“Law is a three step ladder: learning the law is the first step, knowing the Law is a progress, while practicing the Law is an act of philanthropism, as the Law is an instrument of Social Engineering.”
Njoku Fortunatus
Studying the law is ultimately the first step towards being a successful lawyer. Your first step on the ladder is undoubtedly a challenging experience as you will have to learn how to strengthen your understanding, and you will have to sharpen your mind at all times.
It improves your skills when it comes to reading, thinking, and understanding. In fact, studying law not only prepares and enables legal students to practice law as a profession, but it is also the preliminary phase of opening your mind from an ordinary reader to someone who understands between the lines, reads things differently, analyzes more efficiently to come up with a logical conclusion. Giving you the opportunity to learn how to gain your perspective on certain matters.
This is why Law seems to be tough. This major is complex and multi-faceted; law students need to understand that it is so much more than cramming cases and statutes.
Studying the law never stops. It is a continuous process of pursuing a passion for a niche section of knowledge. The first few years of it are called academic studying, and the rest can be described as enjoying the pleasure of knowing.
Developing your critical thinking skills
Essentially, when you are given a set of cases to read and learn, the goal is not for you to be able to cite the entire thing by heart. Your main aim should be to practice highlighting where the problem was and how the judge has decided to resolve this. The development of your ability to identify a problem is essential. As a lawyer, your critical thinking skills are relied upon, and you must have a logical approach to find adequate solutions for your clients.
How to build your competence:
When a business person decides to select a lawyer to represent him for his affairs, he trusts you to make reliable and trustworthy decisions. As a law student, you need to learn how to build this trust to be a competent lawyer in the future.
How can a law student build up this competence?
Your competence as a law student does not solely rely on what you are learning while you attend lectures but instead relies on how you are learning to apply. In order to do so, you must be involved. Try to be as active as you possibly can. Meet new law students, join a law society, join MOOTing activities, etc. By building up your network and developing your critical thinking skills, you will have established a good name for yourself.
Some tips on how to be a better law student:
– Network and build relations with your studying colleagues.
Most of them will be your professional colleagues after pursuing a legal career!
– Network with lawyers all across the globe, there is always so much to learn from others. Listen to their experiences, as you do so, you grow.
– Choose a Mentor to be on your side for regular help
– Listen to several podcasts.
– Attend Webinars.
– Read a lot!
Building your name, learning how to build a network of clients before you graduate, and, most importantly, knowing how to communicate professionally, are all transferrable skills that law firms and clients look for.
By
Jhasmin Ebrahimnia
Senior Law Student at the Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi / University of Paris
