Think of your deservedness to attend law school as your client, and the application as your star witness. As counsel, you need to devote due diligence to optimizing every kernel of truth that makes your case for admission a good one. This means using the application's blend of essays, recommendations, supplemental statements and good old-fashioned elbow grease to get the verdict you want from the admissions committee, your jury.

Exhibit A: Applications and Deadlines
Know the deadlines and schedule your time to prepare your applications with them in mind. Most importantly, don't miss any of them.

For schools with rolling admissions, treat the first day the school accepts applications as your deadline. Why? The longer you wait to submit your applications during a rolling period, the fewer remaining offers of acceptance a school has to award. While schools report little difference between first and second round admissions, why take the risk unless you have to? Another good reason to apply early is the sooner you apply, the sooner you receive an answer, giving you more time to weigh your decision to attend. Finally, setting the earliest deadline for yourself ensures that, even if you miss it, you'll still be ahead of most of your peers.

To help you meet your deadlines, take advantage of online law school applications. Most law schools make their applications available on paper and online through their websites as well as admissions services websites such as this one and the Law School Admissions Council. Unless you have sparkling penmanship and a cramp-proof hand, a good old typewriter can also become your best -- and possibly hardest-to-find -- friend over the course of the application process.

Regardless of the format in which you submit your application, you must proofread your work with extreme care. Beyond your scrutiny, allow another set of eyes to proof it as well. You could make a terrific tweak at the suggestion of a friend or family member who catches something that your weary eyes do not.

Sources at LSAC (who, incidentally, will not guarantee their product for Macintosh) call lack of proofing the biggest mistake applicants make in the use of their software, which sells for roughly $50 for CD-ROM or web-hosted applications. Always check your work carefully. If an application allows you to upload an essay or other supplemental materials, check, if possible, to see how your uploaded documents look once laid out in the application. And, follow directions! Some aspects of applications available online must be printed, signed, and mailed in order for your application to go through without any holdups.

Which brings us back to deadlines. Another important reason not to lollygag on your application is financial aid. While the period for accepting and considering applications may last into the spring, the deadlines for financial aid opportunities such as merit-based fellowships often arrive earlier.

While requests for financial aid are handled separately from applications for admission, and thus do not affect a school's decisions concerning admissions, don't let all your hard work on the application go to waste just because you missed every opportunity to help pay tuition and other expenses.

Exhibit B: The Rest of the Application Package
You'll need more than just great timing in order to be successful with your law school applications; you'll need a standout application package as well. Your LSAT score and undergraduate GPA make up a lot of this package. The fact is, you may be ruled out of certain top-tier schools without a high LSAT score, just as you will most likely be ruled in to many second- or third-tier schools with a certain score. "LSAT scores and GPAs will be automatic admits and automatic [r]ejects, irrespective of the rest of the application," admits one former dean of a law school in the Northeast. "The LSAT score drives the process… unless there are other concerns raised. It's the most critical part of any application. Second place is the GPA at the undergraduate school."

While most schools demand an LSAT of at least 150, (160, or even 165, is a more accurate baseline score to put you in the running for admission at top-tier law schools), and a GPA of 3.2 or better as a baseline minimum, a great LSAT score can alleviate the damage of a blemish on your college transcript. "High LSAT scores can cure a mediocre GPA score," says the former dean. "It's unfortunate, because it's certainly not an absolute correlation between LSAT and success at law school. But nonetheless, law schools are competitive in terms of ranking and the rankings are based on LSAT and GPA. That's what it comes down to."

Chances are, at this point, your GPA is set in stone, but if you have yet to take your LSAT, heed this warning: Prepare, prepare, prepare. No matter how you choose to prepare, whether you go to a class, meet with a tutor, or study independently, make sure you've identified your weak spots, practiced on real tests, and come up with your strategy before you sit for the exam. Once the LSAT is covered, the bulk of your time can be spent on the more subjective pieces of your application package: your essays, personal statement, and letters of recommendation.