Main Responsibilities of a Law Student at Stanford Law School
Isabel's main responsibilities as a Stanford Law student primarily involve "going to class and doing the readings," with additional time dedicated to legal writing assignments and preparing for final exams; extracurricular activities also play a role, but academic coursework dominates their schedule.
Legal Writing, Class Participation, Reading Assignments, Final Exams, Student Organizations
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Isabel Mendiola
Law Student
Stanford Law School
Claremont McKenna College 2018
Stanford Law School (JD Forthcoming)
Psychology
Law
Legal
Honors Student, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Balancing academics and extracurriculars: Isabel highlights the need to manage coursework (including intensive final exams), class readings, and participation in student organizations.
2. Focus on practical skills: The interview emphasizes the development of crucial legal skills such as brief writing through dedicated coursework.
3. Quarter system and academic structure: The description of Stanford's quarter system offers insights into the academic calendar and workload expectations for law students.
Transcript
What are your main responsibilities within your current role?
As a law student, my routine probably looks a lot like a college student's. The main difference is that there are no graded assignments, except for the final exam.
Throughout the quarter, my biggest responsibility is going to class and doing the assigned readings. I'm in one writing class, a legal writing class where we learn to write legal briefs. For that class, I have some interim writing assignments, and that's really it.
Once finals start picking up, that becomes a huge responsibility. Of course, there are student organizations and things like that too. But for a first-year student, it's really just about getting to class and doing the readings.