Law Schools

Zero L: What To Do The Summer Before Law School

Advice is free. Sometimes, it’s worth exactly that.

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It’s that time once again when someone on social media asks for advice. The question: I start law school in the fall. What should I be doing right now?

The answers vary. Relax. Rest. Get a Ph.D. in Mathematics. Read Black’s law dictionary. Try to get the syllabus for your classes and start reading ahead.  

I have certainly given my own advice here. I would probably change it a bit, because it is unlikely that any emotional or mental obstacles that need correcting should be targeted at the last minute before starting law school.  That journey takes longer.

This column isn’t about rehashing all that advice. This column is about helping discern which advice is valuable and which isn’t. To do that, you should think through some things about the advice itself, and the giver of the advice.

  1. Consider the source. From where does the advice come? Does it come from someone who went to law school in the 1890s? Does it come from someone who wishes law school would be taught like it was the 1890s?
  2. Consider the intent. Does the person giving the advice want me to win?  Does it come from the heart? Does it come from the regrets of the person giving it? Is it meant to assert the person’s superiority over you due to their massive insecurity? Sometimes people give advice to demonstrate something about their own success. You should do X because I did X. You should take this path because I took that path. It is the perspective of someone who climbed a mountain, and does not recognize any other way up that mountain than the path already taken. To do so would call in to question the path’s efficiency, scenery, and ultimately the climber’s intelligence. Of course, that’s NOT true, but sometimes the intent of the person causes them to overinvest in the advice they are giving.
  3. Don’t forget your own instinct. In the face of conflicting advice, remember that people who have been on this journey got there via different paths. There are numerous paths to success. Also, numerous measures of success. Money. Happiness. Fame. To the extent that you have your eye on a prize, remember that it isn’t necessarily the prize the advice giver was seeking. And to insist that someone follow a path you followed or wish you had followed isn’t the best advice. So, even if someone wants you to win, maybe they only see one path to that, whereas there are many.
  4. Advice givers see the benefit to their advice, but not the costs. To tell someone entering law school they should spend their last summer of freedom reading Black’s law dictionary or something often does not take into the calculus the need for rest to avoid burnout, and the marathon to come. To the extent that the advice is about massive prepping the summer before school, I think it probably ill-advised. It’s like suggesting someone do two hours of sprints before running a marathon (rather than warming up).
  5. Consider the tone. The fun part of all of this is that when people give advice, you can often tell why they are giving it just from tone. Sometimes advice givers submit advice as if they are dictating to you. This is especially true if the advice is unsolicited. The best response is to thank them and move on. If they get frustrated and pissed if you do not take the advice, then it wasn’t meant as advice. It was meant to be controlling and bullying.

I’m not saying to ignore all advice given to you. I’m suggesting that weighing the advice is important. I’m also suggesting that we think about this when we give others advice.

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LawProfBlawg is an anonymous professor at a top 100 law school. You can see more of his musings here. He is way funnier on social media, he claims. Please follow him on Twitter (@lawprofblawg). Email him at [email protected].

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