Thoughts on Law School After Three Weeks

I’d figure that instead of sharing my opinion on world events or news stories, my next conversation in this newsletter would revolve around something more intimate and personal. Three weeks ago, I began a juris doctorate candidacy at Touro College on Long Island, not too far from where I live. I am taking courses in Legal Process, Contracts, Torts, and a course to prepare for the Multi-state Professional Responsibility Exam. Next semester I will be working on my first pro-bono project, and soon I will be working in clinics and attending externships. The task seems daunting, and it is. The classes move quickly, and the work is starting to pile up, so you may not hear from me on this newsletter for a while. It may seem absurd that it takes seven to eight years of college education to enter a critical public service, but that is how our country’s educational system works. And so it becomes my duty to ensure that the money I pay in tuition eventually comes back to me via a good-paying job at a top-notch law firm, or perhaps a career in politics. In order for this to happen, I must get good grades at law school.?

I can’t give too many details about my studies, but here’s one fun fact I learned so far. Did you know that prior to the US Supreme Court’s 1977 ruling in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, legal advertising was impermissible in just about every state in the union? Indeed, the American Bar Association firmly rejected this practice until the previous year, when it advised that limited advertisements in telephone books were ethical. But the high court ruled that legal advertising is commercial speech protected by the First Amendment. So those cheesy TV commercials and highway billboards you see ad nauseam, those that allow you to “request a free consultation today!” never existed during your grandparents’ generation.?

All of my professors have been of great help, and my student colleagues have been engaging and friendly. But being a good lawyer requires individual skills, namely attention to detail, sharp intellect, and good management. It now falls upon me to meet the challenge and apply the skills I have learned in a professional classroom setting both on and off campus. Doing so is essential, as our nation needs accomplished legal professionals in the civil, criminal, and constitutional fields to help our fellow citizens exercise their constitutional right to seek redress through our court system.?

I am hopeful that the next three to four years at Touro will enable me to pass the bar exam and catapult towards opportunities to serve my community and my country. The next few years, especially this one, may seem mundane and tough, but with God’s help, hard work, and a sense of duty, my time as a juris doctorate will be a downpayment for greater things to come.