Things They Do Not Teach You In Law School

In my 6 weeks at work, I have found that there is a whole lot in the legal world that you do not learn in law school. It's an interesting phenomenon how you spend 3 years in law school, learning as much as possible, looking forward to a time when you do not have to learn anymore. But after 3 years of burning the midnight oil, most of the learning has only just begun! While I feel very fortunate to have gone to Baylor Law because I have learned a whole lot about the actual practice of law, there is still so much that I have yet to learn. Last week I learned a very difficult lesson about the law, a lesson that was not tested in any of my law school courses.

While I was advising a client on a legal matter I felt as though I was slapped in the face with a harsh reality. Are you ready for it..... sometimes the law is not fair and the justice system does not always work in your favor. Learning this only moments before I had to explain it to my client was very difficult. This conversation was one of the most difficult that I have had to have. When I started law school, I along with many of my peers, felt like we were on a special mission to make a difference in the world. We sacrificed relationships, family, and any notion of a social life to enter into a career in which we could right all wrongs, speak for those who cannot be heard, and provide a sense of justice in the world. Call me naive, but that is why I went to law school. Now however, I have realized that sometimes, bad things happen to good people.

After explaining to my client that I was here to advocate for him/her to the best of my ability but that that advocacy was not unlimited, I was limited to defending him/her to the boundaries set forth by the law. Of course this was difficult for my client to hear and it was difficult for me to convey. After this very emotionally exhausting conversation, I literally had to close my office door and take a time-out. I took some time to reflect on this issue and was pretty shaken. After all, was I a fool in thinking that I could make a difference, that I could truly help someone in need?

After much time for reflection I have come to a conclusion. Yes, it is true that sometimes the law is not fair and sometimes the justice system does not right a wrong. But that does not mean that I cannot make a difference, nor does that mean that I cannot help others and advocate for their best interests. Any bump in the road like the one I experienced with this client is not a road block, it just means that I need to take a detour, but continue down the path. Even though the law sometimes results in bad things happening to good people, I know that I am making a difference by zealously advocating for my clients. At the end of the day, maybe I cannot right every wrong for every client. Nor am I perfect, I am certain that I will make mistakes along this very interesting journey as a young lawyer. However, with every client, I will make their issues my priority and I will learn from any mistake I make along the way and through this, I hope that my dream of providing a sense of justice, in this sometimes cruel world, will become a reality. Through my 3years of rigorous training, I have been given all the tools necessary to to make a difference, one day at a time. I received a journal from my friend Beth with the perfect quote: "She packed up her potential and all she had learned, grabbed a cute pair of shoes and headed out to change a few things..."