Annual Law Day slated for Thursday

Representatives from more than 100 law schools nationwide will congregate in the Indiana Memorial Union for Law Day Thursday. The Midwest Association of Prelaw Advisors has joined forces with IU's Health Professions and Prelaw Center to sponsor the event. The fair has drawn over 800 students in past years from IU-Bloomington as well as IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, Ball State, Hanover College and other area institutions.\nAt 9 a.m. in the Georgian Room, law school admissions deans from St. Louis University, University of Dayton and George Washington University will join IUB's Dennis Long, dean of the IU School of Law, in kicking off Law Day with a panel discussion: "What I Really Look for in a Law School Application." A question and answer session will follow short presentations from each speaker. \nAll aspects of an application will be discussed, with topics ranging from how individual law schools view underage drinking citations on their applicants' undergraduate records to whether resumes should be handwritten or typed. \nAdmissions representatives will be available to answer questions and speak with aspiring law school applicants about their individual concerns in Alumni Hall from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. \nStudents will have the opportunity to talk one-on-one with deans, alumni and admissions directors from accredited law schools around the country about applications, which are generally due around March 1. Health Professions and Prelaw Center Assistant Director Mac Francis recommends students have their law school applications in by Thanksgiving or winter break at the latest. He said the law fair is timed perfectly in relation to his recommended application deadline. \n"The representatives are instructed to put a note in the file if they run into a potential future applicant who's very motivated and seems very eager," Francis said of students meeting one-on-one with representatives at Law Day. "It can make a difference later on."\nHe said the event may put the minds of students preparing to take the LSAT in October at ease. \n"They'll see when talking to these (admissions representatives) that the LSAT isn't the be-all, end-all."\nA written statement from HPPLC asked that students who are "traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession" take note of the Indiana Conference on Legal Education Opportunities' featured presence at the event. It is the aim of the I-CLEO to assist minority, first-generation and financially disadvantaged students in getting accepted to an Indiana law schools. \nHPPLC Director Dr. John Simpson said he believes students are always interested in knowing how individual law schools will view their specific application, how their grade point averages and LSAT scores will be weighted in relation to the overall application and how their individual accomplishments will be viewed by admissions panels. \n"It's a marvelous opportunity students wouldn't otherwise have," he said. \n-- Contact staff writer Annie Tasker at atasker@indiana.edu.