Most Important Skills For A Law Student At Stanford Law School
Isabel, a Stanford Law School student, identifies "reading comprehension" and "writing" as crucial hard skills, noting that legal writing differs significantly from other academic writing styles. Further, the development of soft skills like "taking initiative," "reaching out to people," and maintaining optimism despite challenges are equally vital for success in law school and, by implication, a legal career.
Reading Comprehension, Writing Skills, Initiative, Accountability, Resilience
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. Strong reading comprehension and focus are crucial for comprehending complex legal texts.
2. Excellent writing skills and adaptability to different writing styles are essential for legal work.
3. Proactive self-accountability, networking, and maintaining optimism are key soft skills for success in law school and the legal field.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
To be a law student, I'd say there are two main categories: hard skills and soft skills. For the hard skills, reading comprehension is key. You need to be okay with sitting down and reading complicated texts for long periods of time.
Honestly, that wasn't really my strength before law school, but here I am, making it work. Writing is also really important, and being flexible in your writing style. Legal writing is quite different from other types of academic writing.
Those are the two big hard skills for being a law student. Then, I think soft skills are really, really important in law school. The biggest one, I'd say, is taking initiative and being able to hold yourself accountable.
This is especially true since we don't have grades or many required assignments until final exams. Reaching out to people is also crucial. Getting to know your professors and classmates, doing things like informational interviews – all of that is really important for getting your foot in the door for different opportunities.
Also, being able to be optimistic about your own path and not getting discouraged easily is vital. Law school is so different from anything I'd done before. You're learning so many new words and a new way of thinking.
We all make mistakes, and it's important to be okay with that, get up, and be better the next day.