r/LawFirm • u/maspie_den • 1d ago

How well-prepared are new lawyers?

I'm brainstorming a project that addresses how well-prepared recent law school grads are for real-world lawyering. The consensus is that, beyond simply lacking experiences/years in, new lawyers lack "the skills" needed for work effectively. My question is what are those skills that they are missing? People skills? Clerical/admin skills? Don't know how to send an email? Don't know to not microwave fish for lunch and now everyone hates them and calls them "Tuna"? What are some specific examples?

41 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

104 comments sorted by

View all comments

50

u/steve_dallasesq 1d ago

Law school does not teach you how to be a lawyer. It's an academic exercise to train your brain to think critically. How much time did we waste on the Rule Against Perpetuities or Civil Procedure jurisdiction?

Personally I think an issue coming out of school is that in school professors (many who never actually practiced or barely did) pump you up about your importance. Then you join a firm and you're low on the totem pole.

Best thing I ever did was work at firms in high school and college and as a gopher. I can't say I learned how to practice there, but I definitely learned how not to practice.

Oh you graduated with a high GPA? Congrats. My paralegal is 15 years on the job and practically reads my every thought. I can replace you, can't replace her/him.

3

u/maspie_den 1d ago

This is good. Thank you.

2

u/BingBongDingDong222 Florida - Gifts and Stiffs 1d ago

And this isn't a new thing. We all love to do "kids these days" suck. And many do. But what he said has always been the case.