Description
Why is it a Mistake to Assume that Because You Went to a Good Law School, That Must Mean You're a Good Attorney
[00:00:00] Why is it up to law firms to teach lawyers graduates to become lawyers and not law schools?
The reason is, there are just a lot of practical experience that goes into being a lawyer. There's a foundational element of law school where you learn about things like contracts and property law and different things that lawyers need to understand. There's also the idea of learning about subject matters and spending some time studying things and learning about the law, before you do it. But yeah, law firms teach lawyers how to become lawyers.
It's much different when you're working for clients and depending on the type of client you're working for, there are always going to be different demands. One of the things that's important to understand is, large law firms typically spend a lot of time and look at things in a lot of depth and smaller law firms which are more consumer facing. I don't have the time to look at things in as much depth because the clients are paying as much money. So, different law firms in different legal environments demand different types of legal skills. And so, a law firm will train you according to the type of legal skills you need. And, if you go to a small local law school, you may [00:01:00] be more likely to work for small local clients. They would have to train you a certain way. Whereas, if you go to a major law school, you may be likely to do either. No one knows. Each legal environment and the clients, have different expectations. The only thing a law school can do is teach you generally about the law and then expect you to take that general experience and develop habits.
Unfortunately, the way the legal industry works, is, pick up very good in different skills, depending on the type of law firm and lawyers you work with.
You can be blessed and work with a very good attorney out of law school and a very good firm. Or, a good attorney who trains you well and get lots of very good experience, to become a good attorney.
Law school is not really going to teach you how to be a good attorney. That's the mistake a lot of attorneys make. They assume that because they went to a good law school, that must mean they're good attorneys.
Unfortunately, the law school you went to has nothing to do with a quality of attorney that you end up becoming. It's actually pretty funny. People may go to Yale Law School or something, and be given [00:02:00] a legal problem and just go off on a tangent that has nothing to do with giving an answer or being direct.
These may be some of the smartest people there are who have gone to the best law schools. Conversely, some people can give answers and come up with solutions very quickly. But, the job of someone in a law firm is, law firms will teach you to be direct with information, and do so in a way that which gives a client the advice they want in a cost-effective manner, based on the kind of resources the client has to pay. There's just a lot that goes into what a law school teaches you to do, compared to what a law firm does.
Law firms are just awesome resources to learn.
