Client Success & Buzz

As I embarked on the law school admissions process, I was acutely aware I had been out of higher education for several years—I remembered applying to graduate schools, but in the present, this was a completely different set of obstacles. Once I started working with Nikki Laubenstein, all possible concerns and hesitancies were quickly assuaged. Throughout the process, Nikki helped to guide, inform, and encourage at each step. She helped to organize and understand the different schools I would eventually seek admission to and further, what the best fit may be. As I began my applications and most importantly, my written statements, Nikki was continually and consistently in contact.

She helped to encourage and shape various topics, perfect for grammar and syntax, and craft what would ultimately become a series of statements I was proud to submit. With Nikki’s assistance and guidance, I was admitted to several schools and eventually submitted a deposit to one of my top choices in Washington & Lee. As an applicant with a lower-than-average undergraduate GPA, Nikki’s help was invaluable, and I could not begin to thank and recommend her enough!

As a reapplicant, I reached out to Spivey Consulting in hopes of gaining new insight to apply again this cycle. I can confidently say that my consultant Hannah Song provided exactly what I had hoped for and more. From the very beginning, she put in the effort to really understand my background and goals so that I could prepare a strong, genuine application for each school. Throughout each step, she provided prompt and detailed responses to all my questions, along with valuable insight on strategy. Her wisdom and encouragement were of immense support, and I am ecstatic to say that I will be attending a top law school with scholarship—one I was not accepted to last year. I am so grateful to have worked with her and to soon be a law school student at my dream institution!

I was recently admitted to my top-choice law school, a T5, as a transfer student. Like many 2020 applicants, last year, I was somewhat disappointed with my original results (waitlisted at about 10 top schools and admitted at one that was far from my first choice). Because of that the thought of re-applying, while also balancing the rigors of 1L was unpleasant. However, thanks to Nikki’s help, I powered through, completed the applications, and was admitted. For months I drafted and re-drafted to write compelling narratives in my PS and supplemental essays, but she helped me to refine those narratives in ways that best high-lighted my strengths, while embracing my weaknesses. She helped me with mock interviews and developing tactful ways to approach uncomfortable subjects like addenda and C&F issues. She kept me in a positive and strategic mindset even when I wasn’t feeling particularly confident. Officially (and thankfully), I am done with law school applications. But if I were applying again, I would look first to Spivey and Nikki.

Working with Kevin Petty was absolutely the best decision I made in my law school admissions process. Through our time together, Kevin not only helped me outperform my numbers, landing me many more admissions/higher scholarships than I expected going into the process — he also diligently responded to my many emails, talked through every what-if that popped into my mind, held me accountable to the goals I set for myself, and held my hand through every step of the process. His help with brainstorming, strategy, and nuts-and-bolts edits to my written statements made my application package much more cohesive and polished than I could have ever done alone. Kevin also moderated my expectations from the beginning: making no promises and providing reasonable projections about my chances (that turned out quite accurate in the end!). Last, Kevin was pleasant to work with and genuinely invested in my applications and doing whatever it took to help me obtain the outcomes I sought. There’s little question in my mind that Kevin’s contributions made a substantial difference in the outcomes of my cycle.

One of the best decisions I made in this law school process was choosing to work with Sir Williams and and Spivey Consulting. I remain incredibly pleased with how the cycle turned out and am excited to be officially starting at Harvard in August! Thank you again for all of your help during this cycle!

I’ve been thinking back to all the help Joe Pollak gave me last year with applying to law school. While UChicago has lived up to its reputation for rigorous course load, I have been very happy here. I really think UChicago was the right law school for me, and I don’t know that I’d be here if it wasn’t for your help… Thanks again for everything.

Shannon Davis has been my guiding light in navigating the long and difficult process that is applying for law school. She provides incredibly insightful feedback and is always quick to address the many anxiety-ridden questions I’m often sending her way. She demonstrates the utmost empathy, compassion, and patience in all that she does. She really works with you to achieve your goals, and she will provide realistic expectations without ever sacrificing her kind and caring attitude. Throughout this cycle, she has helped me develop broader strategies, communicate cohesive and cogent narratives in my applications, and maintain positive lines of communication with admissions offices, law faculty, and current students. I truly do not believe that I would have achieved the outcomes that I did without Shannon’s help, and I’m so happy to be able to celebrate my success with her!

At long last I conclude my application process and am thrilled with the results. Nathan Neely’s responsiveness, patience, helpful feedback and sage advice assuaged my anxieties about this cycle. With Mr. Neely’s guidance, I was able to piece together the best version of myself on applications. The outcomes far exceeded my highest expectations. I cannot overstate my appreciation for Mr. Neely’s stellar services.

During the 2021-2022 Application Cycle, I had the pleasure of working with Nick Everdell on my law school applications. Having graduated in 2020 into an uncertain time, and with the previous cycle being one of the most difficult and unpredictable admissions cycles to date, I was seeking peace of mind and professional experience to help navigate my own application. Working together, Nick exhibited his tenure and expertise in law school admissions and treated me with respect and professionalism. His knowledge of the admissions landscape helped me set realistic expectations for my school list.

His guidance and questions helped me chisel a personal statement that clearly delivered my story. His diligence helped ensure my resume and final applications were clear, easy to read, and error free. I have no idea how many clients Nick had during this cycle, but he always made me feel that I could rely on him to promptly answer any questions, concerns, or feedback that I wanted from him, either through email or phone. I am fortunate to have multiple T6 acceptances and scholarship offers from wonderful schools, including my dream school. It has been a pleasure celebrating each acceptance with Nick, as he has been a tremendous part of my success. Could not recommend him highly enough.

I’m a recentish grad and worked with Kevin Petty this application season after hearing some great things about Spivey Consulting. I was recently accepted through the binding ED program for UVA and felt strongly compelled to express how incredible it has been to work with Kevin. From my initial call with Spivey, it was clear that Kevin was deeply knowledgeable yet extremely patient and responsive — he spoke with me for over an hour, knowing that I had not taken the LSAT and would not be able to sign on until several months later.

I believe this experience captures Kevin’s professionalism, and over the months we worked together, he answered the hundreds of questions I had, consistently provided thoughtful edits that encouraged me to push my work farther and was a source of invaluable insight into the process. At particularly stressful points in the process, Kevin responded after usual hours with clear advice on interviews and last-minute application fixes, no matter inane, and there have been occasions where I wished I could exhibit the same quality and consistency at my own job that Kevin does in his. These qualities alone would, I believe, make someone a world-class consultant.

What truly differentiates Kevin, however, is something a bit more intangible — his honesty, care, and pursuit of authenticity in the work we did together allowed me to exhibit the vulnerability necessary to tell my own story for the first time. Doing so has helped me far beyond the admissions process and has given me more clarity and confidence in my own life. Although I’m sure that Kevin is far too humble to admit it, he possesses an actionable empathy towards others that is remarkable. I am extremely proud of the work we did together, but fully aware that it would not have been possible without Kevin’s rare, generous spirit. I could not have imagined a better person to work with and am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity.

My experience with Emily Allen at Spivey Consulting was exceptional. As an older applicant, I didn’t know anyone else who was applying to law school, and I often felt confused by the contradictory advice I read online. Emily worked with me on my personal statement, diversity statement, optional statements, and “Why X Law School” statements. Her guidance during this difficult and sometimes frustrating process has been priceless. From the moment we first spoke on the phone, I knew that Emily would be an amazing consultant. And I was right! Emily is a brilliant, wonderful, and thoughtful consultant and human being. I sent her so many panicked emails over the course of the six months we worked together; she answered all my questions with grace, compassion, and INCREDIBLE patience. I truly cannot recommend Emily enough to any other applicants considering Spivey Consulting! In fact, I’ll miss my weekly emails with her. Thank you so much, Emily and Spivey Consulting!

Nikki was highly professional and a source of optimism during this highly competitive cycle of elevated LSAT scores. With my excessive LSAT takes, I was very unsure if my highest (pre-flex) LSAT score would be enough to get me into my target school, Columbia Law School. Throughout the process, Nikki was an incredible extra-mile boost at every juncture of the application process. Most of my documents, including essays, resumes, and addenda, EACH received at least five (5) rounds of edits with Nikki. No matter how small my edit, question, or request, Nikki never trivialized it.

She was promptly responsive with her emails, including during the weekend! I also really appreciated the fact that she consulted her peers on certain application details, which to me indicated she was willing to be resourceful to look out for her client’s best interests. Her steady communication, advice, and detailed revisions energized me with optimism as I felt I got the support I needed to maximize my chances in this admission cycle. In the end, after a fair share of acceptances, rejections and waitlists, I had gotten into my target school as my very last acceptance, letting me breathe a HUGE sigh of relief AND happiness to conclude my admissions journey. Thanks for making my goals a reality in this unprecedented admissions cycle, Nikki!

When I first met Nathan Neely, I knew we were an immediate match when I spoke to him and was greeted by his professionalism and gentle demeanor. When you work with him, you work with a true expert in every sense of the word. His role as a former director of admissions at several well-respected institutions was not granted to him by luck or chance, but simply because he was always the best candidate for the position and a clear cut above any competition. Should you have the opportunity to connect with Nathan, it becomes obvious why he is both an authority and master on law school admissions, and precisely why I knew he could lead me to the promised land.

Even for the most qualified candidates, there will be times in a cycle when they will begin to question themselves and wonder if going to law school is worth it. I can assure you that if this happens, Nathan will jump into the frozen water with you and remind you about your “why." He pushes the momentum forward and prevents you from spinning your wheels, backtracking, and depleting your energy on uncertainty from the very first occasion you work with him. Nathan eases his clients by affirming them good things are on the horizon, and to trust the process. Being a first-generation student, navigating the admissions process is a minefield if done alone, but because of Nathan reviewing key components of my documents with surgical precision, I avoided numerous blunders that I otherwise would have made.

Nathan guided me from beginning to end on how to produce a worthy application. You will be pushed, for better or worse, to produce documents of high quality that will get you where you desire to be. Nathan doesn’t take the easy way out, and the standard I was held to made significant differences. Several comments were made by current law school administrators about how well-crafted my statements were. He is the real deal and a worthy investment for any individual who is considering his services. In the most challenging law school admissions cycle to date (2020-2021), I managed to get into my dream school despite being below both medians — a prospect I knew could not have happened all on my own. What started as a pipe dream became a reality. For the reasons mentioned in this testimonial, it is without hesitation that I wholeheartedly recommend Nathan Neely for any advising services you may need. You will not regret it.

I can’t thank Sir enough for his help and guidance throughout my law school admission process. Applying to law school as a non-traditional student almost twenty years removed from college was quite daunting to say the least. From day one working with Sir, my confidence in the potential of achieving my goals grew. His sage advice and encouragement kept me focused throughout the cycle and helped make my application experience a positive one. Sir’s editorial suggestions and proofreading helped me craft top-notch admission essays and strengthen my writing skills (which atrophied while I was out of school). Ultimately, my success rate for the 2020-21 cycle was an exceptional 100%. I received admission and scholarships from all seven of the schools I applied to, including the two reaches! I’m ecstatic about attending my first-choice law school with a considerable scholarship this fall. Thanks so much, Sir!ir

My original law school was unranked, and I am now transferring to Georgetown Law after being accepted as an Early Action applicant. I honestly still can’t believe it! I am so happy I reached out to Spivey for help with this application. Shannon Davis really helped me through the process, pointed out issues with my application that I never would have known to fix on my own, and just overall gave me peace of mind in the process. Even in our initial conversation, Shannon was clearly very knowledgeable and gave me advice that was very specific to me and my needs, all while being realistic and not sugarcoating the process. I felt like she really understood my goals and only tried to sell me the product that would help me reach them. I had been on the fence about reaching out, but I’m so glad I did. It was so worth it. Georgetown was my top choice school, and this still feels like a dream. Shannon is absolutely amazing.

Derek Meeker has made such an impact on not just my applications over the last 10 months, but also my life. The probing sessions we had early on to generate ideas for essays actually helped me learn why I truly wanted to go to law school — I feel like so many people know they want to go but can’t articulate it. I have Derek to thank for opening my mind, and I’m now more confident I’ll be starting 1L with a real sense of purpose and passion for learning the law. The methods Derek took to push me out of my comfort zone for the personal and diversity statements helped me speak with confidence and clarity in my interviews — they were just the nudges I needed to really internalize why I belonged at a top law school.

Thank you to Joe Pollak for all of his help. Having Joe in my corner really mitigated a lot of the anxiety around applying to law school (especially in this crazy cycle). I don’t think I’d be attending the Univeristy of Chicago at 50% tuition if not for him!

As a first-generation law school applicant, I had little knowledge regarding the admissions process. Overwhelmed and in search of guidance, I contacted Spivey. From the very beginning, Rodia Vance showed enthusiasm in working with me, and she assured me that we could craft a great application; she undoubtedly followed through on this. Throughout the process, Rodia provided diligent, clear, and timely feedback that pushed me to create the most compelling application possible. In addition, her supportive demeanor was as equally invaluable as her breadth and depth of insights.

She sincerely invested in my success and took the time to thoroughly address each of my qualms and questions, no matter how small. After submitting my applications, I never had a second thought about whether my statements could have been more polished. This past cycle has been unexpectedly tough for applicants, yet, with the help of Rodia, several top schools (where I was below median) have admitted me and awarded me generous scholarships. The amount of gratitude I have for Rodia’s assistance is beyond the capacity of my words. In hindsight, I cannot fathom the amount of stress I would have endured without Rodia’s help.

Tom’s years of experience, expertise, and professionalism helped me gain admission to Stanford Law School, which was a huge reach for me considering my LSAT and GPA. He helped me outperform my stats by helping me craft an unique and cohesive narrative. At the beginning of the cycle, Tom was very honest with me about where to set expectations, and he helped me curate a great list of safety, target, and reach schools. While working on my applications, Tom had a phenomenal turnaround time and always provided timely and helpful advice. The attention to detail and care that he showed to each and every one of my applications exceeded all expectations. He has an incredible network of admissions insiders who he never hesitated to reach out to for school-specific advice. I know I could not have achieved my results without his support and guidance.

I had the pleasure to work with Kevin during my cycle and was constantly thrilled with his professionalism, knowledge, and generosity with his time. As a splitter applying straight out of undergraduate, I had a number of questions about school list, essay strategy, and more, all of which Kevin helped me navigate deftly. Kevin was always accessible via email or call, and I never felt at all rushed or like I wasn’t a priority of his. In what could have been an incredibly stressful cycle, I felt like I had a supporter in my corner. This culminated in multiple T14 acceptances with scholarship, while many others with my numbers got primarily waitlists and denies. Kevin absolutely resulted in a stronger application, and I cannot recommend him more highly.

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My experience with Spivey was incredibly helpful and made navigating the law school application process much more straightforward. In addition to helping me gain an inside view of the admissions process, Rodia Vance was very comforting, gave me the confidence to present myself in the best light, and helped assuage some of the nervousness associated with applying to law schools. My desired outcome for the cycle was to simply be admitted to a law school, somewhere, anywhere, and I finished the admissions process with scholarships to all but two of the schools I applied to, finally accepting a full tuition and stipend offer from an in-state school.

Tom Robinson is an essential resource for anyone looking to transform their law school applications into acceptances. Tom was extremely responsive and supportive for the duration of the 8 months that we worked together. He went through rounds and rounds of drafts and hours of phone calls to ensure that my resume, essays, and every part of my applications were perfect. He provided me with insight into the application process that only a former Director of Admissions would be able to provide. Through his connections, he was able to tell me what each law school was looking for in their applicants’ essays and interviews, and he helped me to make sure that I met all of these requirements. Tom was an invaluable resource throughout the application process, and I credit him for much of my success this season, which resulted in admission to Harvard Law School. I would recommend Tom and Spivey Consulting to any of my peers and friends – I had an excellent experience, and I know you will too!

I am HUGELY thankful for all of Sir’s help. I’ve seriously outperformed my numbers, and my Chicago interviewer loved (and loosely quoted) my personal statement. Thank you so much for helping me develop my application. I never imagined that I’d be in SUCH an enviable position at this stage of the law school admissions cycle.

When I came to Spivey, I had one goal: attend a T-25 ideally paying less than list price. I had an interesting work history, but I did not consider it prestigious, and I had no idea how to make it appealing to law schools. Anne Dutia utilized multiple conversations to break down who I was as a professional and helped me create a genuine representation of why I was a desirable addition to any law program.

She then helped me pick schools and tailor my application to each with expert advice. While all of this was incredibly beneficial, the most valuable piece of hiring a Spivey consultant was the confidence and re-assurance from a consultant that I was on track for success. Like many, I was inclined to panic when the LSAC data about surplus high LSAT scores came out, and I was considering lowering the caliber of schools I applied to and possibly applying early decision to a safety school with a scholarship.

Anne assured me I had a strong application, and while I saw panic in online forums, I felt secure. Regardless, I was shocked when I was admitted to my dream T-14 program with an over half tuition scholarship. I cannot overstate how helpful it was to have a Spivey law school expert as an advisor. The cost of the service seems minimal with the outcome I was able to receive.

I want to greatly thank Paula Gluzman for all of her guidance, therapy sessions, and editing on my applications. She was a tremendous help, and I feel so lucky that we were paired up together when I started with Spivey. She made the application process much easier and kept me on track with my goals, while also making sure I was realistic. In addition, she made me feel comfortable enough sharing stories with her that I had trouble talking about, but knew would help the admissions team see my strength and resiliency. If it weren’t for Paula, I probably wouldn’t have written some of those essays, and who knows where I would be!

Emily Allen took the time to understand my story, my values, and my strengths as an applicant. She truly is exceptional at what she does. Not only did Emily help me shatter ceilings and get into a top 10 law school, she allowed me to go through my law school application cycle with confidence. Emily, I hope you know how thankful I am for you. Seriously, it’s hard for me to put it into words. I imagine from the outside looking in that it would be easy to think, “What sort of impact could your law school consultant REALLY have had on your life?” Well, Emily changed mine.