Interview With Anne Richard

Anne Richard

BETTER KNOW A DEAN

"The personal statement that stands out in my mind as most egregious is one that was extremely vulgar. I actually called and questioned..." - Anne Richard - Associate Dean for Admissions & Financial Aid, GWU Law

This is the ninth installment of our 224 part series, Better Know A Dean. Today we posted our interview with Anne Richard, Associate Dean for Admissions & Financial Aid at GW Law -- The Fightin' GW Law's!

Dean Richard received her J.D. from Yale Law School where she was a founding editor of the Yale Journal of Regulation. After law school, she had a truly remarkable career in private practice – as a partner at Virginia’s Hazel & Thomas and as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2006, Dean Richard joined the George Washington University School of Law community as the Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid after first holding that position at George Mason University School of Law.

AD	Dean Richard, thank you for taking the time to talk with us today and answer some questions that an applicant might have about gaining admission to GW Law.
AR	It's my pleasure.
AD	Your personal and professional accomplishments before you came to GW Law are truly remarkable. What prompted you to leave legal practice . . . and do you ever miss it?
AR	I enjoyed my work as an associate and partner in a large law firm, as well as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. As a litigator, I was exposed to many different substantive areas of the law – labor and civil rights, business contracts, securities, bankruptcy, etc. I worked long hours and was truly excited by the constant intellectual challenge. I left practice to embark upon a new adventure in higher ed administration and for a change of lifestyle. I do not really miss practicing law because I am still so involved in law in my work at GW Law (my husband still practices so there is plenty of discussion of legal issues in our home). I am an attorney and will always be an attorney. I now have been in law school admissions for 12 years and also have done some teaching. My work in this arena with prospective students and current students is extremely fulfilling. As a recruiter, I am "selling" a product I truly believe in – a legal career. And, having worked as a practicing attorney for many years, I feel that I have a great deal to share in terms of first-hand experience.
AD	If you had a son or daughter who was applying to law school, what would you hope that they consider when deciding on whether to attend law school?
AR	I actually have a daughter who is an attorney practicing environmental law! I would encourage any individual to consider law school seriously. The purpose of a legal education is to expand the ability of each student to reason and to understand the relevant issues of the day. Law school trains one to analyze and figure out how to solve complex problems. And a law degree empowers one to help people and institutions in so many different ways. All that said, whether to go to law school is a personal decision for each prospective student to make, but I firmly believe that those who choose law school will discover that the tools they acquire will allow them to make valuable contributions to whatever individuals, companies, and causes they wish to pursue.
AD	As a follow-up question, assuming they are bent on going to law school, what factors would you hope that they consider when deciding which school to attend?
AR	Law school is not just a series of classes and, although all law schools are alike in many ways, we are all different in others. There are 200 accredited law schools in the U.S., all of which provide sound legal educations and opportunities. Each student has to investigate different aspects of the various law schools to determine which will be the best fit. Students should consider many factors, including: (1) size of the law school; (2) location of the law school; (3) curriculum and program offerings; (4) accessibility and engagement of the faculty; (5) opportunities available to students through journals, skills boards, externships, and clinics; (6) cost and financial aid; (7) size, strength and involvement of the alumni network; and (8) employment/placement prospects – in what sorts of practice areas and in what locations throughout the country and throughout the world does each law school typically place significant numbers of graduates? It is important to weigh all of these factors as one decides which law school will be the best choice.
AD	Do you recommend a path that has students pursuing a law degree immediately after college, or would you like to see more applicants work for a few years before law school?
AR	Law students come from diverse backgrounds and experiences. There are benefits to working or participating in public service organizations (Teach for America, Peace Corps, etc.) before entering law school and benefits to coming straight from college. Some students feel that they need to step back and take a break in order to refresh and build new energy for law school; some students want some work experience in a legal setting in order to confirm (or not!) their decision to pursue a career in the law; some students feel ready to jump right into law school straight from college; while others feel that they have to stay on the education train for fear that, once off, they will never return to school (this is the category into which I fell many years ago!). There is no best or better route. Many students who have less than stellar academic records ask what they can do in a year or two following college to make up for a weak college performance. My answer is that students should not do anything for a year or two following college solely to try to strengthen their law school applications. There is no magical experience that is going to overcome a weak academic record. So -- students who choose to take time between college and law school should do what they want to do for their own personal growth and development – not just to try to satisfy law school admissions committees. Whether to take time between college and law school and what to do during that time is a truly a personal decision.
AD	What are the biggest changes in law school admissions that have evolved since you were applying to Yale Law, and what changes do you expect (or hope) to see in the next ten years?
AR	I applied to and attended law school many years ago – before US News started ranking law schools. The biggest change I have seen – and I do not believe it is a change for the better – is that many students tend to place the greatest weight in their decision-making process on the US News rankings. I think this does a great disservice to individuals and to law schools. Students should focus on determining which institution is the best fit rather than picking the school that US News has ranked number 33 rather than number 37. While rankings certainly provide useful information that students should consider in their list of factors, I hope that in the next ten years we can work together to figure out how to help individuals make informed and intelligent choices that will serve them best.
AD	Historically, applications to law school have increased in a bad economy. What trends are you seeing in law school applications? Do you expect the upcoming admissions cycle to be particularly competitive?
AR	We are anticipating an increase in law school applications this year and a more competitive admissions process than we have seen in recent years.
AD	How has the current economy impacted financial aid at GW Law?
AR	The mission of our financial aid office is to provide the highest level of support and customer service possible. At GW Law, we have a large fund of need-based grant money as well as large fund of merit-based scholarship money. Fortunately, neither of these funds has been cut. We have, however, seen an increase in the number of students who qualify for need-based grants in the past two years. Our financial aid counselors also assist our students in lining up their student loans.
AD	Since an estimated 85% of GW Law students receive some form or financial aid (e.g., student loans), were any of your students with private loans adversely affected by the frozen credit markets? Did GW Law have any accepted, deposited students who ended up deferring or not matriculating because their inability to borrow money?
AR	We have not seen any GW Law students withdrawing or failing to matriculate because of an inability to borrow money. At this point, all appears to be well on the GW Law financial aid front.
AD	What is the best advice you can give to students who are just beginning the application process for next fall with regards to financing their legal education? Is there anything that these applicants should be doing now to make their lives (and yours) easier a year from now?
AR	I advise students to investigate and apply to all law schools in which they are seriously interested and would be happy attending. Once admitted, they will work with admissions and financial aid counselors at each school to determine what sort of financial aid package will be available to them. I always urge students not to be obsessed with the costs at the front end, but rather to focus on law schools that they believe will be good fits. In terms of what students can do sooner rather than later: (1) maintain good credit so that they will not encounter problems obtaining student loans; (2) as part of their investigation of law schools, see what sorts of merit-base and need-based financial aid programs the different law schools offer. At GW Law, we have large funds of both need-based and merit based money for our students. We also have a unique binding early decision process that is tied to a full-tuition scholarship. This is the GW Law Presidential Merit Scholarship Program. Detailed information about this GW Law scholarship program is available here.
AD	According to the ABA data, more than 48% of students in the Class of 2011 received some sort of scholarship or grant with the median award totaling approximately $12,000. How can a student get considered for scholarships/grants and what factors do you look at when determining an award.
AR	At GW Law, we offer generous financial aid. Our funds are divided roughly equally into merit-based and need-based aid. We award full-tuition GW Law Presidential Merit Scholarships to all applicants we admit through our Binding Early Admission Presidential Merit Scholarship Program. We also award a number GW Law Merit Scholarships, typically in amounts of $20,000 and $30,000 per year, to applicants we admit through our regular admission process. These merit awards are based on the strength of applications for admission (no additional scholarship applications are required). All admitted applicants and continuing students who apply for a GW Law need-based grant and who qualify for financial need are awarded need-based grants in amounts that may range $3,000 to $19,000 per year.
AD	Layoffs and deferred start dates have forced many otherwise big law associates/candidates from schools like GWU to look to public interest and non-legal jobs. Having practiced at both a private law firm and the government, how do you think this experience will shape this generation of lawyers?
AR	I believe that the legal market is going through a readjustment. I think it is very good thing for our profession and for our society that more lawyers are entering public service and that the federal government is supporting this through legislation providing for student loan forgiveness for those who work in the public sector. GW Law has always maintained a strong focus on public interest and government work. With the addition to our senior administration this year of an Associate Dean for Public Interest, training and opportunities for our students in the public interest arena will continue to increase. I also think that greater opportunities in small and mid-sized firms are affording new lawyers the opportunity to gain very valuable legal experience as they enter the practice. Finally, I believe we are all confident that the economy will rebound and that we will see opportunities for lawyers to enter large firms increase in the next couple of years.
AD	How do you think a students’ law school experience is shaped/impacted by studying law in Washington, DC?
AR	Washington, DC, is the eighth-largest metropolitan area in the United States, and a premier location for studying law. The GW law school is located four blocks from the White House and across the street from the IMF, World Bank, and U.S. Department of State. The location allows our students the unique opportunity to engage high-level decision makers in all three branches of the federal government while augmenting both their education and their job prospects. Many of our students take advantage of this by obtaining internships in the White House, on Capitol Hill, U.S. Supreme Court, federal agencies, foreign embassies, and national as well as international nonprofit organizations. Three out of the past four years, a United States Supreme Court Justice has chaired our moot court competition, allowing our students the opportunity to have their arguments heard by the highest level of the federal judiciary. Every year, U.S. Supreme Court Justices, leaders in government and foreign dignitaries visit GW Law to participate in a variety of events and programs. There is no place in the world like DC in which to study law.
AD	Take us through your admissions review process. How do you evaluate a candidate’s undergraduate GPA, LSAT score report, personal statement, letters of recommendation, and other relevant factors?
AR	We review each application for admission in its entirety. The most important factors in our review process are academic record, LSAT score, personal statement and resume. We do not require letters of recommendation, but encourage applicants to submit two letters.
AD	How much weight do you place on an applicant’s LSAT score?
AR	The LSAT is just one of the factors that we consider in our evaluation of an applicant. Certainly a strong LSAT score increases an applicant’s chance of gaining admission, but applicants must keep in mind that half of our admitted applicants have LSAT scores below our median LSAT (which was 167 among those admitted to our fall 2009 entering class).
AD	Can you briefly describe the worst applicant essay you read – something that really stands out as egregious? What missteps should applicants avoid at all costs when crafting their personal statement?
AR	The personal statement that stands out in my mind as most egregious is one that was extremely vulgar. I actually called and questioned the applicant (“What on earth were you thinking submitting this?”) The applicant said that he wanted to show the admissions committee that he was “real,” notwithstanding the fact that he was from a privileged background and had attended an elite undergraduate institution. If an applicant wants to show us that he is “real,” he should do so without resorting to vulgarity.
AD	According to the most recent ABA data, GWU accepted 66 transfer students (and lost 25 students as transfers to other schools). What qualities do you look for in a transfer candidate and when should 1Ls interested in transferring begin the process?
AR	When reviewing transfer applications, we look for strong academic credentials and a particularly a very strong performance in the first year of law school. We also consider the reason a transfer applicant seeks to transfer to GW Law.
AD	Once again, thanks for taking the time to answer our questions -- I know our readers will find your insights extremely helpful.
AR	Not a problem.

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