They Didn’t Teach Me THAT in Law School

An Associate’s Reflections After One Year in Practice

BY JOHN D. BOONE, MAPLES | JONES, PLLC

Time and time again, during my first year in the practice of law, I have caught myself saying some variation of the following phrase: “Well, they didn’t teach me that in law school.”

Now, this article is not to bash law schools, or the law school experience generally, but I think it fair to say that even the best law school cannot fully prepare someone for the practice of law. After all, working as an attorney is a practice, and while the academic study of the law is essential to a successful career, it is no substitute for handson experience. So, in no particular order, here are a few things I have learned in my first year of practice that they most definitely did not teach me in law school.

1. Clients exist, and they have feelings too.

In law school, clients were rarely mentioned, and if they were it was as largely passive observers in the judicial process. In reality, the client most definitely exists! And they have strong feelings about the judicial proceeding and the direction their attorney is taking in that proceeding. Now, of course, there are all different types of clients out

there, and admittedly my perspective is a bit skewed by being a family law attorney, where the clients have an intensely personal interest in the lawsuit and its outcome. But corporate clients and governmental agencies certainly also have vested interests in any judicial proceeding (or potential judicial proceeding), and corporate and governmental clients deserve to be just as informed regarding the status of their case as any individual.

The most important thing I have learned over the past year when it comes to client relations is to keep the client consistently informed regarding major events in their case and to manage the client’s expectations. Most clients are relatively uninformed about the law—or, worse, consider themselves to be extremely well informed because of last night’s Law and Order episode. In either case, the client likely has significant anxiety about the lawsuit. I have found that client anxiety levels significantly decrease if clients are educated about the law and how the law applies to their situation.

A simple email or brief phone call explaining what is happening in a client’s case, and what is likely to happen, goes a long way toward building a healthy and productive attorney-client relationship.

Set expectations. Many clients expect their lawyer to swoop in like Superman (or Superwoman) and solve all their problems in one heroic leap. But of course the law cannot, and should not, solve everyone’s problems. Having a frank discussion with clients about what the law can realistically achieve goes a long way toward managing expectations and building clients’ trust in their attorney.

2. The law is not hypothetical.

Do you remember law school hypotheticals? They often took more twists and turns than a carnival mirror maze. Now, certainly law school hypotheticals have their time and place, but they may give some young attorneys the impression that the law is an esoteric, ephemeral, distant force that only affects people in a detached and abstract way. Nothing could be further from the truth. The law very often has a real and immediate impact on the lives of our clients, their loved ones, and everyone associated with the lawsuit. It is vital for all attorneys, but especially young attorneys, to always remember that our actions as lawyers have a real and sometimes dramatic effect. The law has consequences, and it is part of our obligation as attorneys to be cognizant of those consequences and to inform our clients about the likely legal outcome of the actions we take on their behalf.

The law very often has a real and immediate impact on the lives of our clients, their loved ones, and everyone associated with the lawsuit.

3. Find the opportunity in each mistake.

Mistakes happen in the practice of law. I doubt an attorney exists who could claim, honestly, to have never made a mistake. But in law school, mistakes were to be avoided. I remember, during the dreaded round of cold calls, being terrified that I would say something ignorant, something my fellow law students would find laughable, or something the professor would find objectionable. And of course, on exams, the goal was to make as few mistakes as possible to keep ahead of the curve. But mistakes happen! And law schools do a relatively poor job of preparing us for how to deal with them. When mistakes happen, the most important thing is to take ownership of the mistake. You are a human, and humans make mistakes. It is okay to get it wrong sometimes. Do not go blaming your paralegal, or litigation assistant, or your client–even if a mistake can fairly be attributed to one of those individuals, you are the attorney and the buck stops with you. Mistakes, when they occur, need to be addressed, and quickly. Inform the client of the mistake, inform the court, inform opposing party, and work to correct the error. And always remember that every mistake is an opportunity to learn, and above all an opportunity never to make that same mistake again.

4. Take time for yourself.

So many of my law school colleagues embraced the grind mindset, where working long hours assumed a virtue above and beyond any results that those long hours of study achieved. At times it seemed like a competition, with whoever could stand the most all-nighters with their nose buried in a torts textbook winning some perverse prize. But embracing that same grind mentality in your practice is a sure way to burn out. You will exhaust yourself, and ultimately be less effective in everything you attempt. Take time for yourself. Go on a vacation, if doing so is financially feasible. And if a vacation is not in the cards, take a day off and go for a hike, or pursue a hobby you have neglected. Carve out time for yourself that is separate from the practice of law. Doing so will ultimately prolong your practice and make you a more effective attorney.

To conclude, I’ll toss the premise of this article back at my readers. What are some things you have learned, throughout your practice, that they did not teach you in law school? AL