Personal Introduction

-- By NicholasWillingham - 29 Jan 2015

I came to law school to become a lawyer, but another two years of reading appellate decisions will not substantively help me achieve that goal.

If that were all you did, perhaps not. But do you think that you have read enough literature of the law now, and that if the rules permitted you to work you would not need to read any more appellate opinions in order to do so? I read pretty hard in law school, but I hadn't read a fraction of the opinions I needed to read by the time I left, after five years. What has enabled you to short-circuit that process so efficiently?

In the remaining years of law school, my goal is to introduce myself to the practice of law through practical experiences.

What is the value of the adjective "practical" in modification of "experience"? You are not, I am pretty sure, talking about avoiding impractical experience.

The minute I am sworn in by the bar, I will have a license to practice law. But what good is the license without any substantive exposure to the practice of law? I hope to gain real world experiences that will allow me to start substantively practicing law as soon as I am licensed.

Where's the fire? What is the difference between practicing law sooner and practicin it later that is so important? I'm pretty sure that you won't be practicing law as well on the afternoon the court swears you in as you will be one decade later. I doubt that your learning will be complete at that moment, which is good news for both you and your clients. So what is the emphasis on speed about? You can be practicing law before you are admitted, under the rules. If speed is so important, why is your aspiration not to practice at the earliest possible moment, regardless of the state of your skills?

I am interested in becoming a trial attorney. I believe that a bigger component of my development will revolve around being comfortable in a courtroom. While I do not believe that I have read enough case law, or know better than anyone else, I do believe that an effective use of my time can be gained by real world exposure. I also understand that my growth and learning will continue after the law school. But I think law school is the time to explore, with an open mind, the types of opportunities that are available in practice. I guess the emphasis on speed really is not about practicing law quickly, but the emphasis is about my exposure to the courtroom. I believe that my exposure to interactions between lawyers and between lawyers and judges will be helpful for my growth.