It's never too early to start planning for your career development even while you are still a law student. You think it's too early?

Just look at the statistics of unemployed graduates, and that includes lawyers too, then you will understand that it's not too early. The challenge is that law students are inundated with the task of getting through their academics and passing the bar exam that they have little or no time to pay attention to what lies ahead of them.

Ideally it is supposed to be a case of 'first thing first', but unfortunately, we are no more living in an ideal world. The demands of our present realities now places a demand on us to start doing things ordinarily we shouldn't be doing as law students.

Ideally law students should focus on their studies and on passing their bar final before thinking about what career path to take. But with the level of uncertainty confronting law graduates today, it wouldn't be such a bad idea to have one eye on your future, even while battling with your present realities as a law student.

With thousands being called to bar every year, together with thousands already practicing as lawyers, the odd seems to be against law students in view of the rate of unemployment in Nigeria .

It is against this background that I wish to share with law students these tips that would help to position them aright as they make the transition from being law students to lawyers.

These tips happened to be the very things I wish I had known while I was still a law student. These tips include the following :

Law Office Attachment

The first thing that will come to most peoples' mind when they hear about law Office attachment is Law School. And they would be absolutely right about it, even though intend to take it a little further than just a law school program.

Law office attachment is a part of our law school program, where law school students are attached to law firms for period of some months, with the goal of exposing them to the activities that goes on in these firms . Law students are expected to learn in practical ways what lawyers do in their law their firms by observing and even occasionally participating in these activities. It exposes them to the realities of what law practice is all about.

But do law students have to wait till they are in law school before they go through such exposures? I think the answer is in the negative. Law students, even while they are still in the universities should, especially when they are on holidays attach themselves to law firms.

To what end you ask? To the end that it will expose these students to early enough to the realities and nuances of what lawyers do, and what law practice is all about. This exposure will enable these student to make up their minds early as to whether they would want to practice law after they are called to bar, and if they are to practice, what area of practice they would love to venture into.

This is important because a lot of law students usually spend the first few years of their lives, after being called to bar, to experiment and embark on a voyage of discovery to find out if they really want to practice, and if they would, what area of practice they are best suited for; and they lose time doing this.

Talking about losing time, that's one commodity not to trifle with in times like this when competition is so high for a law graduate. And my thinking on this is that, if as a law student, and right from your university days,you get enough exposure through law firm attachment, there would be little or no need for further experimentation after you have been called to bar, as you would have already made up your mind on what path to take.

Such exposure, to an extent, would have given a law student a certain level of information necessary to determine whether or not to practice, and what area of practice to delve into, if at all he is to practice.

The truth of the matter is that not every law student is carved out for practice, or should say, a particular area of practice. Figure this out yourself while you are still a law student, and you would have positioned yourself not to waste time after your call to bar, as you would have had an idea of what you want and don't want, where to go and not to go.

Court Attachment

This also happens to be part of the law school program where law students are attached to different courts to observe court proceedings and have firsthand exposure to what litigation is all about. This usually takes place within about a month or two.

The challenge with this program is that law students go through it with the mindset of it being a part of an academic exercise, of which they would be graded for at the end of the day. Typical of most academic exercises, the real essence of the program seems to be lost and missed by these law students.

Just like I had suggested earlier on, law students don't have to wait till they are in law school to visit courts on their own and observe what goes on there. I missed this opportunity as a law student, because the first time I entered a court room was during my law school program; and of course I was more interested in filling my law school log book, than being truly aware of what in the world those lawyers where doing there.

I'm saying that if as a law student you get yourself acquainted with what litigation entails, by periodic visitation and observation of court proceedings, you would be doing yourself a lot of good.

First, unlike the court attachment program that law school initiates, you would have the freedom of going through the same process without the academic burden usually attached to it. Your visitation and observation of court proceedings will be at your own terms, devoid of any academic assessment of any kind. This will give you the freedom of mind to both enjoy and reflect upon the observations you make while observing proceedings. Why is this important? My second point will illustrate.

Second, it would give the opportunity to ascertain if litigation is what you would love to do, or something you would wouldn't want to come close to. Of course, litigation is not every lawyer's meat. There are those who are cut out for it, and there are also those who aren't . I Believe that if a law student exposes himself long enough to observation of court proceedings, he would have, to a great extent, put himself in a position where he would be able to say if he would venture into litigation practice or not. He would have be able to ascertain if he has the qualities of what it takes to make a good litigation lawyer or not.

All of these would have put a law student in a better position when he is eventually called to bar, as he wouldn't set out on a journey that he doesn't know where it leads, but would be out with an inclination of what direction to take as he begins to build his career.

Mentoring

I would advise law students to get close to lawyers early enough before they are even called to bar. Some law students are fortunate to be born into families where their parents or siblings are already members of the bar and even the bench. I say they are fortunate because they are well positioned to drink from the fountain of experience that these ones would provide.

There would always be that place for guidance and support in whatever area of life one turn to. Same thing is applicable to the legal profession. And I dare say that it is even more imperative for law students, who knows neither their left or right, to have that early guidance and support as they begin their journey into the legal world.

There are decisions to be made, actions to be taken,and shots to be called. And how do you do all these when you have limited information and experience? You see, that is where mentoring comes in. It doesn't have to be a formal one. Just get close to lawyers and develop a relationship with them. Their advice, I bet you, would come in handy when you are faced with certain dilemmas.

Some of the advice rendered above might come off as unconventional to some, and some may even make some effort to fault them, but that would be okay. The whole essence of this write-up is to remind and arouse the consciousness of law students that the landscape out there has changed and is still changing. And if there is one lesson I learnt from Spencer Johnson's book- "Who moved my cheese", which I would want to share here, it is- you don't resist change, but rather, you change with the times. I'm only suggesting that we do things differently because things are no longer the way they used to be, especially for law graduates.

Source: http://threelegals.com/index.php/home/k2-tags/law-skul/item/402-three-things-i-wish-i-did-as-a-nigerian-law-student

Wow nice...op if ur a lawyer i would like us to chat ....would like to ask u some questions

Julietcutie:
Wow nice...op if ur a lawyer i would like us to chat ....would like to ask u some questions

Ure a law student ryt?

alexiej:

Ure a law student ryt?

yea

I'm an aspirant law student. I'm urgently in need of help..