What is the role of empathy in law school, if there is one at all?

-- By HilaryRosenthal - 10 Mar 2017

Motives and being emotionally open in law school

When I realized that I was the most emotionally-open of my law school classmates, I was in shock. I have never been the person who is most attune with my emotional side, someone who hugs, who cries or volunteers to be the shoulder to be cried upon. In my 20-something years of life on this planet, though, I’ve learned a thing or two about letting go of the logical, rational side of me and opening up a little bit, letting myself feel and actively striving to help others go through emotionally hard times. I find that, either because there is little time offered in law school to show emotions or actually think of “human beings as containing a person,” or because it is seen as weak to be affected by the pressure of cold-calls, specious exams, and not having a moment to breathe, law school has tended to be a place of occasional camaraderie but rarely a sense of community and emotional support. It has made me wonder how much a sense of empathy and emotional intelligence really matters when it is not what I am being graded on and is not lauded in the first year of law school like other characteristics are.

I made my decision to come to law school based on the notion that I want to be an advocate. My original impetus was to learn how to protect natural places and how that might be complemented by preserving the rights of people otherwise disenfranchised, as is too often the case with indigenous populations. I had grown up very introverted, but have slowly come out of my shell with a lot of active practice, job experience, and via the sheer necessity one must have when living abroad. I saw my ability in writing, humor, and being able to relate with others who have thought they are not good enough because they are not extroverts or type-A themselves as strengths that can help me discover that I do in fact have a story to tell and want to share it. Gaining this insight in myself has helped me realize that we all have it, in some form or another, and to silence someone’s story is to halt justice.

I knew law school would be tough. What I didn’t expect was the toil it would take on being a human. The notion that our grades, job prospects, and futures are determined by churning out nearly identical and identity-less exams that do not even necessarily evaluate intelligence, grit, or passion- otherwise important qualities in the legal field as I understand it- does not seem to reflect what I came to law school to do. I am not a star-studded testtaker; what I am interested in is developing my ability to grasp the law in order to advocate for my clients. I do not believe we do this much or even at all in the first year of law school, and could quite easily go through the rest of our time here without doing it. The pipeline-like path of Columbia students who overwhelmingly head to big firm jobs has little tolerance for but urgently needs empathy.

Why empathy in law school matters

In my opinion, empathy is one of the most crucial qualities of a lawyer. At the end of the day, a lawyer is responsible for her client, and ultimately, for justice. To consider your client’s wishes, background, and point of view is to be empathetic. Being able to openly and honestly express one’s thoughts and feelings, and in turn try to understand them from another’s perspective, fosters healthy relationships, a way to deal with stress, and build rapport. If we as law students are too withdrawn and do not make an effort to understand and relate to ourselves or others, there may be a vicious cycle of lacking the ability to do so in society at large. 

My current state for a while now has left me feeling unmotivated, unloved, and like I don't belong, and maybe that is more to do with my own personal background than law school as a whole. However, it is no help that I find law school has drained my creative juices, stifled my sense of self-growth and innovation, and required me to somewhat conform my identity, at least for the time being. It is very different from my previous life.

How to exercise empathy in law school

The times when I have most realized I am meant to be here have been when I was empathetically working directly with other people by seeing how the state of the law can affect them. The few moments that have reaffirmed my enrollment in law school include assisting minors who are seeking asylum in the U.S., sharing deeply personal stories at Wounded Knee after the presidential election, and while participating in a conversation and film screening about restorative justice in tribal courts. These events reminded me, amidst my own stress and self-doubt, that law school is perhaps a place where justice can be sought via connecting with other humans. All of these events occurred outside the typical curriculum and I had to take the time and energy out of other activities, such as my classes, to pursue them.

I would not go so far as to say that we are taught that law should be void of emotion; otherwise, policy would have less backbone. However, the pillars of precedent, and logos, especially in black letter law, often nudge out conversations about emotional and social impacts of a law. I do think empathy has a place in the law, and it needs a more prominent role in law school, even if it is perhaps not as tangible. If the legal system is built to try to address unfairness and injustice, to ensure all have due process, then we need to start with caring about the well-being of ourselves, our fellow students and staff, and our fellow citizens.

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