Hope’s Promise Publishing is now accepting submissions for Pledging Law School: African American Law Students’ Experiences. This will be a book filled with contributions from African American law students and graduates across the nation who will share their personal experiences and perspectives regarding the law school admissions process (affirmative action, pre-law advisement, getting accepted, rejected and wait listed, etc.) and every aspect of the law school experience (pre-law preparation, class preparation, the Socratic method, first year, moot court, journals, law review, the job search, interviewing, competition, relationships with law professors, social interactions with fellow law students, racism in the law school environment, exams, papers, grades, academic probation/dismissal/honors, graduation, etc.).

We are also working on a book entitled African Americans and the Bar Exam: Stories of Success and Failure. This book will be a collection of the documented experiences of African Americans and the bar exam – what they knew about the exam prior to law school, during law school, their sources of information, their preparation for the exam, what they went through during the actual two to three days of sitting for the exam, their experiences regarding passing and/or failing the exam, their decisions to retake or not retake the exam, their attitudes about what being a ‘licensed attorney’ means to themselves, their families, the African American community and society at large, and whether they would recommend bar passage for those who are not interested in pursuing the traditional practice of law.

Contributors can submit their entries in any form – free flowing prose, short essays organized in separate sections, etc. It depends on the individual. Once we have received all submissions, we will then organize submissions and put the book together. Prior to publication, we will send all contributors information on where their contributions will be used in the book and exactly which quotes will be included. However, it is important for contributors to only provide that information that they would want to see printed in the book.

Every contributor will be acknowledged in the opening of the book by name, law school and year of graduation unless they opt to make their submissions anonymous or use an alias. A contributor can be mentioned in the beginning of the book and have their comments noted as anonymous within the book following their comments if they so choose. In addition, all contributors will receive two (2) complimentary copies of the book after they have arrived from the printers. Both books are tentatively set for an early 2004 release.

Please note that ALL submissions are welcome no matter how long it has been since you have been in or graduated from law school. Just make sure you indicate the year of graduation in order to provide some context.

The founder and CEO of Hope’s Promise Publishing is the author and publisher of the newly released The African American Pre-Law School Advice Guide: Things You Really Need to Know Before Applying to Law School which is available nationwide through on-line booksellers including Amazon.com, CushCity.com, BarristerBooks.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Borders.com, TheBlackLibrary.com, as well as Black book stores and direct from the publisher.

She is also the author of the upcoming The African American Law School Survival Guide: Things You Really Need to Know to Prepare for the Law School Experience and the editor/compiler of Profiles of Outstanding African American Law Students’ Experiences which are both set for a 2003 release.

Hope’s Promise Publishing is committed to publishing books focusing on law school admissions and the legal educational experience with a special emphasis on the African American perspective.

If you are interested in submitting anything for either book, please send your inquiries and submissions to: Hope’s Promise Publishing, Attention: Submissions, P.O. Box 631234, Houston, Texas 77263 or via e-mail at info@hopespromisepublishing.com.

Leave a legacy. Be a part of these important publications in order to share what you've experienced with those who are coming behind you so that they won't have to learn about these things the hard way like so many of us had to!