It could be argued that law school does not prepare one fully for the realities of being a lawyer. I've learned almost everything about being an Asheville Personal Injury Lawyer since I graduated from law school, from other lawyers, Books, DVD's, educational seminars, and lectures. Law school did however teach me some crucial skills that have served me well in my legal practice.
Law school taught me how to "think like an attorney". You hear this a lot, but what does it mean? For me, I learned to view legal issues from both sides of the argument. As an example, a potential client called this morning and asked about a common problem for an Asheville personal injury attorney: He was injured in a car crash on October 1, 2014. He has not been to a doctor since that time and called me today, October 27. That's 26 days after the car crash. Predictably, the insurance company for the at fault driver is refusing to pay for any medical treatment because they are saying it has been too long since the crash. Prior to law school I may have viewed this situation as totally unfair and taken the man's case and argued that the crash caused the injury. Law school helped me view the argument from the other side. I explained to the potential client that without seeing a doctor for 26 days that it will be hard to prove the injuries are a result of the crash. They could have been caused sometime after the crash. Without doctor's notes, it would be hard to prove that he was experiencing an injury during those 26 days. To me, "thinking like an attorney" means seeing more than just your own argument, and making decisions based on a careful review of all possible arguments.
What else did law school teach me? It taught me how to assimilate, learn and memorize boring minutiae. When I was required to take courses like Tax Law and Corporate Law, I was faced with a large amount of information I was not necessarily interested in or passionate about, but had to work through and process in order to get a good grade. Did I learn anything particularly helpful in Tax Law? No, but I did learn how to be patient and methodical with information that bored me half to death. This skill serves me well in my practice, when I have to pore over similarly boring material related to insurance subrogation, related to Medicaid, Medicare, state and federal laws. Boring, yes. But essential for my practice to be successful.
I learned the importance of preparation. In law school, often your entire grade will be determined during a 2-3 hour exam, most of which will be essays. The amount of preparation needed to get an A on this type of exam is incredible. I learned to synthesize 6 months worth of class notes from lectures into a 5-page outline that was designed for memorization, to help me answer questions on any topic for that course. There was so much information on the exam that I memorized mnemonics to help me remember everything that was in the course. I memorized elements of laws, the purpose of laws, and case law. No, I don't remember hardly any of it anymore. No, I don't look back at my law school notes, ever. But I learned how to prepare for a trial because I learned how to prepare, which is essential for an Asheville personal injury attorney.
Unless you're on track to become a professor, law school doesn't teach a whole lot of practical substance. What it does it teach skills, which are very useful as an Asheville personal injury attorney. If you're thinking about law school, or are currently in law school and trying to figure out what the heck you're doing, try to see the big picture. 140k and three years is a big pill to swallow, but once you see the essential skills you're getting out of it, you may better understand why it's all necessary and worthwhile.
Lakota Denton practices Personal Injury law with Minick Law firm in Asheville, NC. They can be found on the web at http://www.minicklaw.com
Law school taught me how to "think like an attorney". You hear this a lot, but what does it mean? For me, I learned to view legal issues from both sides of the argument. As an example, a potential client called this morning and asked about a common problem for an Asheville personal injury attorney: He was injured in a car crash on October 1, 2014. He has not been to a doctor since that time and called me today, October 27. That's 26 days after the car crash. Predictably, the insurance company for the at fault driver is refusing to pay for any medical treatment because they are saying it has been too long since the crash. Prior to law school I may have viewed this situation as totally unfair and taken the man's case and argued that the crash caused the injury. Law school helped me view the argument from the other side. I explained to the potential client that without seeing a doctor for 26 days that it will be hard to prove the injuries are a result of the crash. They could have been caused sometime after the crash. Without doctor's notes, it would be hard to prove that he was experiencing an injury during those 26 days. To me, "thinking like an attorney" means seeing more than just your own argument, and making decisions based on a careful review of all possible arguments.
What else did law school teach me? It taught me how to assimilate, learn and memorize boring minutiae. When I was required to take courses like Tax Law and Corporate Law, I was faced with a large amount of information I was not necessarily interested in or passionate about, but had to work through and process in order to get a good grade. Did I learn anything particularly helpful in Tax Law? No, but I did learn how to be patient and methodical with information that bored me half to death. This skill serves me well in my practice, when I have to pore over similarly boring material related to insurance subrogation, related to Medicaid, Medicare, state and federal laws. Boring, yes. But essential for my practice to be successful.
I learned the importance of preparation. In law school, often your entire grade will be determined during a 2-3 hour exam, most of which will be essays. The amount of preparation needed to get an A on this type of exam is incredible. I learned to synthesize 6 months worth of class notes from lectures into a 5-page outline that was designed for memorization, to help me answer questions on any topic for that course. There was so much information on the exam that I memorized mnemonics to help me remember everything that was in the course. I memorized elements of laws, the purpose of laws, and case law. No, I don't remember hardly any of it anymore. No, I don't look back at my law school notes, ever. But I learned how to prepare for a trial because I learned how to prepare, which is essential for an Asheville personal injury attorney.
Unless you're on track to become a professor, law school doesn't teach a whole lot of practical substance. What it does it teach skills, which are very useful as an Asheville personal injury attorney. If you're thinking about law school, or are currently in law school and trying to figure out what the heck you're doing, try to see the big picture. 140k and three years is a big pill to swallow, but once you see the essential skills you're getting out of it, you may better understand why it's all necessary and worthwhile.
Lakota Denton practices Personal Injury law with Minick Law firm in Asheville, NC. They can be found on the web at http://www.minicklaw.com
About the Author:
Learn more about Asheville Personal Injury Attorneys. Stop by Minick Law's website where you can find out all about Personal Injury Lawyers and what they can do for you.
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire