Life of a Law Student in a Nutshell

By: Carl Ted B. Belangel

The dream of entering the legal profession takes a solid decision due to the arduous tasks that it offers. It demands commitment and a lot of time. It would impliedly and mandatorily suck out one's social life. Who would not commit such if one would dream of becoming a respected witty magistrate or an Iron man of the law profession, being able to say the phrase “I'm a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” or an advocate for change through law. Each student of the law has his own purpose in pursuing this profession.

A student of the law adheres to the Constitution and the jurisprudence that the Supreme Court lays down. Knowledge of the law itself and its use is the primary obligation of the students.

In order to be enlightened by the words of the law, one should keep in mind the principles in statutory construction. It is basically the rules on how laws should be read and understood. It makes every word of the law significant especially those conjunctions that coordinate the ideas in a provision. A mistake in the interpretation would cause misunderstanding that could lead to heartache after recitations.

Recognizing the doctrines that the Supreme Court establishes is another thing, case readings and digests are inevitable in law schools and legal management program. It shows how the law is applied onto the circumstances a case has and in here the students could see how the Supreme Court interprets laws and how one fact of the case could change or alter the decision of the court. Students usually find this aspect of being a student of the law less boring than that of the knowing the words of the law. One would find it enjoyable because it can be applied into daily life especially those that are most common, transportation and criminal cases. One would reminisce cases in instances where on the way to school while commuting in a public transportation vehicle one encountered an incident similar to what he read. Instead of it becoming a moment for stress and anger to take over it would become a moment of realization that he is learning from what he is studying. In criminal cases one could not stop the urge of playing with the circumstances. Criminal minds would be really activated as the brain twists the facts of the cases and creates another fairytale criminal story. Getting into the subject would immerse one's mind into what crimes the law teaches.

Social life of a student of the law is not really sucked out it is only altered by the environment that law programs give. One would, through their unconscious mind, be integrated to what he intensively studies. Instead of chit chatting about a certain person's love life or other issues, it will be replaced by the issues of a certain case between the parties and how the case went from bottom to top of the hierarchy of courts. In case where a clique would really talk about an issue not relating to law it would really be a joke if one or two of the members would suddenly inject an application of it to the law. There's also an anti-social effect that studying of the law gives. At times after law quizzes those who are uncertain as to their answers to their exams, would, for a certain span of time, become loners or emos, not to talk to others who are discussing their answers in the quiz especially if one overhears an answer contrary to his and the listeners of the one who explained assented to it. In general there will be a partial shut down of the social life because of the tons of readings and one would become a hermit crab spending most of his time confined with only his case readings and law books as company.

During the course of reaching it to the final test one would meet and become critiques of their law professors. Different variations of the mainstream “socratic method” are very much anticipated. It shows how the professor imparts their knowledge making students better than before they were handled by these professors. Some would stick to obliging students memorizing provisions verbatim while others would emphasize more on knowing the law by conceptualizing it, sipping out its spirit to be possessed by the law student. The course of learning it will be harsh in a way that other professors tend to terrorize while others give unjust grade if one would be unlucky. Their image as agents of the law with the primary mandate of upholding justice would be erased or diminished due to the intense filtering of the students. But still they are the ones a student would picture he would become once he becomes a lawyer, an intellectual giant of the profession. While they're worth cursing because of the torment and hardship they give to a student's life they still inspire students to strive harder because basically it is helping the student in becoming a lawyer that is their main reason in teaching and imparting knowledge of the law.

In the undergraduate program, the legal management program, hearts would be divided between law subjects and those related to it and those that are not. One would give paramount importance to law subject while those that are not would be treated as enemies who just add torment to one's life as a student.

Different permutations of how being a student of the law is lived could be thought of. Others could still manage to inject love life while pursuing to marry the profession of law but one professor preached that it would only lower one's chance in becoming a lawyer. However, most of the lawyers say that it would all boil down on how hard a student wants to become a lawyer. It will still fall into a student's hands if he will make it to the finish line. “Dream, believe, survive!”