What are some habits I can develop in law school that will help me in my career? – Ryan, 19 Man I love this question. It took me until I was about 29 to learn that a good life was more likely built on the shoulders of habits than goals, and here you are with … Continue reading
Most hard things are off-putting to most people. We experience things as difficult because parts of our brains and bodies say, “No, no, not this; try anything else”. Feelings like unease and anxiety come up, and often self-criticism. But complex things take time and repeated engagement to learn. Continue reading
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
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
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
“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
“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 – 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
“How can I stay positive and optimistic about a career in the law, in the face of all the bad news stories that are popping up at the moment? There have now been a number of articles written by women who used to work in senior positions within the law, but who have jumped ship. … Continue reading