My first month of law school felt like a whirlwind. The dense readings, countless panel discussions, lengthy case briefs, innumerable networking events, late nights and early mornings, all while navigating the transition from small Midwest suburbs to the big city, has certainly tested my will despite the infancy of my law school journey. As the saying goes, however, pressure is a privilege. It truly is a blessing to be living out an answered prayer. Despite the many moving parts, I’ve found solace in the moments of stillness (although rare) where I am able to reflect on the journey to get where I am today. More importantly, those moments allow me to refocus my attention to the core of my “why” when it comes to law school.
Continue readingblack law student association
Finding Belonging at BC Law
What does it mean to belong? Belonging would seem to imply a level of mutuality. I belong to you, and as such, you belong to me. While I’m quite acquainted with change and relocation, there seems to be a hardened insularity particular to Boston, with BC Law as its microcosm. As I struggle to assimilate into the social environment on campus, it has become increasingly obvious that belonging might not be so reciprocal after all. In these first few weeks, I find myself shoving into a cultural and regional crowd that seems not only cold, but indifferent to my presence. So, how do I foster a sense of belonging among younger, mostly non-People-of-Color, Massachusetts locals?
Continue readingIt Takes a Village: Why Mentorship is So Important
Today, law students are primarily sculpted in classrooms, with the chances for out-of-class experience strewn throughout summer work, school clinics, and externships. But becoming a lawyer in the U.S. was originally premised on the experience of apprenticing. Direct observation, hands-on work, with a touch of baptism-by-fire-shaped lawyers. On a broader level, apprenticing was premised on mentorship. Though law students must endure the modern right of passage that is the dreaded 1L year spent in structured doctrinals, mentorship has remained a mainstay of a legal education.
“Networking” is a daunting word for most in the professional world and known all too well by those in the legal field. Law students understand early on that building a network is a crucial part of forming their careers. But mentorship is just as important as – and in fact both encompasses the nature of and is an expansion of – networking. As a remnant of early legal education, having mentors from the moment you start law school until your last day of retirement at that fancy law firm you started is vital to success in the legal field. Having a network is important, but having people in your corner to guide the ship that is your career journey is what makes your network rich.
Continue reading
