Pathways into the Law: Choosing among Law Schools, Getting Admitted, and Preparing for a Viable Career Paul D. Callister, JD, MSLIS Director of the Leon E. Bloch Law Library & Associate Professor of Law Email callisterp@umkc.edu http://www1.law.umkc.edu/faculty/callister/presentations/pathways.ppt

Training v. Education The pilot and copilot did exactly what they were trained to do, but the plane crashed anyway because they failed to think. . . . Tom Woodall, Engineering Fellow at Raytheon, commenting on the crash of a passenger jet

“We do not first see, and then define, We define first, and then see “We do not first see, and then define, We define first, and then see.” --Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion 81 (7th printing, 1961)

Helpful Resources Official Guide to ABA Law Schools http://officialguide.lsac.org/docs/cgi-bin/home.asp US News & World Report http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/lawindex_brief.php Leiter Rankings http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/bleiter/rankings/ Law School Ranking Game http://monoborg.law.indiana.edu/LawRank/ Sperling’s Best Places http://www.bestplaces.net/

It’s Not What You Know It’s What You can Do