I’ve become a horrible cynic.
Alright, I’ve never been much of an optimism. I like to think of myself as a firmly grounded realist. Some misguided souls have even accused me wandering into the territory of pessimism but I don’t pay them much mind. But last night, I realized that I’ve been in the Real World too long. I’ve lost the idealism of youth and taken on the jaded tinge of a working woman.
You see, last night I went back to the law school to conduct mock interviews. The first year students are ready to be plucked from the classroom and trundled off to the law firms for their first summer employment. For many, this is will be their first contact with the real world of the law so our Career Services department hosts mock interviews. The students are taped and alumni come and give them a taste of what to expect. We pitch out the usual hard balls, what are your grades, what is your ranking, why are you so low in your class, why should I hire you, you don’t seem to have much experience, etc, etc, etc. After a 20 minute interview, you then discuss what they did right or wrong, how to improve their pitch, what to play up and what to brush over. I remember doing this same thing myself eons ago but this time, I was the one asking the questions instead of the one trying to explain away the C+ I received in Torts.
There is nothing so sweet as a First Year Law Student. They are so….. unprepared.
“So why did you decided to go to law school?” the jaded employer asks.
“I really want to help people. I want to advocate and held someone through their problem. You know? I get really involved and determined and I want to feel like I’m helping people.”
“So what do you like about the law so far?” the jaded employer asks.
“I really like being challenged intellectually. Taking about the issues and discussing why a Supreme Court justice ruled that way is just really interesting. I want a job that will continue to challenge and stimulate me intellectually.”
“And what type of experience are you hoping to gain as a law clerk?” the jaded employer asks.
“I really want to work in an office where we can discuss the issues of a case and do brainstorming and look over the big picture. I want to, you know, be in the conversations and discussions about strategy and stuff. I think I’d really like the mental challenge of planning a case.”
All I could do was sit there and try to look professional. How do I tell them the sad reality of being a law clerk? You don’t get to pick your client. The partners pick then and you have to fight for them even when you don’t like what they’ve done or what they are trying to do. Heck, as a law clerk, your lucky if you ever even see the client. And intellectual challenge? Um, right. How does spending 40 hours holed up in the library or on the computer researching some obscure area of law about whether or not your client’s mother can bring her dog to a hotel because her therapist says it helps her anxiety. Does that qualify as a disability or not? Yeah, those are real big personal rights issues you’ll be playing with. I’m sure the semester your spent discussing Justice O’Conner’s take on the 7th Amendment will play right in there. And discussing a case? Maybe in some big swanky firm there are tons of clerks running around. Anywhere else, you’re lucky to even know the clerk’s name. Brainstorming with someone with one year of book learning on a real case? Not gonna happen.
The really sad part is, I used those exact same answers back in the day. And then reality hits you full on and you get knocked flat on your back and you either stagger to your feet and look for a way to carry on without getting slammed again or you just lie there and moan until the student loan people come looking for you.