CELL Blog | Center for Engaged Learning in the Law

As a new contributor to this blog, I was not sure what I would write about for my first post. One of the questions Professor Friedland suggested was, “who are the happiest law students”, which made me think about something that has been bothering me for a few weeks now. Coming back to Elon as a 2L has been much different than starting out as a brand new, and slightly naive, 1L. After everyone’s summer experiences, my fellow classmates seem to have a better grasp on what type of law they may someday want to practice. I loved my summer experience and it reaffirmed to me that I want to be a prosecutor following law school.

2L year, however, has also brought a string of what I think are a mix between stereotypes and assumptions. As we all start to send out applications for positions next summer, I feel that a lot of my fellow classmates are too focused on why they can or cannot secure positions at the top-notch law firms. Whenever someone asks me where I am sending out applications, I respond with a list of various district attorneys’ offices around the state and elsewhere. Inevitably there is always a moment when the other student judges me on my choice. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard something along the lines of, “you know you are never going to make any money” or “how are you going to pay off your loans”. Sure, these are valid questions. I would venture most students going to law school have crunched the numbers on the interest rates of their loans and cringed. What happened in the legal sector, however, to push people away from extremely rewarding jobs in the public sector? And why is there a stigma attached to pursuing those careers?

I think the happiest law students are the ones who decide they are going to practice the type of law that makes them excited. I can honestly say that I looked forward to getting up in the morning and going to my internship. I’m not sure how many of my classmates felt the same way. Sure some of these students will be happy at huge law firms. I worry that some others, however, put too much emphasis on the name and size of the firm. I may take longer to pay off my loans, but I know I will be happy pursuing the type of law I have a passion for, regardless of the paycheck.

The first frustration I encountered was that the entire semester pretty much goes by with little to no official feedback from the professors on how your learning is taking shape. This is so different from undergrad, in which you have periodic exams to gauge progress. But now I know in order to overcome that frustration is to simply take some hypos I worked out to my professors and they are more than happy to provide feedback!

The second frustration I encountered was this “study group” thing. Being an introvert, I have always been content studying alone. So it was hard to see the value in study groups. However, what I realized was the easy thing to do to make sure the experience is productive is: 1. Study with those whose personalities fit well with your own 2. Study with those who are as serious about their work as you are about your own. And 3. Make a plan before you guys meet as to what the objectives of the study session will be.

The greatest lesson I learned was: I can do this! I can really do this thing called law school! This may sound really simple, but trust me it was a life-changing revelation. Long before I achieved my 1L status, I used to think law school was intimidating. I suppose that is because of the prestige that cloaks the profession. Or it could be the anxiety- inducing Socratic Method, that is the mark of the law school experience, I heard so much about. Either way, I knew intimidation was the pink elephant in the room that eventually I would have to face.  Now, after surviving one semester I can officially conclude that it really isn’t that bad. Of course, it’s not a cake walk. But, I have realized my intellectual strength once again and am ready for the 5 semester marathon that remains.