As law students, we’re all aware that law school comes with many ups and downs. One day you might be engrossed in what you’re learning, and the next, you could be pulling your hair apart asking yourself why you ever even started. Hence, if you’re someone who is still on the fence about whether or not to embark in this particular journey, this is the article for you. Here are the Lexicon’s Editorial Board’s insights on the best and worst parts of being a law student.
Best:
Knowing your rights:
In law school, we are exposed to many different areas of law which not only allow us to be informed of the legal system in our country but how the law directly affects us in our everyday lives. Studying subjects such as contract law and criminal law lets us know our rights in certain situations and even possible legal remedies that may be available to us if such rights have been infringed.
Opportunities abound:
While we are all striving to pass our law degree with flying colours, our university experience is worth more than a degree of paper. With so many societies within the law school, we would likely end up biting more than we can chew but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing because all of these activities add value to both your personal and professional development. From pro bono schemes to entering mock trial competitions, the opportunities available reflect the wide range of legal interests and potential career paths we can embark on.
Able to develop strong critical thinking, reasoning and analytical skills:
As a law student, we’re required to do one thing more than any other - think. We are constantly pushed to think of arguments from different standpoints, different ways to argue points and different ways to interpret arguments. In a way, this would allow you to challenge yourself to think in ways you may not have before. And the best thing is, the sense of accomplishment is immense when all that thinking leads to clearly understood concepts in your head.
The subject matter is relevant and has a very real impact on people’s lives:
The learning curve is steep but rewarding. Knowing that the subject matter you work to become familiar with has the potential to generate as much change as you want it to. Be it with individual clients, or bigger changes to the legal system, your work directly affects people.
You’ll soon become the favourite guest at family events when everyone comes to you for free legal advice:
We left this as the last ‘pro’ because whether or being the ‘family lawyer’ is a good thing is definitely questionable.
Worst:
Heavy workload:
A man once said, “A law student’s back is one that is broken.” Well… not really, but you get what we’re getting at. The struggle of being a law student is primarily focused on the fact that the course itself involves loads of reading, memorising and understanding. It can be difficult to manage and excel in your studies when you’re constantly trying to juggle your lectures, tutorials, assignments and exam preparation. In law school especially, your lack of time management may be the thing that breaks you.
The amount of reading:
It’s no secret that law students are bombarded with textbooks and a constant stream of journal articles and judgments. Although the latter falls under the optional category, we all know how important it is to keep abreast of recent legal developments and the opinions of leading academics and practitioners. After all, the only way to learn the law is to read, read and read.
Competition:
The legal system is saturated with an overwhelming number of students. It can be a very dog-eat-dog world, and students feel the pressure of having to excel or be the best.
Changes in the law affect our studies:
The thing about law is that it is flexible in nature. The law may be reformed for the better or even be changed for the worse. In this sense, law students have to pay extra attention to the news and current legal circumstances as these changes very much affect the things we study.
We never stop learning
We’ll forever be law students. The research will be a constant part of our lives, for the rest of our lives. Unlike some other courses, we don’t learn every single thing there is to learn about the law. As new cases pop up, and we get cases on parts of the law that we weren’t taught in Law School, we’ll have to keep studying and reading. So gear up friends, because this is forevermore!
Hopefully, this light-hearted analysis written by actual law students gives you a good overview of what to expect as a law student or is just an entertaining piece that you can relate to. At the end of the day, despite the never-ending workload and pressure that you’ll face, the goal is that you find yourself passionate about what you’re studying and better-skilled than you were before, with a plethora of opportunities waiting for you when you graduate.
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