By Alyssa Leston
So you made the decision to go to law school.
Maybe–like me–you realized it was the last day to sign up for the LSAT for the upcoming application cycle, forcing you to spend a frantic few weeks studying and then researching which school was the right fit.
Or maybe you’ve known for years that this was your path; months of preparation, tours, and networking brought you to the school you are at now, feeling ready and excited to start achieving your dream.
Or maybe, now that you’re here, you’ve stopped caring about how you got to where you are, because you realized that regardless of the process, you’re not excited to be there after all.
So, what now?
It’s naive to assume that none of the students sitting in orientation will ever have moments of doubt or regret. As a 1L, I’ve realized that the process of getting into law school feels an awful lot like ignoring the hardships until they arrive. If I start really focusing on what this path means for my life (and bank account), it becomes too overwhelming rather than inspiring.
If you’re like me and you really stop to process what you’re doing, the thought may cross your mind: what if I made a mistake?
A wise professor of mine once said, “Don’t go to law school if you don’t want to become a lawyer.” My professor was right: law school is not a good fallback or “why not give a try” option. The passion required to get you through the hardships of law school can’t be faked, and a lack of this passion can magnify the struggles of law school to where becoming a lawyer doesn’t even seem worth it anymore. All this makes sense. But what if you don’t know if you want to become a lawyer until you actually get to law school?
If you find yourself at orientation questioning your choices, please take comfort. You have not set yourself up for failure by committing to law school. The path you are on opens up the possibility of working in a law-related field, but the real comfort lies in recognizing that law school does not exclude you from practicing in non-law related fields. In fact, it will make you more competent regardless of what field you choose.
Law school teaches you how to understand complex theories and apply them in a practical manner, how to think critically about society, norms, and policies, and how to articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and concisely. In just the first few weeks, I’ve already been challenged in my understanding of right and wrong, learned how to argue more effectively, and taken a dive deep into ethics and morality. Most importantly, law school teaches you how to understand the world you are living in–both how to connect with it and also how to change it. Each of these skills, not to mention public speaking and persuasive writing, are transferable to all careers–and they will inspire holistic growth in you as a person.
That said, capability is not always compatibility. You may feel that you have the skills to pass the bar and join a firm, but you have no passion or mission for the work. At times, this can lead to more self doubt. If you discover that you and law are not compatible long-term, remember three things:
- There is no one path that any lawyer follows, and a successful lawyer doesn’t always have to be practicing law. BC Law recently held an event where a panel of lawyers from varying fields came to discuss their careers. I’ll give you the short version: they all took dramatically different paths, and they held quite a few different positions along the way. One even took time off of being a lawyer for a while. It all worked out.
- Time is relative. The long hours you feel now will be all but forgotten by the time you graduate. Do not look so far ahead that you forget to focus on the road in front of you, but simultaneously, don’t focus so much on the road that you forget the broader purpose of law school. Take this process one step at a time, while keeping your eyes fixed on the horizon.
- Your experiences are never a waste. You are investing in your mind, your academics, and a potential career path for your future. Whatever experience you have had (or will have) shapes you in unique ways that may feel like ripples now, but can lead to tidal waves of change and opportunities in the future. The people you meet each have their own fascinating and diverse life paths, and those may cross with yours to create a relationship that could change the community around you and alter your life forever.
Law school can be both a stepping stone and an end goal. There are many lawyers who practiced law, went into another field entirely, and then went back into law, or changed fields again. Those broad skills you obtain in school–thinking deeply and critically, building relationships, understanding people, learning how to reason, research and write more effectively–these are not unique to the field of law, and they are certainly not narrowly applicable. So embrace your doubts and fears. Explore how else you can use this specific path to help you in your future. Talk to advisors and professors.
And if you haven’t entered the admissions process yet, but think law school might be for you–why not give it a shot, and see how far you get? At the end of the day, it’s about what you learn, and how you grow as a person. I think we can all embrace the journey, even if we don’t end up at the same place.
Alyssa Leston is a first-year student at BC Law. Contact her at leston@bc.edu.
BC Law: Impact 