On the first day of ILSP (Introduction to Law School and the Profession), I learned a good number of lessons about law school, and perhaps more importantly, about my eventual future conduct as a lawyer. Always nice when they make these events worth our time (and the speakers’).
For my career as a law student, I learned:
- To read cases over and over and over…
- But not let it take over my life
- To pad my resume with extracurriculars
- Specialize as quickly as is reasonable
- Expand my social networks
- And work with professors
- Yet not lose the chance to participate in preexisting hobbies
- Not to pay other people to write my assignments
- Not to destroy other students’ study materials
- Not to go against professors’ strongly held political views
- And to follow the advice from 1L of a Ride. The book was written by a former UF professor, and most of the advice from the presentations repeated points that he made. Further, the book has additional advice that seems even more valuable after attending Day 1 of ILSP.
For my future career as a lawyer, I learned:
- Not to lie to the bar committee
- Not to yell at opposing counsel
- Not to fight opposing counsel
- Not to tear up evidence
- Not to be a jerk
Basically, remember what you learned not to do in kindergarten.