your chance. Come to the chat to learn more about Columbia, its admissions policies, and its student life.
• The transcript from our Kellogg chat with Beth Flye is now online. An excerpt:

• BusinessWeek's admissions consultant chat with me as special guest is now online. "Make Your B-School Application Stand Out" gives you advice on doing exactly that.  For more tips along those lines, check out MBA BlastOff: 45 Terrific Tips to Launch Your MBA Application,, Accepted's featured book this month and 20% off through Sunday.

Reviewing a client essay served as the catalyst for this post. The Before and After examples have been changed, but they are similar to any number of essays I read regularly -- whether the client is applying to business, law, med, or grad school.

Let's look at the following example.

Before:

Since I last applied, I have been able to make progress in several, diverse areas of my life.  I have been involved in a new company initiative to enter a new market for the first time.  In addition, through the past year I have continued to devote significant time to  my extra-curricular activities to help the poor.  Lastly, I have taken advantage of the opportunity to enroll in courses to further strengthen my academic background in my intended field of study.  My progress this past year has further affirmed that my short term and long term goals can be best achieved through your program.

After:

In the past year I played an essential role in my company’s initiative to capture, for the first time in its history, the sports fan market. I also expanded my role at Habitat for Humanity, and took courses in calculus, statistics, and accounting (receiving an “A” grade in each) to prepare for business school. The cumulative effect of these activities: strengthened resolve to advance my career towards my goals. My long-term goal is to work in international marketing and support/encourage social entrepreneurship among the underprivileged. Consequently, after my MBA  I seek to transition into product management in a large consumer goods firm while continuing to volunteer with groups dedicated to social entrepreneurship. Ross has the program that best supports my objectives.   

Yes I know the "After" is somewhat longer than the "Before," but it is also far more informative and distinctive. The "Before" version could have been written by so many reapplicants to any business school. It is simply a series of declarative, general statements strung together. The "After" is individual. It is specific.  It contains detail that not only supports the assertions the writer makes, but reveals additional desirable information.

Any declarative sentence worth including in your essay should

• Include a specific that supports it, or
• Be followed or preceded by an example or anecdote that illustrates it.

A few interesting tidbits from the law school scene:

• This January at the meeting of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), law schools deans will consider changes to the law school curriculum, largely unchanged for decades, according to a report at Law .com . The evaluation comes on the heels of a large favorable report on law school education that nonetheless challenged law schools to become more grounded in actual legal practice. The deans will also consider changes to law school admissions practices and encouragement of careers in public law.
• I'm sure most of you heard about the hiring, firing, and re-hiring of Duke professor Erwin Chemerinsky as UC Irvine's new law school dean by UC Irvine Chancellor Michael V. Drake . The LA Times has an article providing background and Drake's admission that he "bungled" Chemerinsky's appointment. He says he withdraw the initial offer for "personal reasons" and denies that "outside pressure" or Chermerinsky's views or outspokenness had anything to do with his actions. Both men have assured the world that they have made up. Drake apologized to the UCI faculty and it seemed to accept his apology.
• The increase in first year associate salaries is the most concrete evidence of heated competition among top law firms for first year associates. "Innovative" recruiting tactics are another. The law firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges has decided to replace the second interview at the firm office with a weekend at Deer Valley in Utah in October. Quinn describes the move as "an experiment we are going to try this year with the call backs from law schools whose on campus interviews are late in the season (chicago, yale, harvard and texas)." Response, at lease in the form of comments on the firms blog, has been mixed, to put it mildly.