Join us for this informative discussion featuring comments from highly experienced current and former law school admission deans who will reveal the human side of admissions, how and why some applicants "come alive" in the review process, and the inner dynamics of how law school admission decisions are made. Following panelists' remarks will be a Q&A segment during time webinar participants will be able to ask questions of the admission professionals. Panelists and bios: Mike Spivey is the fou
A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN known as SM blithely reaches for poisonous snakes, giggles in haunted houses and once, upon escaping the clutches of a knife-wielding man, didn’t run but calmly walked away. A rare kind of brain damage precludes her from experiencing fear of any sort. (Source: Wired [http://www.wired.com/2010/12/fear-brain-amygdala/].) Urbach-Wiethe disease is the name for the rare disorder, so rare that there have only been about 400 reported cases in history. I learned about this disease t
On Memorial Day this year, both Karen Buttenbaum and I will run a 10k race -- The BolderBoulder. It's a wonderful event with about 55,000 people, mostly in costumes eating bacon, drinking beer, and launching themselves down slip and slides as they run. But that isn't for me because I am absurdly competitive. So I will be running it to beat my time last year, and hopefully some people much more fit and runner-y than me. Fortunately, I have an advantage. I live 45 seconds from the start of the B
The full questions reads Is there an increasing premium on work experience in admissions? It seems seems like people going straight in from college have had rough admissions cycles, even with great numbers Yes, for many schools, and not surprising at all. For starters, deans of law schools have increasingly been asking their admissions offices to look at employability and maturity in admission decision-making. And this is an "up" cycle -- the first in a good while. So there are some schools who
Because I have been there (we all have) and because I spend hours a week discussing this singular topic -- I'd like to breakdown what if means when you email an admissions office (or hiring partner for that matter) and they do not respond. Before I do, let's set the backdrop. If you were to email me and I were not to respond, you likely wouldn't notice or care. Or, you would assume I am on vacation (if only), or very busy (bingo!). What you wouldn't do is re-read your sent email 100 times, and
The webinar panelist: Sarah Zearfoss, Dean of Admissions, Univeristy of Michigan School of Law Maria Rivera, Assistant Dean of Admissions, University of Texas School of Law Mike Spivey, The Spivey Consulting Group Moderator Don Macaulay, Esq., President of BARBRI Law Preview Here is the link: https://lawpreview.barbri.com/webinar-waitlist-placement/
This webinar will be hosted by BARBRI and attended by: * Sarah Zearfoss, Dean of Admissions, University of Michigan School of Law * Maria Rivera, Assistant Dean of Admissions, University of Texas School of Law * Mike Spivey, The Spivey Consulting Group Join us by signing up, here. It's FREE! https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=reg20.jsp&referrer=&eventid=1162511&sessionid=1&key=AF23D009FACE49E91EAAE1CEC3568E3A®Tag=&sourcepage=register [
Just click on the link and let it roll http://culawschool.org/media/moss/moss-4-1-16.mp3
Here is what is (barring C&F and sloppy application factors) happening.
In this podcast, Mike and Spivey Consulting COO Anna Hicks have a discussion with a current law student, Amanda Bello, who ended her 1L year at Cornell Law in the top 10% of her class, transferred to Harvard Law, earned exceptionally strong grades at Harvard, and is now going into her second summer with the big law firm Gibson Dunn (check out our interview with Gibson Dunn partner Jeff Chapman here).
Also referenced in this podcast are three interviews we have done with renowned psychologists and wellness advocates Dr. Guy Winch (on handling rejection and waiting), Dr. Gabor Maté (on self-esteem, doubt, anxiety and addiction), and Dr. Kristin Neff (on self-compassion and self-esteem and motivation for test-taking).
You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
In this episode of the Status Check with Spivey, Mike has the opportunity to have a conversation with Lauryn Williams, four-time Olympic athlete and financial advisor with a specialty in student loans. In addition to discussing Lauryn's life and experiences as an Olympian, they also talk about the differences between taking out student loans for undergrad vs. for law school, income-driven repayment plans, public service loan forgiveness (PSLF), how to save for retirement while paying off your student loans (and the perhaps surprising tax benefits of doing so), and more.
As an Olympic sprinter and later bobsledder, Lauryn earned the accolade of being the only American woman to have won medals in both the summer and the winter Olympics. Today, she is a financial advisor, student loan expert, author, and podcaster specializing in improving financial literacy in young people and athletes. Lauryn's book, The Oval Office, is out now, and also be sure to check out the Student Loan Planner podcast and the podcast Lauryn hosts, Worth Listening.
You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
Mike also references the legal field's bimodal starting salary distribution in this podcast. See below (via NALP):

In this podcast, Mike Spivey is joined by PowerScore founder and CEO Dave Killoran and Spivey Consulting Business Intelligence Director Justin Kane — a wonky law school admissions/LSAT crew if there has ever been one! — to discuss takeaways from this previous 2020-2021 admissions cycle and to make predictions for the upcoming 2021-2022 cycle.
You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
In this podcast, Spivey Consulting COO Anna Hicks asks Mike some admissions questions from Reddit, covering large-scale changes to law school admissions due to the pandemic, reapplication strategies, how law schools look at "KJDs," whether or not you should explain why you want to go to law school in your personal statement, how to write Why X statements when you can't visit a law school and don't know anyone who attended, and more.
You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
We mentioned a number of other blogs, podcasts, and YouTube videos in this podcast — they are linked below:
In this podcast, Spivey Consulting COO Anna Hicks goes over the basics of law school admissions for those who are at the beginning of their application process and don't know much about how it works yet.
You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
This episode is meant to provide context and a basis on which you can expand your research — here are some further resources you may want to check out next, many of which were mentioned in the podcast!
Basic Law School Information & Rankings
Personal Statements
Diversity Statements
Other Application Components
After You Submit Your Applications
Other Concepts Discussed in this Podcast
In this podcast, Mike interviews Clint Schumacher — author, podcaster, and former biglaw hiring partner — on resilience in the legal profession, imposter syndrome in law school, what hiring partners look for in applicants, and more.
Clint spent the first part of his legal career at Locke Lord, where he went on to be a hiring partner, then transitioned to Dawson & Sodd, a boutique firm with a focus on eminent domain. In addition to his legal practice, Clint hosts a podcast, The Eminent Domain Podcast, and recently published a book about resilience and overcoming adversity, Second Wind.
You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.