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< | On the Necessity of Introspection | >
> | A Settled Conflict: Why Law School Is the Choice for Me | | | | |
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< | -- By AllisonHouston - 26 Apr 2018 | >
> | -- By AllisonHouston - 29 June 2018 | | | | |
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< | Oftentimes doubts concerning my law school enrollment lead me to speculate on if I made the correct decision in what I chose to pursue an advance degree in. I wonder regularly if I should have worked towards a Masters in either Political Science or Philosophy. Consistently I settle on Philosophy. Largely because I miss engaging with material that perplexed, fascinated, and intrigued me. I was constantly confused–as I am in law school–but it was a type of confusion that felt fruitful and meaningful. The confusion I feel in law school is more akin to a mundane alley of trepidation. | >
> | Oftentimes doubts concerning my law school enrollment lead me to speculate on if I made the correct decision in what I chose to pursue an advance degree in. I wonder regularly if I should have worked towards a Masters in either Political Science or Philosophy. Consistently I fantasize about the joys I would encounter if I were engaging with philosophy. I believe it is largely due to the fact I miss grappling with material that perplexed, fascinated, and intrigued me. As a philosophy major, I was constantly confused–as I am in law school–but it was a type of confusion that felt fruitful and meaningful. The confusion I feel in law school is more akin to a mundane alley of trepidation. | | | | |
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< | I have not found any solace in my first year black letter law classes. I constantly muse how intellectually simulated I would be engaging with philosophical matters. For the majority of my 1L experience I have felt disengaged with the curriculum. But, my attention has been grabbed and captivated through attending talks on topics I have no background in. In particular, I have become transfixed on cybersecurity and technology issues pertaining to law. I find the issues and questions stemming from cybersecurity to be parallel to the questions philosophy attempts to address.
For example, one of the essential philosophical questions Kant tries to answer is: how can we obtain cognition of objects that are things in themselves, which do not lend themselves to an a priori comprehension? The question is important to Kant because it sets out to address how we come to know the objects we consider ourselves familiar with and helps in further resolving antinomies. What is at stake for Kant is more fundamental than resolving philosophical dilemmas and it is much deeper than simply assisting in the progression of the intellectual development and expansion of his field of philosophy. But, rather, his investigation is important for understanding our shared human experience, something that is of relevance and concern not only for those steeped in the profession and field of philosophy, but also for lay people. I feel cyber security problems are deeply steeped in understanding our modern human experience. The intellectual development created and response to these issues will profoundly shape the lives of countless individuals. | >
> | I constantly muse about how intellectually simulated I would be engaging with philosophical matters. I have not found any solace in my first year black letter law classes. For the majority of my 1L experience I have felt disengaged with the curriculum. But, on further introspection, I am not going to not let that discourage me fully from trying to find something in the law that genuinely intrigues me. But, my attention has been grabbed and captivated through attending talks on topics I have no background in. In particular, I have become transfixed on cybersecurity and technology issues pertaining to law. I find the issues and questions stemming from cybersecurity to be parallel to the questions philosophy attempts to address. I feel cyber security problems are deeply steeped in understanding our modern human experience, and that greatly excites me. The intellectual development that can be fostered in this field and responses that can be created are profoundly important and has the potential to profoundly shape the lives of countless individuals. | | | I would like to be a privacy and data security lawyer, because I have a strong interest and fascination with cyber security, cryptocurrency, and Artificial Intelligence issues and challenges. Before starting at Columbia, I found cyber issues to be incredibly entertaining, complex, and even somewhat mysterious. My interests were peaked due to the plethora of unanswered questions and questions that have yet to be asked. | | | A key reason why I am so intrigued with these matters is when I have attended lunch talks on the issues of cyber security, cryptocurrency, and AI overwhelming the professionals giving the talk conclude by admitting they themselves do not know the answer and that many of the most pressing issues still have no clear cut answer. This truly and genuinely excites me. These relatively new questions compose something almost like a Wild West of knowledge, where there is no clear-cut dominant consensus or order, and anything is possible. These questions are hard and challenging, but even more so, there are other questions waiting on the horizon that we have yet to ask either because the technology hasn’t been created or simply someone hasn’t thought to ask the question. I want to be a part of the problem solving. I want to engage with these pressing complex matters in search of the answers that would shape this Wild West like field into a more easily navigable environment. | |
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> | Considering I lack a technical background, I know it will be more of a challenge for me to emerge within this field. I’ve spent this summer trying to learn more about the field and have reached out to attorneys who specialize in it. I’ve messaged a data and privacy attorney from Hogan Lovells asking for advice and what she would suggest I do to learn more. Although I could not grab lunch with her in person, since she is based out of D.C., she gave me great suggestions and guidance. She directed me towards her firm’s blog about data protection, told me there were events/conferences in the city I could attend, and that I could organize my own lunch event as to meet and be exposed to more data/cybersecurity attorneys. | | | | |
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I'm not sure the title and the draft really coincide. The draft
seems to me valuable in getting the issues out, but if it's purpose
is to show the necessity of introspection I think it wanders
somewhat from the plumb line.
Kant, it seems to me, is probably destined to wander off in the next
draft. His presence suggests more the reasons why you might be
happier doing a philosophy PhD than a law degree than anything about
cybersecurity. That's not unimportant by any means: one possible
next draft would tackle the question explicitly. The feeling you
have that there are interesting questions in relation to digital
technology seems right to me: I find good work there for myself,
certainly. But if your response to law school overall is that you
would rather be doing philosophy, a reasonable response is to write
"Why I am not Leaving Law School for Graduate School in Philosophy."
Or, alternatively ....
If, on the other hand, the real topic of the essay is preparing for
a practice in technology-related subjects, the crucial question
seems to me to be, how to gain the knowledge, experience and
connections you would want in order to pursue such a practice
effectively. For those whose undergraduate educations and/or prior
careers were in technical subjects, this is less an issue. For you,
on the other hand, it's pretty central, and it would be good to
understand the state of your thinking. | >
> | On her advice, I have started reaching out to attorneys to learn more about the practice area. Last week I visited White & Case to speak with an associate in their Tech Transitions department. The way she described her work and the issues she gets to engage with really enticed me. Tomorrow, I have a phone conversation scheduled with a White & Case partner based in D.C. who works in data, privacy, and cybersecurity. I’m excited to gain more knowledge, narrow in on a practice area, and find my legal passion. | | | | |
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