Would You Trust a Law Professor to Represent You

I had many good law professors in school. I also had many bad ones. I don't necessarily think they were bad in the sense they didn't know their material. Rather, like this article posted by the Law Librarians shows, the professors often focused too much on the minute theory, and not enough on the practical application.

I tend to agree with Mr. Newton's criticisms of law schools, since I generally believe that most law schools fail to adequately prepare their students for legal work. I believe far too often, too many students have to learn "lawyering" in the "school of hard knocks." Moreover, I think the law schools' focus on academia, versus practicum, does an even greater disservice to the students in leading them to believe that the grades will catapult them to greatness. The truth is, even the brightest star dims in the sunshine.

Many students I see, I suspect because of the B.S. they're fed in law school, believe that they're commitment to academics is more important than their law work involvement. For instance, I recently sought to hire a part-time law clerk from my alma mater (you may want to check out an earlier post regarding a similar experience). I solicited, and received, a number of qualified resumes. 

The problem was, I saw a great number of "silver spoon" candidates who demanded I accommodate particular school schedules, routines, etc., when I hired them. Some seemed to expect this favorable treatment because of some high grade or recognition in law school, despite the fact they lacked any notable legal experience. In fact, one applicant went so far as to say that they were available to work only Friday and Saturday - I thought only BigLaw lawyers worked Saturdays or Sundays if they didn't have to?

I took two jobs in school, which I think benefited me tremendously, in both experience and with practical lawyering skills. I worked for free, as a pro bono volunteer, then I worked for a solo practitioner. The first firm taught me the meaning of doing justice, which led me to reconsider my decision to become "not a lawyer." 

At my second job, I saw how hard work, dedication, and common sense, can make a skilled attorney. The firm expected me to work a regular schedule (meaning be there when the other guys/gals are), and to dedicate the time necessary to close cases, and ultimately make money for the firm. Honestly, during the last year of law school, I dedicated more time to my job than to my studies. What I recognized was that actually doing the stuff I'm learning about, was more important than learning about stuff I could be doing.

The problem is, many law students (again, I think because of the schools) believe their lives are paved in BigLaw. The truth though, is that many BigLaw dreams end up in tattered shards of unemployment, or ill-equipped solo practitioners, who struggle to survive.