In today's episode I spoke with Western Michigan University Cooley Law School student Julie Lawler-Hoyle. Julie is a student, originally from the East Coast but who has lived in many places over the course of her life. Julie just completed her first year of law school and she shared some valuable tips with all of our listener about how they can be successful during their first year in law school.
As a non-traditional student, Julie came to law school after many years in the retail field. As she came into law school she quickly realized that you have to find your passion, especially if you did not have it coming in! She mentioned that passion will truly sustain you through the first year and beyond.
As she was going through the process of finding a law school for herself, she was looking for a law school that trained her to practice the law, and that was offered a diverse student body and Western Michigan University Cooley Law School provided this to her.
As an older student, she found that being secure with her age was important, as she had many experiences that others did not, and this helped her in many ways as she was examining cases and delving deeper into the substantive issues in her courses.
In her first year, she found that it was super critical to focus on time management. As someone who was married and the care-giver to her disabled spouse, as well as who was working outside of law school, she had to balance everything and be creative in how she was able to find study time.
Julie commented that "When you attend law school with a significant other in tow it is a commitment on both your parts. You will sacrifice sleep, but you do not have to negotiate the things most important in your life." With your significant other you have to have "several heart-to-heart talks about how it is going to impact your family, but it does not have to have a negative impact."
Julie also spoke with me about how open and accepting law school has been for her and for other students that are a part of the LGBTQA community. She stated that she has never felt that she has had to hide this and especially recently with all of the court cases on the federal level regarding Same Sex Marriage, it has allowed her to speak up and share her own experiences in regards to the law and its' impact on people.
Some of the things that really surprised her during the first year included:
- How long it took takes to read for some classes
- How much time you need to accomplish everything for your classes (reading and beyond)
Julie also thought back to the LSAT and shared that she had wished that she had spent longer practicing and understanding the logic games. By concentrating on the logic games she found that this could improve her spotting ability in her current coursework.
In the end, Julie mentioned that you have to "be realistic with your skills and abilities" and in the end you will find success!
Did you like this interview? 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