Dale Richardson said that he was an inquisitive child that asked a lot of questions when he was young. He was continually told by people that he should be a lawyer. He decided to study engineering in his undergraduate degree because a lawyer told him that you can study whatever he wanted to go to law school and Dale Richardson knew that the courses that he liked most were those in science and mathematics.
He did decide to go to law school after a bit of a journey of discovery. As a part of getting into his professional career he wrote a book entitled 33 Keys To Law School Success: How To Excel In And After Law School
Some of the keys to law school success that Dale Richardson shared in his book included making sure to spend the time well researching the schools that you are thinking of applying to. Consider the environment that you will be in, the quality of life that you want, as well as the teaching that you will get from the schools and even the rankings of the schools (though you should really know how schools are getting on the ranking lists and understand the rubric of the source).
Dale Richardson also said that you need to make sure that you remember why you are in law school. What is your goal? You can never lose sight of this. If you keep focused on your goals you will not get lost in all of the other things in law schools that will come up.
In the end you want to do the best that you can in law school so you can be the best lawyer that you can be afterwards. While you are in law school there are opportunities to work on some transferrable skills that will assist you in your career. One of the things that you have to learn in law school is that there is no substitution for doing the work. This is important for being successful in your studies, but also int he work that you will do for your clients.
Secondly, you need to surround yourself with people that do not think like you in law school. Find people that you do not agree with, as you will have to be able to advocate for your own thought and beliefs as you represent your clients later.
Finally, Dale Richardson says you have to get involved in both your school and in the community. Through involvement in these, you will learn leadership skills as well as time management skills that will serve you throughout your career. You see, going into the law is a serving profession, so the more that you can practice serving others the better off you will be when it comes to being a great lawyer in the end.
Dale Richardson's book goes into many of the other 33 Keys To Law School Success so you can continue learning from him by purchasing a copy today!
Going to law school allows you to think about things in a specific way and allows you to process information in a specific order and allows you to break down things in that specific way.
Another skill that you will working on is your ability to advocate for others. In law school and your career you will have to advocate for others, so learning this early is critical.
Dale Richardson says that he recommends that all of you find a podcast to listen to to help you to learn and grow. While you are listening this this, there are so many others that are available that will assist you in this. Even his LivetheGoals podcast is another great example of a podcast set to help you learn and grow.
Dale Richardson also said that you should make sure to get to know your faculty and the other students around you. As he stated, there is a saying that reads "There is never a lack of resources, only a lack of resourcefulness." What this means for him is that there is always a group of people that he sees as resources that he can draw from and you can too.
Did you like this interview? Do you have a question for Dale Richardson? 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