Category Archives: Careers, Study and Well-being with Katie Cowan
Careers, Study and Well-being / Careers, Study and Well-being with Katie Cowan / Dear Katie column / Life
Dear Katie column – The virtue of taking a break during your law degree
And so, you feel you should probably just keep going. Just get through it and then see what happens after that. After all, what if you took a break and never came back? What if you fell behind everyone else? What if future lawyers saw a big gap from June 2019 to July 2020 and refused even to let you in their doors? It’s all too much. Better to just keep grinding on as best you can, right? Continue reading
Summer reading from the library of joy
Hello, fellow nerds. It is the time of Christmas and summer, when most of you will, with any luck, have time for some leisure. As nerds, I expect some of your leisure might take the form of reading, and I am here to help. (For the moment I am going to ignore what I know … Continue reading
Dear Katie column – Making friends at law school
I am struggling with the social side of law school. How do I make friends with my law school peers? – Struggling, 19 I’m sorry to hear you are struggling, Struggling. University, for all its social clubs and events, can be an isolating place and social stuff can definitely get hard. Law school in … Continue reading
Careers, Study and Well-being / Careers, Study and Well-being with Katie Cowan / Dear Katie column / Life
Dear Katie column – On macro joy
Around 90% of the guests on the podcast chose to study law because they were good at English. Rare is the guest who studied law because they wanted the skills to do particular justice-related work, or the guest who thought being a lawyer looked like fun. (I say that with the caveat that for many … Continue reading
Dear Katie column – How do I know what area of law to practice in?
“How do I know what area of law to practice in? I am worried that everyone says practicing law is very different from studying law, and that I might end up somewhere I hate. There are subjects I like studying, but how do I know if I should pursue them in practice? Can you offer any advice … Continue reading
Dear Katie column – Adjusting to Junior Work Hours
“Did the time you dedicated to study at law school prepare you well for the hours you had to work as a junior lawyer?” – Jack, 19 In a word, no. In more words, no but it didn’t matter too much. In my first job I was contracted to work 40 hours and would … Continue reading
Dear Katie column – How Important Are Grades? Pt 2
Dear Katie – How important are grades? Part 2 This column is Part 2 of a two part series about grades, prompted by a reader question. You can read Part 1 of the series here. This is a column not so much about how high grades lead to jobs, and whether B or … Continue reading
Dear Katie column – How important are grades?
Dear Katie – How important are grades? “I’m currently studying at VUW and there has recently been a data release that seems to indicate we are graded much more harshly than other law schools. Even before this, I feel there is a real atmosphere that you must have the best grades otherwise there are no … Continue reading
Careers, Study and Well-being / Careers, Study and Well-being with Katie Cowan / Life / Student life
A Theory of M&Ms and Bowls
by Katie Cowan Let’s say everyone starts their day with a hundred M&Ms and several bowls with neatly-printed labels. I know I am jumping in at the deep end here, but just go with it. M&Ms represent units of personal capacity, or mental bandwidth. I say M&Ms rather than “units” or “coins” because M&Ms are … Continue reading