Hosted by Mike Spivey, founder and CEO of the Spivey Consulting Group, and Anna Hicks-Jaco, President of Spivey Consulting's law school admissions division. Status Check covers life and well-being plus all things law school and admissions. Our admissions advice comes from our Spivey Consulting team—who collectively have over 250 years of experience working in law school admissions offices, including at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Chicago, and Penn—and covers how to get into the best…
Subscribe:.rss.atom.json.md.m3u.pls
Live Last read · last published · next check
Saves to your Listen queue, to pick up on another day or another device.
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike is joined by Dr. Milana Hogan, Chief Talent Officer at Sullivan & Cromwell, and Rob Baker, a former law firm hiring committee member and BigLaw attorney, for a conversation about the increasingly front-loaded BigLaw recruiting process and what prospective and current law students should know about navigating it. Rob has held recruiting roles at…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike has a conversation with Simone Stolzoff, an author and journalist whose work explores uncertainty, ambition, and our relationship with work. Simone is the author of How to Not Know and The Good Enough Job . His latest book examines why uncertainty feels so uncomfortable and how developing a healthier relationship with not knowing can create…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco is joined by three experienced law school financial aid professionals: Dalmarie Lawrence, Director of Financial Aid at the University of the District of Columbia School of Law; Montré Everett, Director of Financial Aid at UC Davis School of Law; and Matt Wakeman, Assistant Dean of Financial Aid at the University of Virginia School of…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike, joined by LSAT experts Graeme Blake and Ellen Cassidy, discusses the changes coming to the LSAT this August and the federal class-action lawsuit that LSAC is currently facing over CAS fees. Graeme has been teaching the LSAT for over 15 years and is the founder of LSAT Hacks , and Ellen is the author of The Loophole in LSAT Logical Reasoning and…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Legal Education Access Pipeline (LEAP) Founder & CEO, Cindy Lopez, joins us for a conversation with Paula Gluzman, Spivey’s Director of Diversity & Inclusion and a J.D. Admissions Consultant. Cindy is a retired career Deputy Attorney General for the State of California, served as Board President of a college access nonprofit for underserved young…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike has a conversation with Orin Kerr, a prominent law professor and legal academic who currently serves as a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and a Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. In his 25+ years as a law school faculty member, Professor Kerr has written 75+ law review articles, authored casebooks, and been cited in 4,500+…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco discusses the strategy of reapplying to law school, joined by former law school admissions officers and Spivey consultants Sir Williams and Julia Truemper . They give a great deal of insider insights and strategic advice, including common reapplication mistakes (8:11, 17:57, 34:26), how to explain why you’re reapplying (32:15), whether…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike has a conversation with Vincent Sheu, an attorney and AI startup founder with a JD and a Master's in Computer Science from Stanford (in addition to degrees in Statistics, Molecular and Cell Biology, and Bioengineering). Mike and Vincent discuss how he uses AI in his legal work today (19:20, 22:20), how he expects to be using AI in legal work in…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco has a conversation with two Spivey consultants and former law school admissions officers, Kristen Mercado and Nathan Neely , on the decision whether to reapply to law school. What are good reasons—and what are bad reasons—to reapply? How much of an LSAT improvement is enough to justify reapplying (6:00)? How much of an impact can…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike has a conversation with Rob Baker , a long-time practicing entertainment lawyer who has served on hiring committees for multiple law firms, ranging from biglaw to mid-law to a small firm, and who leads Spivey Consutling’s new employment coaching and law school mentorship program. Rob discusses his law school application process (3:49), what it was…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike discusses the five reasons that being denied from law school hurts—and the concrete ways that you can handle it. Mike mentions a few other podcasts and a video clip in this episode: Dr. Guy Winch on Overcoming the Stresses of School, Work, & Admissions (Status Check with Spivey) (long discussion of rumination) Dr. Guy Winch on Handling Rejection…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , we take questions from Reddit ! Mike Spivey , Mike Burns , and Anna Hicks-Jaco discuss just how slow this cycle is (10:19) and how that might impact late-cycle applicants (6:47), why law schools place applicants on “holds” (1:23), decision timelines and how/why they vary (4:23), advice for scholarship reconsideration (11:20), whether schools rescind…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike has a conversation with Dr. Nita Farahany—speaker, author, Duke Law Distinguished Professor, and the Founding Director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society—on the future of artificial intelligence in law school, legal employment, legislation, and our day-to-day lives. They discuss a wide range of AI-related topics, including how…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Dr. Guy Winch returns to the podcast for a conversation about his new book, Mind Over Grind: How to Break Free When Work Hijacks Your Life . They discuss burnout (especially for those in school or their early career), how society glorifies overworking even when it doesn’t lead to better outcomes (5:53), the difference between rumination and valuable…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike interviews General David Petraeus, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Four-Star General in the United States Army. He is currently a Partner at KKR, Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, and Chairman of KKR Middle East. Prior to joining KKR, General Petraeus served for over 37 years in the U.S. military, culminating in command…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna has an in-depth discussion on law school admissions interviews with two Spivey consultants—Sam Parker, who joined Spivey this past fall from her position as Associate Director of Admissions at Harvard Law School, where she personally interviewed over a thousand applicants; and Paula Gluzman, who, in addition to her experience as Assistant Director…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike interviews Miller Leonard, author of How to Get a Job After Law School: The Job Won’t Find You (free online here ), on the lessons he’s learned about networking and getting a legal job in his 25+ years as an attorney. Throughout his career, Miller has been a prosecutor, public defender, legal aid attorney, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, and…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco has a conversation with two of Spivey’s newest consultants—Sam Parker, former Harvard Law Associate Director of Admissions, and Julia Truemper, former Vanderbilt Law Associate Director of Admissions—all about the law school admissions advice that admissions officers won’t give you, discussing insider secrets and debunking myths and…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike has a conversation with Dayna Bowen Matthew , Dean of the George Washington University Law School, where she has led the law school since 2020. Prior to her time at GW, she was a Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, the University of Colorado Law School, and the University of Kentucky College of Law, and she has served as…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Spivey consultant and former admissions dean Nikki Laubenstein discusses the financial aid and student loan considerations that prospective law students should be thinking about post-"Big Beautiful Bill," joined by Sydney Montgomery, who is the Executive Director & Founder of Barrier Breakers, and Kristin Shea, who has led the law school financial aid…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike interviews Elizabeth Vargas, journalist and television news anchor, on her journey to learning how to cope healthily with lifelong anxiety and panic attacks, on overcoming professional setbacks, and on advice for young people facing the stresses of the LSAT, law school admissions, law school, and finding legal employment. Elizabeth Vargas anchors…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Spivey consultants Derek Meeker and Paula Gluzman catch up with two former applicants and aspiring environmental attorneys, Shasta Fields and Cameron Moody , with whom they worked years ago and who are both now law school graduates. They discuss their experiences in law school, reflections on their application processes now that they've graduated, and…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike sits down with the original LSAT cheating scandal whistleblower, who we call "Travis" in this podcast, and Dave Killoran, Founder and CEO of PowerScore. They discuss Travis' investigation process, how he tried to sound the alarm, LSAC's response, why he came to Mike and Dave, and an analysis of what happened and what's next for the future of the…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike Spivey hosts Trey Cox, co-chair of Gibson Dunn's global litigation practice group, on his legal career (4:18, 31:27), law school selection (9:20), hiring philosophies (16:42), and advice for aspiring law students and lawyers. Trey and Mike both recommend the book Brain Rules by John Medina, which you can learn more about here . You can listen and…
The landscape of legal recruiting in law school has changed significantly over the past 5-7 years. What should prospective law students know about what's changed so rapidly, and how has it impacted how admissions officers make their decisions? What caused these changes (11:04), how do they impact 1Ls (16:15), and what are admissions officers increasingly valuing in the application review process…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco interviews Natalie Blazer, Assistant Dean for Admissions and Chief Admissions Officer at the University of Virginia School of Law, on the upcoming 2025-2026 admissions cycle, how applicants should be thinking about and taking into account relevant current events, and advice for prospective law students preparing to submit their…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike interviews William ("Bill") Treanor on his long and recently-concluded tenure as Dean of Georgetown University Law Center as well as his experiences and perspectives from a 40-year career. Bill talks about the the biggest changes he's seen during his time in legal education (16:06), the coming changes he foresees in the short-term future both good…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Spivey J.D. admissions consultants Danielle Early (former Associate Director of Admissions at Harvard Law School and military/veteran admissions specialist) and Mike Burns (former Director of Admissions & Financial Aid at Northwestern Law and Navy veteran) interview Brian Henson, a former consulting client of Danielle's, Navy Intelligence Officer,…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco interviews Sam Parker, Spivey’s newest admissions consultant, on her top 25 (or so) strategic law school admissions insights from her years as Associate Director of Admissions at Harvard Law School. They discuss advice for prospective law students getting ready to apply for the 2025-2026 cycle, advice for recent college graduates, and…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike Spivey and Anna Hicks-Jaco have a conversation with Sarah Zearfoss (also known as "Dean Z"), who has long led the admissions office at the University of Michigan Law School as Senior Assistant Dean and who hosts the admissions podcast A2Z with Dean Z . The group discusses using generative AI to write your essays vs. to research admissions advice…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike discusses the various factors that are at play for this cycle's waitlist season, his predictions for how it will go, and his advice for waitlisted applicants. For more on waitlist strategy, check out our Waitlist Deep Dive podcast episode! You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , we have our third and final interview with "John" (not his real name; u/Muvanji on Reddit), who we've followed throughout his law school admissions cycle for 2024-2025. John discusses his final decision on where to attend, his process of requesting scholarship reconsideration, his decision not to pursue waitlists, admitted students days, what he's…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco is joined by Karen Buttenbaum, one of Spivey's most experienced consultants and a former Director of Admissions at Harvard Law School, to talk about law school admissions interviews. They discuss a strategy for thinking about and preparing for interviews by categorizing the potential questions you could receive into five groups (plus a…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , we catch up with "John" (not his real name; u/Muvanji on Reddit), the applicant who we're following throughout his law school admissions cycle for 2024-2025. We talk about rejection, decisions he has (or hasn't) received, interviews he's done, typos in applications, and more. Stick around until the end for one last update on his cycle! You can listen…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco has a discussion with two Spivey consultants—Joe Pollak, former Associate Director of Admissions at the University of Michigan Law School, and Nathan Neely, former Director and Associate Director of Admissions at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Law and The University of Houston Law Center—all about the waitlist process.…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike gives a brief update and pep talk for current law school applicants during the 2024-2025 admissions cycle. Mike mentions our podcast with world-renowned psychologist Dr. Guy Winch in this episode—you can listen to the full interview here: Dr. Guy Winch on Handling Rejection (& Waiting) in the Admissions and Job Search Process You can listen and…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike has a conversation with Kyle McEntee, LSAC's Senior Director of Prelaw Engagement and the founder of Law School Transparency, centering around the newly released 2024 ABA 509 disclosures and how applicants should consider the data therein. They discuss interpreting class size changes, the ongoing rise of GPAs and grade inflation, LSAT inflation…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco has a conversation with two Spivey consultants and former law school admissions deans—Derek Meeker, former Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid for the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Shannon Davis, former Assistant Dean for Admissions and Communications at Lewis & Clark Law School—on "Why X" essays (advice, best…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike has a conversation with Megan Carpenter, Dean of the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law, on the highlights and challenges of being a dean, the future of law school and innovation in legal education, generative artificial intelligence as it relates to both admissions and the practice of law, and her best law school admissions advice (plus, what res…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco has a discussion with two Spivey consultants—Derek Meeker, former Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid for the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Danielle Early, former Harvard Law School Associate Director of Admissions—diving deep into the law school application addendum . This episode covers guidelines, best practices, common…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike Spivey has a conversation with Associate Dean Don Rebstock—who, among multiple other departments, heads both Admissions and Career Services at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law—about the first 2024-2025 law school applicant data that was released last week, what it means for applicants, and why it's not as scary as it looks. Some of…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco introduces "John" (not his real name; u/Muvanji on Reddit), the applicant who we'll be following throughout his law school admissions cycle for 2024-2025 (a series back by popular demand!). We talk more about John, his background, his application materials, and his goals in the episode, but here are some basics about his profile: John…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Spivey Consulting President Anna Hicks-Jaco has a conversation with three Spivey Consultants and former law school admissions officers—Sam Kwak (Stanford Law, Northwestern Law, Indiana University Law), Paula Gluzman (UCLA Law, UW Law), and Joe Pollak (Michigan Law)—a group that has collectively spent over 20 years advising law school applicants…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike interviews How I Lawyer podcast host Jonah Perlin on some of the many differences between college and law school, from cold calls to being graded on a curve to the nature of attending a professional school and more. Links to other resources: How I Lawyer Podcast with Jonah Perlin How I Lawyer #134: Mike Spivey - On Law School Rankings, Admissions,…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco speaks with three Spivey consultants—Tom Robinson, former Harvard Law Director of Admissions; Sir Williams, former Wisconsin Law Director of Admissions; and Anne Dutia, former Michigan Law Assistant Director of Admissions—about the relatively new category of law school admissions essays that we're calling " experience/perspective essays…
In this special episode of Status Check with Spivey directed toward parents of law school applicants, Anna Hicks-Jaco and two Spivey consultants—Danielle Early, former Harvard Law Associate Director of Admissions, and Shannon Davis, former Assistant Dean for Admissions and Communications at Lewis & Clark Law—discuss how parents can best support their children through the application process. They…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike has a conversation with Mitch Leff, author of My Addiction, My Superpower , about his experiences overcoming addiction at a young age, the lessons he learned, and how others can use his insights to improve themselves. As attorneys suffer significantly higher rates of substance abuse and depression relative to the wider public, Mitch's insights are…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco speaks with two Spivey consultants—Karen Buttenbaum, former Director of Admissions at Harvard Law School, and Nathan Neely, former Associate Director of Admissions and Director of Global and Graduate Programs at the University of Houston Law Center—about the law school application resume: what to include and what not to include,…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco has a conversation with three Spivey consultants—Anne Dutia, Paula Gluzman, and Derek Meeker, former law school admissions officers at Michigan, UCLA, Penn, and more—diving deep into the law school personal statement. They discuss the brainstorming and topic selection process, how to structure a personal statement, writing tips,…
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , SCG Pre-L Consultant and Fordham Law professor Jordana Confino has a conversation with legal writing coach and Dear 1L author Amanda Haverstick about legal writing and tackling your 1L year. You can learn more about Dear 1L here , connect with Amanda via LinkedIn here , or email her directly at amanda@dear1L.com. You can listen and subscribe to Status…
