Law School Life
The Evolution of a Law School Graduate
Erik J . Provitt December 2016 Graduate of Atlanta ' s John Marshall Law School ejprovitt @ johnmarshall . edu
There are exactly 1,212 days between August 19 , 2013 and December 13 , 2016 . Additionally , there are exactly 70 days between December 14 , 2016 and February 22 , 2017 . Those dates and days are significant because they represent two separate milestones in the life of many of Georgia ’ s law students . The first set of numbers represent the first day of classes at one of Georgia ’ s 6 law schools in 2013 , and the last day finals in 2016 . The second set of numbers represent the first day a student could focus exclusively on the February 2017 Georgia Bar Exam and the last day of the February 2017 Georgia Bar exam . Each grouping creates a different set of emotions and require separate physical and mental preparation . In any regard , that is a total of 3 years , 6 months , and 3 days in the life of a law student in their pursuit to become a lawyer . Depending on whether a law student is full-time or part-time , in a day program or the evening , their exact numbers could vary . On average , a law student spends 3-4 years of their life learning the law and at least two excruciating days trying to prove it .
At some point though , there comes a moment in the life of every law school graduate when they say to themselves , “ I ’ m done !” It is usually a few weeks after the bar exam ; all of their books have been put away or are in that corner of their home they have refused to visit . They will realize they have not had to multitask today and that overwhelming feeling of horror they had just one month earlier has completely subsided ! That is when it hits them , “ I did it , I ’ m done .” James Taylor , a December 2016 graduate of Atlanta ’ s John Marshall Law School and a Credit Strategy Manager at Cox Communications said the best part about being done with law school is “ time .” “ When you ’ re in law school ,” he said , “ time management is paramount and typically time is in short supply . Being done , being able to breathe , and dictate my own activities or inactivity has been the most rewarding aspect of being done .”
From a social standpoint , law school is akin to being in a coma . For 3 years , law students were completely oblivious to their surroundings . Sure , they were breathing and eating and showed most of the visible signs of life . However , like a coma patient , communicating with them likely required a person to come to their “ hospital room .” Even then , the communication was likely unlike any communication previously had on one end of the spectrum , and completely nonresponsive on the other . A lot of the other social norms are simply missing during the dogged pursuit of earning a Juris Doctor . Yet , at some point , like a coma patient , a miracle happens !
The patient wakes up , the law student walks out of the exam room on the second day . Now , it is time to learn how to live again . Law school graduates all over the state will pick up the phone and call a friend they have not spoken to in 4 years . They will read a book without a highlighter nearby for the first time in recent memory ; or listen to a lecture without furiously taking notes . It is a natural , yet foreign feeling . They vaguely remember the person they use to be , but now they understand what an officer can and cannot do during a traffic stop . It is hard to watch a television legal drama without seeing the “ Hollywood twist ” on the law . The use of ‘ shall ’ and ‘ must ,’ or more importantly , the critique of others when they use it inappropriately creates awkward moments .
The process of reclaiming a graduate ’ s pre-law school identity is a task in and of itself . So much is the same yet so much has changed . Yet , almost immediately after the sense of relief that comes with completion , a slightly less comforting feeling follows , “ now what ?” Whether it is because of the DNA makeup of a person willing to endure the process of becoming a lawyer , or the practical realities of student loan payments or looming Bar Exam results , the moment of reflection is brief , and the business of “ getting on with it ” soon commences . ▪
14 March 2017