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5 Important Lessons to Learn in Law School

By George Khoury, Esq. on December 18, 2018 9:56 AM

While most law students think that law school will teach them to be lawyers, that notion is pretty far from the actual truth.

Law schools teach law students how to think like a lawyer, not how to practice. But, fortunately, many of the legal life lessons that law students learn in law school will actually help them when they pass the bar and start practicing.

Here are five of the most important legal life lessons you'll learn from law school.

Civil Justice Is All About Money

When push comes to shove, nearly every civil case, barring some family matters, are about money, not "Justice" with a capital J. Even if a plaintiff is hellbent on justice, at the end of the day, all they're really going to get is money, that is, if they even win. For many law students, just finding out that damages, aka a financial injury, is an actual requirement of many causes of action can be mind-blowing.

Arguments Are Everywhere

Even if all the objective evidence appears to point in one direction, there's always going to be an argument on the other side. If you can't learn to see both sides of a legal problem, you're going to have a much harder time foreseeing your adversaries' arguments.

Contract Breach Isn't Bad, It's Business

This one tends to be a shocker for most 1Ls in their contracts course, but it is very true. If a business stands to make more money (or lose less money) by breaching a contract, it likely will, and probably should (but there are consequences).

Decisions Take Time

Like getting grades back after finals, getting orders back from the court can take time. Sometimes a lot of time. And while you're waiting for a decision, or grades, life moves on.

As a student, you may be able to take time off after finals, but when you're practicing, you won't have that luxury. You will have to work on other cases, or even that same case, while waiting for big decisions to get handed down.

Self-Care Is Critical

Lawyering is a stressful job. Law school might not be as stressful, but it definitely has its moments. Learning to manage the stress and engage in positive self-care is critically important for law students that plan to work as lawyers.

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