the 1L revelation: law school is hard, man

[justin gosling]

A few weeks ago I led a group of new admits around my campus and it was a blast. The mysticism surrounding law school really gives tour guides a 'god complex' because you are the only person that can answer questions about the real student experience.

Some of the questions were tame.... Yes, the Socratic Method is tedious, but you only have to sit through the drudgery for one class period per class, per semester. Plus, you know the answer is inevitably going to be "it depends," and there are probably enough gunners around to help out when you are stuck on a problem. So it's not that bad.

There was one question that stood out and I really didn't know how to answer it.

"Why is law school so hard and why does it consume so much of your life?"

It's a fair question, but it's a little insulting. This is law school and law school is hard, son. Sit down and enjoy the tour of our library because we only have an hour for this tour which is not nearly enough time to fully explain the journey you are about to begin. The next day I told a classmate that one of the new admits asked this question and my classmate responded with laughter. Ahhh, ignorance is bliss.

So how do you explain the insane nature of law school to an ignorant senior in college that brought their parents for newly admitted student day? After the tour I was able to reflect on the question, but I couldn't come up with a proper way to explain law school — it's something you must experience to understand. It's incredibly demanding, probably more so than anything you've previously experienced. It's a lot of reading, reflecting, and becoming comfortable with constantly evaluating your thoughts and conclusions... all the while knowing that you're not wrong, but you're not correct either.

I did come to the conclusion that there is no way I would have applied to law school had I known how much of a commitment is required. That said, I'm glad I enrolled because law school teaches changes you and makes you pay attention and think about the world in ways previously unimagined. Even a few weeks into law school you will look back at the person you were before enrolling and think of them as a fool. And once you start the journey and accept the nuance, the work, and the major/minor tweaks to your way of thinking, you cannot imagine going back to your former self.

Comments

[Ruben A Yustor]

Not only is law school hard but the practice of law is harder. Not in that you need to know a lot of information because its all in a book some where. It is hard because you need to find clients and keep up with billable hours and lead a normal life on top of that. You here the term "fake it till you make it a lot", and that is another reason the practice of law is so hard. You are being paid to know more than the average man on a particular cause of action. You are the expert no matter whether you have studied the case for ten hours or ten minutes. You always have to come up with a solution to some pretty weird problems and you have to do it fast, based on research, and better than opposing counsel. All the time knowing that you are not really wrong but you are not really right either. You just have to "fake it till you make it!"

[aoghie'aep]

If you think law school is hard you are either weak or stupid or emotionally well balanced and mentally healthy. A good lawyer can afford to be none of these.

[Kate Strain]

You capture the difficulty of communicating the first year law experience well. While it is something you must experience ultimately to understand, I do think there are specific actions a 1L can take to reduce the amount of insanity. If you want to help these students, send them to my website, www.birdielawschool.com.

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