Law Students’ Corner

How to Ensure Your Email Finds Me Well

by Emily Brandt

Grace Grace

Since March, how many emails have you received that started with something like: “I hope this email finds you well.” How many times did those emails find you well? What could we all be doing in our lives to ensure that our emails are finding others well in these unprecedented times? I think that the answer is giving each other more grace.

Grace is an integral part of my life—the concept of free and (sometimes) unmerited help. To me, grace is more than compassion or empathy. It is an intentional act of giving aid to others, even when they may not be deserving of the help. Grace is unconditional. In these unprecedented times, we could all use a little more grace. We could all stand to give and receive more grace. What does giving more grace in law school look like?

I asked a few of my peers for examples of when grace was given to them since we started law school online in March. For one, grace was their boss allowing them to work from home. They are still working from home, and the flexibility to be able to do so has ensured the ability to continue earning an income and gaining experience without the anxiety of being in an enclosed office. For another peer, grace came in the form of peers and professors not judging them when they were late for an online class. Even though they felt undeserving of grace, professors made sure the student had the information they needed to succeed rather than punishing them for being unable to make it to a virtual class. When a peer found out their summer position was cancelled due to COVID-19, several professors used their networks to try and find alternative employment.

For me, grace has come in the form of patience. I have found myself unable to focus on a singular task or needing more clarification than I typically would. When I ask for more clarification and time on assignments, I have been met with patience and understanding. Though I may feel embarrassed to ask for an extension or a reminder about a deadline, that embarrassment quickly disappears when an extension or clarification is granted without a second thought.

I think these examples resonate with a lot of law students right now. We may not always feel deserving of grace, but those around us are feeling the same way, so we should all do more to take care of our communities during these unique times. The following is a non-exhaustive list of acts of grace

that I think law students should lean into right now, specifically as we begin hybrid courses this fall.

Patience: The fall semester will look a lot different in law schools than ever before. Some courses will be fully online, others a hybrid of online learning and in-person learning. Law students and professors need to be patient with one another. Using so much technology in a classroom and balancing the needs of students who are participating from home and those in the classroom will be a learning curve for all involved. Patience ensures that all the parties involved in hybrid learning are given the latitude to make and correct mistakes.

Empathy: Each law student faces unique challenges and barriers to success. With the added stressors of COVID-19, it is critical for us to be empathetic toward one another. Peers may be struggling financially after losing their entire summer income, be immuno-compromised, be homeschooling their children, or may be facing a whole host of other unforeseen and sometimes invisible challenges to succeeding in law school. When a group partner is having a difficult time meeting deadlines, put yourself in their shoes and try to see where they are coming from and why they are struggling before judging them. Empathy ensures that we are working with our peers to succeed together.

Leniency: We all want law school to be our top priority— we want to do well and be active learners. However, this may not be possible for all of us all the time. We should not judge the priorities of our peers. Rather, we should be lenient in our expectations of others. We can only control our expectations; we cannot control the circumstances in the lives of our classmates. It is not reasonable to assume our peers can foresee when their electricity will go out or when their babysitter will cancel last minute. Leniency ensures that the pressure of letting fellow law students down is not a hurdle to participating in law school activities.

Flexibility: Online learning may not be every law student’s preference, but the reality is that online learning will be a part of the fall semester regardless of whether classes are meeting in-person. Be flexible with members of your study group who have opted to take their classes virtually or are uncomfortable meeting in groups to study. Study groups can still outline and work together via platforms such as Zoom. Flexibility ensures that all students benefit from collaborative learning. law students’ corner – Washburn University Law School

I also asked my peers how they hope to see law students extend grace to one another during the fall semester. They hope that classmates will realize that the choice their peers are making to take classes either online or in-person is being made with each individual’s health and circumstances in mind. The choice to take courses virtually does not, and should not, inhibit the ability of a classmate to participate in study groups and socials. They hope that classmates will take more time to check-in on peers that we may not see as often because they are not on campus.

There was also a call for understanding that not everyone’s situation is the same right now, and we need to act as a collective to ensure that all students are comfortable. If taking classes remotely is what makes a law student the most comfortable, then we need to understand that and take extra steps to include those peers in study groups and other law school activities. Finally, we hope that our classmates know that they are not alone. We are all going to need a little more grace this semester, and we hope that our peers will not be afraid to reach out when they are struggling.

I hope that law students see that now is not the time for isolation. Now, more than ever, law students need to focus on community-based learning. We should lean on one another for support and work to ensure that we are all succeeding When we give grace, we receive grace in return. So, if you want to ensure that your email finds me well, extend grace whenever possible during the fall semester. n

About the Author

Emily Brandt is a current 3L at Washburn University School of Law. She is a lifelong Kansan and plans to practice in the state upon graduation in May 2021. Emily is currently on the executive board of the Rural Practice Organization and is a Senior Staff Writer on the Washburn Law Journal. She clerks for Roger Fincher, Attorney at Law, and serves as a student ambassador for the law school.

Emily.Brandt@washburn.edu

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Taking Navy Skills from Cockpit to Classroom

by Jared Jevons

As a non-traditional law student, it is difficult not to draw on experiences from the past to inform the present. For me that has meant relying upon my Navy career as an F/A-18F Super Hornet Weapon Systems Officer. Colloquially known as a backseater (think: Goose from “Topgun”). When choosing a new career, I sought features I enjoyed most in squadron life. Some of those features included: an ever-changing profession that maintains a high professional standard, no day ever being the same, and working alongside highly motivated individuals. Although not all skills in a Super Hornet are necessary in law school, there are many similarities between my Navy work environment and law school. So, unsurprisingly, many Navy skills and mindsets translate into law school.

As I enter my third year of law school, one particular skill and one particular mindset have been helpful in navigating law school life. The skill of compartmentalizing and the mindset of being deliberately humble, approachable, and credible.

The Skill: Compartmentalization

During law school I have often applied a tool I learned in flight school: compartmentalization. It was useful throughout my Navy career and has become ingrained in my thinking ever since. Compartmentalization is a skill developed in flight students to deal with mistakes during a flight. Although compartmentalization can be used to deal with distractions from both successes and mistakes, it is most often applied in the context of mistakes. That is primarily because minor mistakes can snowball into a disastrous series of mistakes, but also because flight students make a lot of mistakes. To have a successful flight it is essential for a flight school student to avoid the snowball effect of mistakes. Avoiding the snowball effect is especially challenging when faced with a fast-paced series of graded events and each separate event is crammed with tasks.

Mistakes in flight school events are problematic because the emotional response to mistakes is distracting and there

is no time to be distracted. For example, a flight student’s failure to make an important radio call directing the flight may cause the novice flight student to think: “Man, I really screwed up.” “Did the instructor notice?” “Will this be a refly?” As the thoughts increase inside a flight student’s head, so too does the likelihood of failure. To combat these distracting thoughts, flight instructors encourage students to compartmentalize mistakes. By compartmentalizing mistakes, the student mentally rebounds, avoids a ripple effect of mistakes, and preserves the ability to achieve pre-flight goals.

Struggling flight students tend to compartmentalize poorly. Successful flight students compartmentalize by recognizing the mistake, understanding the ripple effects, correcting errors real-time, preparing for the next task, and keeping the ultimate goal in mind. Flight students compartmentalize with the understanding that chastising oneself or lamenting mistakes has limited usefulness in the midst of a graded flight event. There is time for frustration and analysis of the specific mistake, but that opportunity is post-flight when time is reserved for review.

Although a student’s ultimate goal in flight school is obtaining wings of gold rather than a Juris Doctor, flight school is similar to law school because law school has its own fast-paced events, each separately crammed with tasks. It has allowed me to cope with mistakes, move on to the next task, and keep the ultimate goal in mind. For example, compartmentalization is a useful tool after an incoherent cold-call response or subpar written assignment. Compartmentalizing allowed me to raise my hand again and become a better writer. It also allowed me to enjoy time off and prepare for the next semester.

While compartmentalization is a skill useful in challenging situations, being humble, approachable, and credible is a mindset employed while in the presence of others. The mindset applies whether you’re passing someone in the hallway, having a one-on-one conversation or speaking to a group.

The Mindset: Humble, Approachable and Credible

Naval aviators consider themselves professionals. One reason they do so is because the profession requires passing a craft onto future Naval aviators. Passing on the craft is challenging and requires deliberate effort because the operating environment is constantly changing. We were students whether we had 100 flight hours, or 2,000. To best pass on the craft, we sought in our interactions with others to be humble, approachable, and credible. If we exuded those characteristics, we could better pass on the craft.

Being humble meant being modest, knowing assistance is sought from those who are humble. Most people would rather not engage with someone who is boastful or arrogant. Although pride and self-confidence are a natural consequence of acquiring skill and gaining proficiency, humbleness can be exuded while being proud and confident. Furthermore, being humble makes you approachable.

A humble demeanor creates an approachable presence. Being approachable meant being accessible to others. Making oneself approachable meant being inviting and friendly rather than closed-off and hostile. Sharing knowledge was critical to our success as a profession, so being approachable led to situations where our knowledge could be shared. Being unapproachable ran counter to our goal of sharing our knowledge. Importantly, humility and approachability only go so far in passing on the craft if you are not perceived to have knowledge.

Demonstrating your knowledge and effectively communicating your knowledge creates credibility. Credibility requires knowing your craft and knowing it well. Credibility is a product of preparation, dedication and study. It exists at all experience levels but when built over time it can have great impact. The great thing about credibility is that one interaction makes it easier to share knowledge later.

However, credibility does little good if your demeanor and presence prevent engagement. Thus, passing on the craft requires being humble, approachable and credible.

Of course, this approach is applicable beyond naval aviation. No matter the stage of our legal careers, being humble, approachable, and credible is a useful tool when engaging with others. I’ve found it helpful as a fellow student, Dean’s Fellow, and co-worker. Hopefully, exhibiting these characteristics will mean I better represent myself, my university, my employer and the profession.

The skills and mindsets I’ve brought from the Navy into law school are not always natural. They require deliberate effort, and so they remain in the back of my mind no matter the situation. Sometimes I’m better at accomplishing them than others. But I’ve found them useful and I hope others do as well.

About the Author

Jared Jevons is a 3L from Manhattan, Kansas. He received a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Kansas in 2007. Upon graduation he commissioned into the U.S. Navy where he would go onto serve eleven years, fly over 2000 hours in the F/A-18F and accumulate 460 landings on an aircraft carrier. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy, a Dean’s Fellow, Student Ambassador, and a member of the Military Law Society.

jevy@ku.edu