Few people make it through law school without some bruises along the way. It’s a rough experience in many ways, and you’re going to learn a lot!
Below, various writers share their lessons learned in law school, so that (maybe!) you can avoid some of their mistakes.
Law School Lessons Learned
- The Problem with Perfectionism Oh, the irony! You got to law school by being as perfect as possible, but now being a perfectionist might be your downfall.
- 7 Reasons You Should Do Pro Bono Work (Even If It's Sometimes Really Annoying) In my humble opinion, pro bono work is one of the best ways you can spend your time in law school. Find out why!
- Keep Your Eyes On Your Own Paper - A Law Student's Guide to Staying True To You A useful guest post from Desiree Moore of Greenhorn Legal about staying true to yourself when everything and everyone around you is pushing you in other directions.
- Feeling Fear? Four Strategies to Help You Feel More Confident Fear is common in law school. Don't miss these practical strategies for overcoming fear and developing confidence in law school!
- 5 Things I've Learned as an Older Law Student From My Younger Colleagues All law students can learn from each other. Here, an older law student talks about what she learned from her younger classmates.
- Law School Lessons From TV TV and movie lawyer characters can be unrealistic, but there are useful lessons that can be learned from these characters, too. Believe it or not, watching TV can help you in law school!
Reflections on the Law School Experience
- The End of the Academic Year: A 1L Perspective Don't miss this first-hand account of 1L year, just as second semester draws to a close and the summer is almost here.
- Reflections On 1L Year, From a Rising 2L What a difference a year makes! A rising 2L reflects on her first year of law school.
- 1st Week Back (Round 2!) The first week back to law school as a 2L can be a totally different experience than it was 1L year. Here's how to best handle this transition.
- A 2L's Guide to 1L Year: How to Go From Surviving to Succeeding Once you're part way into 1L year and have your bearings, it's a good time to look forward. A 2L student offers advice for those of you following behind.
- Reflections of a 2L: How to Use Your Experience to Plan Ahead for 3L Year A rising 3L discusses her challenging 2L year and reflects on how she will use her experiences (positive and negative) to plan ahead for 3L year.
- Misconceptions About Law School: What Law School is Really About Justine Huang, a second semester 1L, discusses what lessons she's learned about what law school really is after completing her first semester of law school.
- Perspective on Being a First-Generation College Student and Lawyer A rising 2L shares her experience as a first-generation college and law student.
- Podcast: Life as a First-Generation College and Law Student (With Shirlene Armstrong) If you're considering law school, but would be the first in your family to do so, this podcast episode is for you! Shirlene Armstrong talks about her experience, including some of the particular challenges she encountered as a first-generation law student.
Finding Success in Law School
- How Napoleon Would Have Approached Law School. Or, Why It's Good To Be Lazy How would Napoleon have approached law school? Strategically.
- How To Set (Useful) Goals Law students tend to be very goal-oriented folks, but how can you ensure your goals are actually useful? Read on for some practical tips.
- Want to Win at Life? Know What Game You're Playing If there’s one general-purpose, always-applicable life lesson, it’s this one: Know what game you’re playing.
- One Key to Success: Have a Bias Towards Action What’s one of the most common clichés about lawyers? That they’re risk-averse. To be successful these days, you need to have a bias towards action. In other words, it’s time to put away the risk-aversion and get things done!
- Why I Do What I Do: Susan Cartier Liebel on Motivation and Joy Susan Cartier Liebel, founder of Solo Practice University, shares her motivation for the work she does to help solo practitioners build their practices.
Advice from a Wise Lawyer
- The More Things Change... Great interview with Kate McGuinness, a legal trailblazer. She started practicing law in 1977, became a BigLaw partner and GC, then left to become a writer and women’s rights activist. Suffice it to say, she’s got some stories to tell!
- Kate's Counsel: Finding Your Way in the Legal Profession Kate McGuinness, career coach, author of Terminal Ambition, and a legal trailblazer in her own right, offers her perspective on finding your way in a sometimes-sexist legal profession.
- Kate's Counsel: Chill Out About Exams Yes, law school exams matter. No, they aren't everything, and you shouldn't treat them that way.
- Kate's Counsel: Speak Up! Speak up in class, even if you don't want to. This will make you a better law student, and, ultimately, a better lawyer.