This week in the Law School Insider I interviewed current student at Cooley Law School and Emergency Room doctor, Ryan McKennon. Ryan McKennon shares his experiences in attending law school and in balancing work, law school and family.
Ryan McKennon is in his last year in law school. He has attended law school, while at the same time continuing to work as a emergency room doctor and being a father of two.
You might wonder, why would a doctor that was making a good living already choose to attend law school? Ryan McKennon mentioned that he wanted to take his career and move it into more of an administrative role and he was a law degree as the path that could offer him this.
Ryan McKennon had gotten to a point in his career when he was frustrated at times with the processes that were in place. He found that he could make change within his department but going outside of his department or to the larger system as a whole he found that he needed to have a lot of good administrators to get change enacted.
The more that he looked into the law, the more that he found that medical school prepared him well for law school. Because you have to be a professional test taker in medical school law whereas law school requires much more synthesis and analysis. Also, he found that being older and going to law school was an advantage.
The benefit of going to law school after having a graduate degree was that:
- you already know how to study
- you know how to take in a lot of material
The areas that you have to work on though that is different is in areas of:
- briefing
- analysis
You don't have to spend as much time learning how to memorize and learning how to study when you are a law student. There is less memorization at the back end of the class (taking material from the lecture to memorize) and instead, having to memorize prior to class.
As a parent and full time employee, Ryan McKennon said that if he was honest, the only way he has been able to balance the law school journey is because of his wife and all that she has taken on too.
Knowing himself, Ryan McKennon said that he found success by keeping busy and having a set schedule during law school. He also mentioned that he greatly appreciated appreciated the flexibility of the law school schedule that was offered to him at Cooley Law School. This was especially true for him as a full time employee and father. He mentioned that law school would not have been possible for him without this flexibility.
Thinking back on the journey that he went on he stated that for him, he found success because he put the work in and he found that all students that did this found similar success. "There's no replacement to hard work."
At the end of the interview Ryan McKennon shared a story. He told me that prior to law school he was told by a mentor who went through law school. "I don't know how people function in society without a law degree" and now that Ryan McKennon has gone through law school he too cannot understand how anyone can function in society without having a law degree. So, the degree that you will be achieving is one that will assist you in all aspects of your life. Ryan McKennon shared one piece of final advice for you as you move in and through your own law school experience. He said "make sure to take advantage of the resources that are around you. Reach out to professors and ask them questions!" This is quality advice from a very successful student!
Did you like this interview? Do you have a question for Ryan McKennon? Leave a comment below to let me know!
Are you a practicing lawyer? A law student? Would you like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of the Law School Insider? Send me an email at lawschoolinsider@cooley.edu