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In this episode, Ben and Madeline jump into a question almost every LSAT student fixates on: when you should actually retake the LSAT. They react to a popular LSAT company’s retake advice, agree with most of it, and roast how obvious and poorly written it is, while still pulling out the core takeaway: if you have points left on the table and those points change your admissions or scholarship outcomes, retaking is usually the right move.

A big theme is “stop gambling.” Ben and Madeline talk about the slot-machine mindset, where someone keeps taking official LSATs hoping a higher score just appears, without changing preparation. They push a much simpler standard: don’t take the LSAT until your practice scores are where you want them, and if you retake, do it with a real plan instead of wishful thinking.

They also hit the money angle hard. Beyond admissions, they stress that higher LSAT scores often translate into better scholarship offers, which can dramatically change your debt and your life after graduation. Ben goes on a mini rant about how many applicants misunderstand student loan interest and underestimate how brutal it is to carry big law school debt into average-paying legal jobs.

Then the episode shifts into a real applicant scenario: a high-GPA student with a low-150s LSAT weighing offers from Lewis & Clark and Gonzaga, plus a waitlist at Seattle. Ben and Madeline walk through the real cost of attendance, explain why “outside scholarships” rarely move the needle, and argue that taking a year to raise the LSAT even modestly can be the difference between manageable debt and a long financial grind.

Finally, things get weird and entertaining: they read and dissect an infamous personal statement connected to the Epstein files, supposedly from a former Olympian trying to get into Harvard Law. It becomes a brutal lesson in why elite “facts” do not save bad writing, why trying to sound smart backfires, and why law school admissions is still a writing-and-precision game, especially for non-native English speakers.

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Nick Cohen on LinkedIn

Matador Solutions

Nick’s Email- nick@matadorsolutions.net

Cohen Injury Law Group

Nick Cohen joins the Hey Future Lawyer Podcast to break down an unconventional path to becoming an attorney while building a fast-growing legal marketing business. Nick is a partner at Cohen Injury Law Group in Los Angeles and the COO of Matador Solutions, a marketing partner and think tank serving more than 175 law firms nationwide.

We dig into why Nick chose a night program at Loyola Law School, what his weekly schedule looked like while working full-time, and why part-time students often end up more efficient and less cutthroat than the typical “1L culture” you hear about. Nick also gives the real trade-offs of night school, including the extra year, the lack of “summers off,” and why the financial upside can still make it the smartest choice.

Nick explains how small law firms actually get clients, why referrals are only one side of the game, and what “bottom-of-funnel” marketing looks like for lawyers who need high-intent cases coming in the door. We also talk about why so many firms get burned by snake-oil marketing vendors, how realistic timelines matter, and why “results in 3 months” is often a red flag.

On the law student side, Nick shares a no-nonsense approach to performing well in law school: crystal-clear writing, clean structure, and focusing on what actually moves the grade instead of spinning out on details. He’s strongly anti study groups, but gives a smarter alternative: one partner who thinks differently, independent prep, and then a targeted checklist review that catches blind spots.

Finally, we talk AI in the legal industry: what’s real, what’s hype, what tools still aren’t ready, and why “being human first” will become a major differentiator as tech accelerates. Nick closes with practical advice for aspiring lawyers: do not go to law school unless you feel good about a legal career, consider night programs for cost control, pay attention to bar pass rates, and choose schools that align with where you want to practice.

#HeyFutureLawyer #LawSchool #NightSchool #LoyolaLaw #LSAT #PreLaw #LawStudent #LawFirmMarketing #LegalMarketing #PersonalInjuryLaw #SmallLawFirm #Entrepreneurship #SEO #GoogleAds #AI #LegalTech #CareerAdvice #LawSchoolAdmissions

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Ben Parker kicks off this episode of the Hey Future Lawyer Podcast on January LSAT score release day with a blunt message: treating a low LSAT score like “no big deal” is one of the most expensive mistakes a pre-law student can make. He frames it as “financial Darwinism” or “natural selection,” arguing that the consequences are predictable, avoidable, and largely driven by choices about prep, timing, and accountability.

He walks listeners through why low scores tend to funnel applicants into lower-outcome schools that can be financially predatory, especially when combined with late-cycle applications and full sticker tuition. To make it concrete, he uses an example of a bottom-tier law school and breaks down the cost of attendance, bar passage risk, likely employment outcomes, and what repayment actually looks like when you stack high debt against modest salaries.

From there, Ben shifts into the psychological side: the “comfort” culture that tells applicants they just need one yes, and how that mindset can become toxic when it ignores hard data. He argues that law school is only a “good deal” in two situations: you either get strong employment outcomes that justify the debt, or you keep debt low enough that a normal salary still leaves you financially free.

The episode also dives into Ben’s core LSAT philosophy: high scores are simple, not easy. His thesis is that most students waste time on prep that feels productive, but does not move the needle, and that consistent daily work beats almost everything else. He shares anecdotes from score release day messages, including a student who improved significantly by doing a large volume of real questions with consistent review, and contrasts that with students who study for months and barely move because they are stuck in “comfortable” methods.

Ben sits down with Madeline, an LSAT instructor turned 1L, to talk about what actually works when you’re trying to raise your LSAT score and set yourself up to win in law school. They start by dismantling common “lawyer-adjacent” advice and replace it with a simple, repeatable plan: practice that mirrors the real test, disciplined review, and consistency that builds stamina.

A big theme of the episode is momentum. Madeline explains why taking time off after a real LSAT can quietly cost you points, and why “maintenance studying” can be the difference between staying sharp and backsliding. Ben adds practical frameworks for staying in motion, including when it makes sense to retake and how to think about your realistic score range.

They also zoom out to the admissions landscape. Using real school data as an example, Ben and Madeline show how much more competitive top outcomes have become in the last decade and why that changes how you should plan your timeline. If you’re aiming for scholarships, full rides, or just the strongest options possible, this conversation makes a strong case for treating the LSAT like the highest ROI lever in the entire process.

The episode closes with law-school perspective: Madeline explains why the LSAT is the best training you can do before 1L, not just for reading and logic, but for discipline, resilience, and study habits. If you’re in the LSAT grind or deciding whether to retake, this is the mindset reset you want.

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Ben Parker opens with a rapid-fire LSAT mailbag and a blunt reminder that the LSAT is a skills test, not a knowledge test. If you’re coming from a background like medicine and wondering whether you should “learn content” first, Ben breaks down why the information you need is already on the page and why real progress comes from doing questions, reviewing hard, and tightening your reading.

Next, Ben tackles study schedules and timing for the 2027 law school cycle, including why you should plan for multiple LSAT takes and why spreading study across more days usually accelerates improvement. He also explains why “question type studying” can turn into a security blanket that feels productive but delays the reps that actually move your score.

Then Ben goes in on the “wrong answer journal” trend, why the framing is backwards, and how chasing patterns can waste time without changing what you should do next. The focus stays the same: understand the passage or stimulus better, predict more, and let answers reveal what you missed.

Finally, Autumn from Gradmissions is back on the pod. If you want admissions help, you can connect with her here: https://www.gradmissions.org/contact. And if you want to check out all our LSAT prep, head to heyfuturelawyer.com.

Ben talks through why he disappeared for a couple weeks, plus a quick PSA after getting flattened by a brutal flu. He uses that as a springboard into what he has been thinking about going into 2026, including how hard it is to market a product that actually requires uncomfortable work.

From there, the core argument is simple: meaningful LSAT improvement is mostly about doing real questions and reviewing them, not binging theory. He frames a lot of mainstream LSAT prep as “intellectual junk food” that feels productive but does not move scores, especially when it encourages people to hide from timed practice or treat sections like a race.

Ben then reads (and expands on) a Reddit post he wrote about how to use timed sections as daily training. He emphasizes “timed, not rushed,” solving questions instead of attempting them, letting the section auto submit, and using accuracy benchmarks to detect when someone is rushing or getting sloppy.

He also explains why full blind review is overrated for most students and shares his preferred alternative: redo only the questions you missed or felt uncertain about before checking answers. That leads into a plug for HeyFutureLawyer.com’s “Rewind Review” feature, designed to keep review honest by mixing in a few correct questions so you cannot mindlessly change everything.

The episode broadens into law school ROI and why LSAT score choices become life choices. Ben argues that applying with a low score is often a decision to take on unnecessary debt, and he backs it up with applicant score distribution talk and examples of how scholarships swing with even modest LSAT gains.

Finally, Ben reads a few listener emails: one success story from a student who hit the mid 160s and got admitted with strong scholarship leverage, and then a few admissions scenarios where he focuses on outcomes, cost, and career goals rather than rankings. He closes with a blunt takeaway: the easier business model is selling comfort, but he is committed to selling results, even when that means telling people “no” or pushing them to delay applying and fix the LSAT first.

👉 Find everything at linktr.ee/heyfuturelawyer

In this mailbag-style episode of the Hey Future Lawyer Podcast, Ben Parker breaks down two things most applicants are missing: what it actually takes to hit a mid-160s or higher LSAT, and why “business as usual” in law school scholarships is getting disrupted. He opens with a blunt promise about standards, then pivots into a practical, incentives-based explanation of how law schools price tuition and why that pricing model is under pressure.

Ben explains why full rides and large scholarships may shrink this admissions cycle, tying it to shifts in how law school can be financed and why lenders will not bankroll outcomes that do not pencil out. Using examples like Vanderbilt and a lower-ranked regional school, he shows how schools use LSAT and GPA to “bid” for high numbers while charging the weakest applicants the most, then argues that model breaks when loans are not freely available.

From there, Ben answers listener questions about plateauing in the mid-160s, how to structure studying (drilling vs sections vs full practice tests), and what actually matters most: the quality of review and the thinking process behind each question. He also talks candidly about application strategy for someone sitting at a strong GPA with a 166, including whether to apply broadly, whether to wait a cycle, and how much a higher LSAT can change outcomes.

The episode closes with a behind-the-scenes look at messages Ben gets from applicants considering high-risk law school plans, including non-ABA options and “path of least resistance” decisions. It’s a frank conversation about law school ROI, bimodal salaries, avoiding catastrophic debt, and what a realistic plan looks like if you want a stable legal career.

👉 Find everything at linktr.ee/heyfuturelawyer

👉 Find everything at linktr.ee/heyfuturelawyer

In this episode, Ben Parker sits down with Sam, a 1L at Seton Hall Law who earned a full scholarship after taking the LSAT seriously and approaching prep the right way. Sam shares her background, why she chose law school after working in corporate marketing, and what the transition into 1L life has actually been like.

The conversation dives deep into what law school really demands day to day, from time management and study habits to maintaining sleep, exercise, and sanity during the semester. Sam breaks down her weekly routine, how much she actually works compared to a 9–5 job, and why discipline matters more than motivation.

Ben also gives blunt LSAT advice early in the episode, explaining why the exam is a skills-based test, how most people study incorrectly, and what actually leads to 160s and 170s. They connect the dots between LSAT skills and law school success, including reading, logic, and active studying.

The episode wraps with an honest discussion of law school outcomes, scholarships, Big Law pressure, and why minimizing debt gives students far more freedom after graduation. This is a must-listen for anyone considering law school, studying for the LSAT, or trying to decide whether the investment is really worth it.