To make it easier for future lawyers both in their studies and in the future building of their careers, they should follow a few simple tips.
1. Get used to the feeling that you do not understand anything
As you write down your speculations about estoppel, recourse, or predial easement, you will feel a little lost at times. This is normal jurisprudence and should not be easy to understand, and you can be sure that you will not be alone in this sensation. After all, first-year lectures are where your education begins, not where it ends. Don’t doubt yourself. Ask your colleagues, do not panic, approach your studies systematically, and not swoop down, and everything will work out.
2. Get carried away!
Consider studying as a full-fledged occupation, and not as a burden on your other affairs. Even if you are not sure about the direction of your future career, it will still be easier for you if you do not start “serving time” at the university, but try to have fun. You will learn the art of jurisprudence, sorting out cases and solving the questions posed by them, rethinking the meanings of words, and wondering how a reasonable person would act in this case.
And besides, you will begin to understand what the law is, what its potential and its disadvantages are. Try to think broadly, do not limit yourself in order to quickly get rid of the current task, strive to reject stereotypes – they bind the thought and can easily deceive. Learn actively – speak up, ask, criticize, take intellectual risks. Try to find a suitable volunteer job, company, or community where you can systematically discuss interesting issues. Gradually, you will see the law in a different light.
3. Don’t limit yourself to a textbook
Try to read more outside of the prescribed range. It may seem that you can do without it, but believe me – the effort will pay off, as well as the time spent on discussions since your brain will become a much more powerful tool, which will subsequently make your life easier. And when doing written work, avoid retelling lectures. Teachers, as a rule, do not like this. Be decisive and unambiguous, to the best of reason, analyze the issue and evaluate the arguments. And try not to get confused with links to the source – mistakes in this area can greatly annoy the teacher. If you want your work to stand out from the crowd, try to choose a non-exotic way to achieve it.
4. You don’t have to become a lawyer
Typically, a law school prepares students for legal careers. There will be a lot of talks around about career, practice, professional part-time work, etc. If you want to become a lawyer, participate. The people you meet, and the experience of live practice will somehow be with you all your life.
At the same time, remember that a person with a law degree is not obliged to become one. Up to 50% of graduates find themselves in another occupation, sometimes not at all related to jurisprudence, and this is not a reason to feel worse than others. So try to get good grades anyway, figure out what you do especially well, and then, if you go down a different path, respect your choice.
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5. Studies are more important than emoticons
It would be nice if the teacher, seeing you at the seminar, did not ask a question like “where did I see you before?” If you are carrying textbooks under your arm, you are saying that you are just going to open them. So remember – preparation is everything. You will be taught the art of formulating well-reasoned opinions, but if you want to make life better around you someday, don’t miss out on opportunities to practice. And one more thing – if your teachers don’t start responding to emoticons in your emails, don’t take it personally.
6. Vision and analysis
Since legal processes tend to take time and decisions will not always be made by you, you must have the ability to anticipate the direction in which the issues under your responsibility will lean and determine the steps that can help you achieve the results you expect.
In other words, as a lawyer you need analytical thinking that gives you the opportunity to take steps forward and prepare the best tools to get ahead.
Imagine that each case is very similar to a chess game where each participant has their own time and space to make decisions, one by one, move by move. The theory will give you the necessary bases, such as the methodology to base your actions, and experience will help you develop the best strategy, however, having the ability to anticipate will give you the advantage over others.
7. Oral expression skills
If you enjoy speaking in public and know how to express yourself with formality and closeness, surely you already have this ability that plays a very important role in law graduates.
And it is that as a lawyer you must have the power to persuade those around you and to communicate your arguments with clarity and objectivity for which, also, you will need a wide lexicon that includes all the legal terms that your profession will teach you.
For those who do not feel so comfortable with this area of the degree, there is no problem, because in the study plan you will find subjects such as public speaking that will help you with special techniques to function correctly with words orally.
8. Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the recognition and control of our emotions and, in turn, that of other people. Being aware that this type of competition exists will facilitate processes such as negotiation and conflict resolution.
Identifying your own emotions is the most complicated part since analyzing yourself requires objectivity and human beings tend to justify their own actions. For this, you should try to form a very firm criterion that helps you not only understand what you feel but also control it so that it does not influence your decisions and your way of acting within a legal process.
On the other hand, connecting with people’s emotions turns out to be a simpler and more common exercise since as humans we tend to analyze and read the movements of others.
9. Ease of arguing
Sure after reading all the previous points, you will know that one of the main characteristics that every law student must possess is the ease of arguing.
This ability is directly related to critical and logical thinking. People with a great capacity for observation who perceive the small details that surround situations, manage to link apparently foreign events, and are able to use all the knowledge they learn in favor of generating conclusions, generate arguments of great value, capable of convincing others or to test their hypotheses.
All of these are skills that will enhance your professional practice as a lawyer. Sure, some of them you already have and others you will have to develop, but rest assured that patience and dedication will help you to have great results if you decide on a law degree.
