We are so glad you are considering joining us @ UM Law and we would love to hear from you. The decision to attend a particular law school is difficult. This decision is even more difficult for transgender, lesbian, bisexual, and gay students who are wondering if they will feel comfortable in a particular program or location.

We would be glad to put you in touch with a current student who would happily discuss life at Michigan. Please e-mail us with any questions, and we will gladly respond (see the sidebar for our email address--we get too much spam to write it out here).

If you're visiting for either of the Preview Weekends, we'll be there. We plan events during the Preview Weekends and look forward to meeting you!

Below, you'll find information that we think is useful to consider when deciding on a law school. We hope you find it as useful as many of us did.

Organizations

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) has some useful information for LGBT Applicants as well as a chart of all the American Bar Association Approved Law Schools including whether they have: a LGBT nondiscrimination policy, a LGBT student organization, any openly LGBT faculty members, any courses specific to LGBT interests, and any LGBT partnership benefits.

One caveat: verify all of this information before applying or accepting an offer from a particular school. Faculty sometimes move, courses are discontinued, and student organizations may change their focus over time.

The National Lesbian and Gay Law Association (NLGLA) is comprised of LGBT lawyers, legal professionals, and law students. NLGLA's Student Division works to represent the concerns and interests of LGBT students at the nation's law schools. Note that the NLGLA website has a student and prospective student section. Each fall, NLGLA and the National Lesbian and Gay Law Foundation sponsor the Lavender Law conference, which brings together hundreds of lawyers, professionals, and law students from around the country to discuss issues relating to the LGBT community. Lavender Law also includes a career fair, which attracts law firms, non-profit organizations, corporate legal departments, and government employers.

Fourteen Things to Ponder Before Applying to Law School...

1. Look for schools in areas that have large LGBT populations. Generally, this means large cities or politically progressive areas.

2. Research the LGBT community at schools you are considering. Even schools located in gay-friendly areas can vary widely in terms of on-campus climate and attitudes. You are going to spend a lot of time at school over the next three years, so make sure a given school is a place you will find comfortable.

3. Look for law schools that offer LGBT-specific or LGBT-related courses. These often have names like "Sexuality and Law," "Sexual Orientation and the Law," or use words "gay," "sexuality," or "gender" in the title. The LSAC website is a great starting point for this search. Check with each school to see how often a given course is offered. It is common for law schools to list all the courses they have offered in the last three to five years in their catalogues, even if the course was taught by a visiting professor or by a faculty member who has since moved to another school. Many law schools use visiting professors to teach courses that the students want but that the school does not yet perceive as a worthwhile investment. This makes determining what courses will be offered while you are a student difficult, but it also means that the school is open to the idea of the subject. Even if you have little to no interest in LGBT law, a school's willingness to represent LGBT issues is one way to note a school's commitment to LGBT students.

4. Look for a student organization for LGBT students. These are commonly called things like "Outlaws," "Lambda Law Students Alliance," "Rainbow Law Students Association," or "Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay Law Students Association." If there is a student organization, try to find out who the officers are or what the general email address is. Such information is usually available on the student organization's web page or may be obtained from the admissions office. E-mail a few students at the schools that you are seriously considering. Ask them questions abut their school. We receive dozens of these inquiries each year at UM Law and happily respond.

5. Look at the overall list of student organizations at the law schools you are considering. Even if there is an LGBT organization, the balance of other organizations may give you valuable information about the law school community at a particular school, i.e. whether the community supports a diverse range of student interests or is narrowly focused.

6. Always consider what you want to do with your law degree and how a particular school can help you get there. This includes not only the relative prestige of a given school, but its educational focus as well. Ask yourself: Is this the best school I can get into that meets my personal requirements? Does this school offer courses that I am interested in? Can I get into the courses I need or want to take?

7. Find out what graduates do after law school. What is the job placement rate at a given school? Most schools keep statistical information about where their students end up after graduation: law firms, government, private sector, public interest, clerkships, etc. If you are interested in working in non-profit and/or the public interest sector, does the school support these endeavors and how? UM Law has an office of public service that offers helpful job hunting tips and mentors students who wish to pursue public interest careers.

8. Look at a given school's non-discrimination statement. This should be printed in their application materials or on their website. If you cannot find it, call the admissions office and ask about it. Make sure the statement includes "sexual orientation" and/or "gender identity" (much less common). If it does not and you still would like to attend the school, you may have identified your first law school project. Many future students will thank you!

9. Find out if there is anyone on faculty who has written on law and sexuality issues or has a research interest in this area. This time-consuming search is best done after you have narrowed down your list of possible law schools; it involves reading faculty biographies.

10. Look at the legal clinic opportunities that a given school offers. Some schools also have formal or informal relationships with local legal service providers and will place students on a volunteer or for-credit basis. Keep in mind that even if a law school does not have an LGBT-specific legal clinic (and most do not), you may still end up working on LGBT-related issues or representing LGBT clients in a variety of unsuspecting settings.

11. Call or e-mail your nearest Stonewall Bar Association. You may have to call your local bar association and ask for information about a LGBT lawyers' committee or section. The contact person may have insight about a given law school.

12. Always remember that law students and lawyers are often, by nature, a relatively risk-averse population. You may be surprised by the number of closeted students you meet in law school. This is slowly changing, but it requires persistence and a core group of out and open law students and lawyers to create change.

13. Keep asking questions. Once you've identified your top choice schools or once you've heard back from some schools you are interested in, contact students at the schools. Even students who are identified as LGBT may be of help. Some of the most useful information may come from straight-identified students contacting you on behalf of the admission office after yo8u have been accepted.

14. Whatever else happens, try not to get discouraged. We very much need more LGBT and LGBT-friendly law students and legal professionals.

Now That You Are a Law Student, What's Next?

Once you reach campus, you may feel disoriented. But, there are a number of things you can do to create a community for yourself.

Join your law school's LGBT student organization. If one does not exist, consider starting one.
Ask about university-wide LGBT student organizations. Many universities have general LGBT graduate student organizations; these may be as informal as a mailing list or a schedule of interesting events worth attending.
Identify local LGBT and LGBT-friendly organizations with which you can get involved. An LGBT community center or resource line in your region may be able to help identify such organizations. Also, you might look in gay newspapers or alternative press.
Shape your legal education environment. Take an active role in your education.
Start an alumni database if one does not already exist. Ask your alumni or development office or your career services office if they will share contact information about LGBT graduates with you. These offices many not collect such information at all, but the contact could prove invaluable. If your school is not keeping tabs, ask them to consider doing so.

After You Graduate...

First, CONGRATULATE YOURSELF!!! You deserve it!

Stay in touch! Make sure you are included in your LGBT alumni database. Identify yourself to the law school's development or alumni office, the career services office, and the admission office. This way, when the school wants to put together a panel of openly GLBT attorneys or graduates or include you in the current database, they know who you are.