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DavidGoldinFirstPaper 10 - 05 Jun 2010 - Main.DavidGoldin
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| | | Being Afraid | |
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< | One of the anecdotes Eben gave us in class is a good illustration of this. He mentioned a young, out-of-work lawyer who was desparately looking for a job. She hadn't had much success, and was getting quite worried. Eben suggested that she start taking on clients and developing a practice. Whenever the topic, of going it alone, was mentioned in class, we would talk about why we couldn't do it. We don't have the training. Taking on their own clients is scary - we could mess up. What happened if we don't get enough clients and can't successfully cover our expenses? This illustrates a larger issue with the profession: many of us are downright terrified of taking risks. | >
> | One of the anecdotes Eben gave us in class is a good illustration of this. He mentioned a young, out-of-work lawyer who was desperately looking for a job. She hadn't had much success, and was getting quite worried. Eben suggested that she start taking on clients and developing a practice. Whenever the topic, of going it alone, was mentioned in class, we would talk about why we couldn't do it. We don't have the training. Taking on their own clients is scary - we could mess up. What happened if we don't get enough clients and can't successfully cover our expenses? This illustrates a larger issue with the profession: many of us are downright terrified of taking risks. | | | Lawyers have a reputation for being risk-averse, but why are so many lawyers like this? One reason is that we are trained to be this way. We hear stories where a seemingly minor mistake by a lawyer causes significant problems. We learn about estoppel in our Legal Methods class during the first week of school, and that often, once we say something as lawyers, we can't take it back. We are told to be careful, and that if we mess up, it can destroy our lives. These are likely significant factors in our collective fear of risk. | | | 2) Another area you might want to consider is our conversation about clinics and any other currently existing opportunities to learn real lawyering skills in law school. Is it possible for someone who is really focused on getting practical experience to do so at CLS as it currently exists? I'm not sure, but you might want to explore that question a little more.
Nos vemos luego. Que te vaya bien durante del verano. | |
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> | Nate - Your first point is a completely valid one. My assertion, however, is that law school need to account for this. Many people who go to law school are risk averse. So the schools are working with a difficult population. But by focusing on the negative elements of risk taking, schools are creating even more risk averse people, which will inhibit their effectiveness as lawyers.
The clinics issue is an interesting one. I didn't apply for any for this upcoming semester. Hopefully I will be in one at some point in my law school career, and will be able to explore this issue a bit more. But as of right now, I don't think I have enough knowledge to discuss the issue in depth.
Thanks again for the thought you've put into these comments, and best wishes for an interesting and exciting summer.
Cuidate. | | | \ No newline at end of file |
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