Change is always in the air in the legal profession. How do you position your career to be ready next shift? Our writers look at what’s on the horizon in technology, networking, and the bar exam. Plus, we offer advice you should absolutely not listen to. It’s all in the March-April-May 2021 issue of Student Lawyer magazine.
The legal future is more techy: 8 tips on how law students can adapt
Whether you’re a “tech person” or not, technology is changing the legal field, and you need to embrace technology if you’re going to thrive in your career. But what, exactly, must you know? Here are eight tech tips any law student needs to know to avoid becoming a luddite attorney.
Change is afoot in the legal field: Here’s how you can be ready
We’ve got some challenging news for you: What you’re learning today may be out of date in no time at all. You see, the legal world, like the rest of the world, is on a hyper pace of change. Have no fear. Your soon-to-be colleagues are here to help by predicting the biggest shifts they foresee in the profession and offering suggestions on how you can be ready.
Go forth without this legal career advice
Your future is vast and largely uncharted, and you’ll make many decisions over the next decades as you seek happiness and contentment in your career. You’ll hear gobs of advice as you weave through that process. The key to your success lies in how well you sift through all that advice and figure out which is worth absorbing into your core. People who’ve been where you are now reveal the worst guidance they got when they were newbie lawyers.
Why I’m glad I engaged with the ABA
When we suggest you get involved at the ABA, you don’t have to take just our word for it. There are thousands of lawyers nationwide who’ve joined the ABA and then seen their involvement expand in ways they never anticipated. Not sure why you should dive into ABA activity? These legal professionals explain how their careers have flourished because they jumped in.
Bar Passage
How the bar exam could change
There’s been much discussion and chatter about propelling the bar exam into the 2020s, but there’s not yet been a clear peek into how that will look. Significant change is almost certain. What changes are possible? Let’s take a closer look and ask some questions.
Careers
Law careers in the wake of COVID
Nobody can predict the future, something COVID has so painfully taught us. Anyone who feels certain they know what’s going to happen next is either prescient or prophetic. So what can you do next to avoid doing nothing? Thinking broadly now can help you make smarter choices about future opportunities.
Your Money
Is change on the horizon for student loans?
Your loan debt probably already feels crushing. Discussions are underway to ease your burden, but their success is uncertain. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging today and a new Democratic-controlled Congress and president, here are possibilities that may ease the burden of student debt.
Head of the Class
George Washington 1L giving back by pairing parents and students
During the pandemic, George Washington University 1L Ethan Shuchart led parents to childcare and students to a paycheck through his service, Students for Students, which connected people in undergraduate and graduate programs with parents looking for childcare options while they worked remotely.
I Wish I’d Known
Roberta A. Kaplan
Roberta A. “Robbie” Kaplan, founding partner of Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP in New York City, writes about the importance of finding your voice in law school.