To
the first-year law students of Willamette University College of Law:
First,
congratulations! It’s possible that no one has said that to you, because they
were busy expressing concern over how you’re going to pay for this or whether
you think you can get a job when you graduate. I’ll say it: Good for you for
choosing this noble profession and for believing in yourself and for believing
that you can be an important member of it. You’re right. You can and will.
Second,
you’ve chosen the right law school, and it was right in choosing you.
Willamette is serious about integrity and public service. The faculty and staff
will sharpen your thinking while preparing you in practical ways. In my years
of practice, I am more and more grateful for the education I received there,
and for the relationships I have maintained with faculty, staff, and fellow
lawyers.
Third,
you can do this. It’s hard, but I testify that it is worth it. You can
graduate, pass the bar, get a job, and pay off your student loans. All of us
did it, and so will you. Now, should you do it? Do you belong here? Are you
sure this is what you want? Is the expense worth it? You may be asking yourself
these buyer’s remorse-style questions, and you may be having these doubts. I
was plagued by these questions and had these doubts, too, and a wise professor
answered this way: “There’s no way to know these things right now. You’re here.
Commit to it. Finish the first year, and then reevaluate.”
I
took her advice, and I’m glad I stayed. I’m glad I’m a lawyer. I believe you’ll
be glad, too.
Our
first week of law school, another wise professor gave us a short speech about
her experiences in law school and gave us some advice based on those
experiences. She encouraged us, and it is my honor to be the person who
encourages you now:
1)
Don’t listen to advice. I mean, listen to this advice and the advice of people
who support you, but try to tune out the naysayers. I have never met as many
doom-and-gloom types as I met lurking in and around law school. You will be
told that you won’t get good grades unless you do THIS and that you’ll never
get a job if you don’t take THAT externship and that you’ll never pass the bar
unless you choose THAT bar study course. Take recommendations, but choose the
things that you believe are right for you and ignore those who would try to
discourage you.
Worse,
people may be telling you that you are not smart enough, that you’re too old or
young or that you won’t be able to pay off your student loans. It’s simply not
true. You know yourself better than those people, and something in you believed
you could succeed at this. Listen to that voice always. It knows. You know.
Plus,
for every alleged “wrong” thing about you, there is someone who has more of that
or less of that, and they prevailed. The bar is populated with the unlikeliest
of candidates who succeeded anyway. One of them is talking to you right now.
The things that are different about you are the very things that will make you
a gifted lawyer. You will understand your clients’ legal problems because you
will understand your clients, and this understanding comes from the things that
are unique about you.
2) Speaking
of advice, you must know yourself and how you learn. Reflect on that and reject
advice that would have you do the contrary. For example, I learn by reading on
my own, writing my own outlines, really working with the material, and
reflecting on it. For this reason, study groups and video lectures were not
helpful for me. Perhaps you learn by talking about the material with your
classmates, or maybe you learn by quizzing yourself with interactive study
aids. Don’t waste your precious study time by following someone else’s style.
3)
You’re a market now, but try not to feel pressured to buy everything. Some
study aids are very helpful. (I found the Examples and Explanations series
invaluable for some areas of law.) Many study aids will be useless to you. It’s
hard to know which is which unless you experiment a little, but try not to
throw too much money at a difficult subject, and try not to waste too much time
and effort on unhelpful study aids, exam preparation courses, and the like. And…
4)
Here’s why: There’s no substitute for hard work. Write your own outlines, don’t
“book brief” (highlight the holding and such in your textbooks), maybe don’t team
up so much in study groups at the expense of solo study. You cannot learn the
law unless you work with it, read about it, talk about it, ask questions about
it, question it, sift through the fine distinctions, read and write sample exam
answers, etc. Do not be outworked. Your willingness to work hard is the key to
success in law school. The importance of hard work cannot be overstated. Work
hard.
Side
note: You’ve noticed that some of your classmates participate in class
constantly and seem to know more than you and rush the podium after every
class. There’s nothing wrong with that, but they are not the ones who make the
best grades necessarily.
Who
makes the best grades? Those who work hard. So work hard.
5)
Ask for help. 2Ls and 3Ls are thrilled to answer questions and give you their
outlines and other study aids. Overcome your shyness and go to your professors’
office hours and introduce yourself to local lawyers. You’re one of us now. In
addition to your professors, the administrative staff and library staff were
nothing short of miraculous for me. I could not have done it without them. Get to
know them early, and let them support you. Often overlooked: Ask any graduate.
We will help you. Soon, you’ll be the one the 1Ls are asking for help, and you’ll
wonder why it was ever so awkward for you to ask.
6) Only
focus as much on the Rule Against Perpetuities as your Property professor
advises. It’s not on the bar exam in any significant way. Plus, it has been
resolved by statute in every jurisdiction. It simply never comes up out here. There
are a precious few things in law school about which you can legitimately throw
up your hands and decide to let them go. This is one of those things, so why
not savor it?
Seriously,
there are some things you’ll get and some things you won’t. Some classes will
seem easier than others. That is normal, and it doesn’t mean that you’re not
cut out for this. Don’t let your struggles define you. We’ve all got our blind
spots. Accept it, work on it, and keep going. Keep going. Keep going.
Be
encouraged, and try to cast your doubts aside for now. Justice William Joseph Bauer
of the United States Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit, gave us this
insight during Willamette’s Intensive Trial Practice, and I’ve never forgotten
it: The United States is unique, because after it was borne of a revolution, the
governance of this new nation wasn’t given to the prevailing military powers as
it always is. The victors gave the governance to the people, and that is
safeguarded by the lawyers, the guardians of the Constitution. And that is who
you are; that is the profession you have chosen.
Your
colleague,
Robin
Littlefield
Attorney
at Law
Class
of 2008
