We have all experienced pressure in one way or another whilst being a law student… Today I am going to discuss some of those pressures that we have ALL experienced and why we shouldn’t compare our success to anybody other than ourselves.
Firstly, I would like to discuss LinkedIn, which most law students will use regularly in order to network with people and document experiences. However, I believe LinkedIn can become quite toxic if used in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons. I had to take a break from the platform during the pandemic, as I found my feed was filled with my connections posting about webinars and virtual internships that they had participated in which led me to question if I was doing ‘enough’ despite participating in a wide range of these opportunities myself…
What I learnt from this was that you should never attend an event purely because you want to post about it on LinkedIn afterwards. You should attend events for you, and to develop your skills. Make sure you are taking every opportunity which you feel will benefit you (from both LinkedIn and elsewhere) but don’t feel pressure to take on too much because other people have done so.
From this, I decided to narrow down the events I was attending, to ones which I genuinely thought would benefit me, and I stopped posting about every event I participated in. I did this because I came to the conclusion that it is great to post about your success on LinkedIn, however I found myself posting about every single event I had attended, which changed the reason why I was attending these events. Therefore, I will now only make a post on LinkedIn which is valuable to me. For example, if I attend an event and decide to make a post, I explain the key takeaways from that event, which creates larger engagement from my audience as I have documented something which truly interested me, not just another random post about this week’s webinar…
I recently came across an article in the Guardian, which explained the pressures of being a law student extremely well. The article discusses why stress levels are rising for law students, as one student (Erin May Conely) explained “one of my lecturers describes law school as being like the Hunger Games”.
The article also notes “it can be quite cut-throat with everyone fighting for the same jobs at top law firms.” There is so much pressure on the application process whilst at University, as soon as you enter your second year, the topic of conversation is Vacation Scheme applications. There is a huge element of competition whilst being a law student, but I think it is important to remember that you don’t have to apply for these things straight away. The qualifying age for a solicitor or barrister on average is 29, there is absolutely no rush! If you want to take a year out or enter a non-legal profession, these are things that should discussed more widely, especially by careers centres. This would ensure students are aware of other opportunities out there and that not everything has to be focussed on applications for law firms. There are so many untraditional routes and non-legal opportunities out there that this undeniable pressure of being a solicitor or a barrister hides from students.
Furthermore, some pressures of being a law student can definitely be underestimated, for example, mooting, negotiation or debating – effectively any competition or assessed practical work. There is a huge amount of preparation that goes into any practical assessment whilst studying law. These things can sometimes be underestimated by friends and family who don’t always realise how much work a law degree actually is, which can be frustrating at times when you feel like you are drowning in work or losing track of time to complete an assignment.
Has anybody ever asked you what you study at University? Just think about those responses for a moment. I’m sure it is always the same, “wow, you must be clever”, “I know where to come for legal advice then”. This is when it is important to reflect on how far you have already come, whatever stage you are at, you are studying law, that in itself is a huge achievement which you should be immensely proud of!
Another important point when it comes to comparing yourself to your peers is if you feel like you don’t have enough legal experience. For example, you could have a friend that has completed 3 mini-pupillages, competed in 4 competitions and has a position in the Law Society at your University. Although they may appear to be further ahead, you may have a part-time job, volunteer experience and a range of non-legal work experience which is equally valuable despite being unrelated to law. It is so important to realise that any experience you have, will be relevant to applications and future jobs.
If you do want to apply to a law firm and you are worrying about this, remember that employers want to see personality too! They are normal people like you and me, academics and experience will be relevant factors, however they will also be looking for someone whose personality shines through in their application. You may find the things you have done that you enjoy will spark great conversation at an interview, they could have been involved with the same place you did volunteering experience for example, you never know! All of these things, legal or not, they will be relevant to any application!
Finally, the MOST important thing is to enjoy your time as a law student! It is always important to have fun alongside your studies; law school is a huge part of your life in which you will make lifelong friends. Try not to put pressure on yourself and compare yourself to other people, everyone is on their own journey and you must keep focused on yours.
Lucy is currently a second year law student, with interests in both Criminal and Contract law. She looks forward to studying a range of different modules as she moves through her degree. Lucy is also passionate about the range of non-legal careers available, which students can often be sheltered from by the traditional Solicitor or Barrister debate.
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