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Generally speaking, law school does not prepare you for most of the realities most people face in practicing law. As an Asheville personal injury lawyer, I have learned almost everything I know about practicing law since graduating from law school; from other attorneys, organizations, seminars, books and DVD's. However, law school provided me with a few important skills that I have applied to my practice.
Law school taught me how to "think like an attorney". You hear this a lot, but what does it mean? For me, I learned to view legal issues from both sides of the argument. As an example, a potential client called this morning and asked about a common problem for an Asheville personal injury attorney: He was injured in a car crash on October 1, 2014. He has not been to a doctor since that time and called me today, October 27. That's 26 days after the car crash. Predictably, the insurance company for the at fault driver is refusing to pay for any medical treatment because they are saying it has been too long since the crash. Prior to law school I may have viewed this situation as totally unfair and taken the man's case and argued that the crash caused the injury. Law school helped me view the argument from the other side. I explained to the potential client that without seeing a doctor for 26 days that it will be hard to prove the injuries are a result of the crash. They could have been caused sometime after the crash. Without doctor's notes, it would be hard to prove that he was experiencing an injury during those 26 days. To me, "thinking like an attorney" means seeing more than just your own argument, and making decisions based on a careful review of all possible arguments.
What else did law school teach me? It taught me how to assimilate, learn and memorize boring minutiae. When I was required to take courses like Tax Law and Corporate Law, I was faced with a large amount of information I was not necessarily interested in or passionate about, but had to work through and process in order to get a good grade. Did I learn anything particularly helpful in Tax Law? No, but I did learn how to be patient and methodical with information that bored me half to death. This skill serves me well in my practice, when I have to pore over similarly boring material related to insurance subrogation, related to Medicaid, Medicare, state and federal laws. Boring, yes. But essential for my practice to be successful.
Learning the importance of preparation. Law school essentially boils down to a single 2-3 hour-long exam, much of which is in essay form. It is incredible how much preparation is involved in getting a successful grade on this test. I had to learn how to organize and distill 6 months of lectures and class notes into a 5-page document designed for memorization, so that I could speak intelligently on the given topic. The amount of information on that exam was so immense, that I had to employ all kinds of mnemonics to help me organize and catalog all the information in the course. I memorized case law, elements of law and purposes of laws. Do I remember any of that any more? No. Do I ever review my notes from law school? No. But did I learn skills invaluable for an Asheville personal injury attorney such as: how to prepare and organize effectively for trial, because of my experiences in law school? Absolutely.
Unless you're on track to become a professor, law school doesn't teach a whole lot of practical substance. What it does it teach skills, which are very useful as an Asheville personal injury attorney. If you're thinking about law school, or are currently in law school and trying to figure out what the heck you're doing, try to see the big picture. 140k and three years is a big pill to swallow, but once you see the essential skills you're getting out of it, you may better understand why it's all necessary and worthwhile.
Lakota Denton is an attorney with Minick Law in Asheville, NC. He specializes in Personal injury. Learn more about him on the web at http://www.minicklaw.com
Law school taught me how to "think like an attorney". You hear this a lot, but what does it mean? For me, I learned to view legal issues from both sides of the argument. As an example, a potential client called this morning and asked about a common problem for an Asheville personal injury attorney: He was injured in a car crash on October 1, 2014. He has not been to a doctor since that time and called me today, October 27. That's 26 days after the car crash. Predictably, the insurance company for the at fault driver is refusing to pay for any medical treatment because they are saying it has been too long since the crash. Prior to law school I may have viewed this situation as totally unfair and taken the man's case and argued that the crash caused the injury. Law school helped me view the argument from the other side. I explained to the potential client that without seeing a doctor for 26 days that it will be hard to prove the injuries are a result of the crash. They could have been caused sometime after the crash. Without doctor's notes, it would be hard to prove that he was experiencing an injury during those 26 days. To me, "thinking like an attorney" means seeing more than just your own argument, and making decisions based on a careful review of all possible arguments.
What else did law school teach me? It taught me how to assimilate, learn and memorize boring minutiae. When I was required to take courses like Tax Law and Corporate Law, I was faced with a large amount of information I was not necessarily interested in or passionate about, but had to work through and process in order to get a good grade. Did I learn anything particularly helpful in Tax Law? No, but I did learn how to be patient and methodical with information that bored me half to death. This skill serves me well in my practice, when I have to pore over similarly boring material related to insurance subrogation, related to Medicaid, Medicare, state and federal laws. Boring, yes. But essential for my practice to be successful.
Learning the importance of preparation. Law school essentially boils down to a single 2-3 hour-long exam, much of which is in essay form. It is incredible how much preparation is involved in getting a successful grade on this test. I had to learn how to organize and distill 6 months of lectures and class notes into a 5-page document designed for memorization, so that I could speak intelligently on the given topic. The amount of information on that exam was so immense, that I had to employ all kinds of mnemonics to help me organize and catalog all the information in the course. I memorized case law, elements of law and purposes of laws. Do I remember any of that any more? No. Do I ever review my notes from law school? No. But did I learn skills invaluable for an Asheville personal injury attorney such as: how to prepare and organize effectively for trial, because of my experiences in law school? Absolutely.
Unless you're on track to become a professor, law school doesn't teach a whole lot of practical substance. What it does it teach skills, which are very useful as an Asheville personal injury attorney. If you're thinking about law school, or are currently in law school and trying to figure out what the heck you're doing, try to see the big picture. 140k and three years is a big pill to swallow, but once you see the essential skills you're getting out of it, you may better understand why it's all necessary and worthwhile.
Lakota Denton is an attorney with Minick Law in Asheville, NC. He specializes in Personal injury. Learn more about him on the web at http://www.minicklaw.com
About the Author:
Looking to find the best Asheville Personal Injury Lawyer?, visit www.minicklaw.com to find the best Personal Injury Attorney for you.
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