Lessons Learned During My Second Year of Law School

“1L scares you to death, 2L works you to death, and 3L bores you to death.”

Somehow, my 2L year was easier AND harder than 1L at the same time. Being able to take classes in area(s) of law i’m interested in made the learning so much easier, but I was also managing an externship and preparing for a national moot court competition at the same time. Not to mention remote learning the entire school year eased my stress and allowed me to focus more on me, but more about that in a bit. I’ve learned a lot this year, and I’m really looking forward to getting started on my internship with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (if my federal security clearance business is resolved) next week. I’m also looking forward to my 3L year for more environmental law courses, learning in person again, taking on a job as a TA for the undergraduate environmental law course, and to finding my post-law school job!

Now, here’s some of my takeaways from 2L:

• The one major thing i’ve been learning throughout law school, mostly during this second year, is that mental and physical health need to be a top priority. Like i’ve mentioned before, my first year of law school was pretty rough and I ended up losing about 15 pounds due to stress and forgetting to eat. I also wasn’t very active. During my second year of law school, I tried to eat better (and i’m definitely still working on it.) I became more active by scheduling time to workout a few days a week, taking walks, etc. I also took it easy when it was time to take a break from studying. If something wasn’t clicking or I wasn’t being productive (just staring at the same page in my textbook for half an hour) it was time to take a break, and I reminded myself it was totally okay to do so! I continued to implement my “no studying on the weekends” mantra, as I had done toward the end of 1L. What I found was that although I was actually spending less time studying and more time on “self care”, my grades actually improved. I got all As last semester! After some pretty average law school curve grades my 1L year, I was pretty baffled. The other thing about mental/physical health is, it’s not just a “law school” priority. The habits you develop in law school are likely going to follow you into your career as an attorney and no one wants their legal career to be a nightmare, especially given that the legal field suffers from high rates of alcoholism and depression. Main takeaway: prioritize your mental health and physical health now, so that law school and your future career aren’t terrible 🙂

• Another thing I learned was that you should do extracurriculars because you enjoy them, not just because they look good on a resume or you think it’s what you need to be participating in. Time is so valuable in law school and it’s best to choose wisely when taking on extracurriculars so you don’t end up spending hours doing something you don’t enjoy. This year, I was lucky enough to compete for the law school in a national environmental law moot court competition, and to be honest, I didn’t really do much else for extracurriculars aside from some environmental law journal work. I put most of my time and energy into the moot court competition, and really enjoyed it! The case was a long and complicated fact pattern about a clean air act dispute, and it was really fun to dig in and argue while answering the judges’ questions. The hours and hours of oral argument practice really helped me with my public speaking skills and gave me a better overall understanding of environmental lawsuits. Hopefully next year I can compete again, in person in New York. 🙂

• A small lesson, but I was stressing WAY too hard for the MPRE. I walked out of that exam thinking I had failed it, and ended up passing with flying colors. I am so glad I took the Professional Responsibility course at my law school while I was studying to take the exam, instead of taking the exam prior to the course, as some students do. You have to pass the MPRE to become an attorney, and you have to pass the course to graduate law school, and some students choose to take the exam before taking the course. Plenty of people pass it without having taken the course though, so it probably would have been fine either way but the fact that I had taken the entire course gave me a little cushion of confidence going in. I’m also thrilled that I have it out of the way during 2L instead of navigating studying for the MPRE during 3L when i’m also preparing to take the Bar. (if you’re thinking “what the heck is the MPRE?” and want info, read this blog post)

• During the fall semester of 2L, I continued my 1L summer internship at a City Attorney’s office as a 2-unit externship and I learned A LOT from the extra time spent there. My supervisor, Ryan, was a King Hall grad so we talked a lot about the law school and his time there and we really bonded over it. He is now listed as one of my references on future internship/job applications, and I know he’ll always put in a good word for me. Making strong connections at your law school internships is SO important. Networking events put on by the law school can often feel very awkward and forced and i’ve never really liked having to go to them. Connecting with people at work on the other hand is easy because it’s genuine and will be more meaningful in the long run (in my opinion). Something else I learned at the externship was something I continue to remind myself whenever i’m experiencing some imposter syndrome. No one, literally no one, is going to care what my grades were and what class rank I was once I get a job. At the City Attorney’s office, everyone proudly displayed their diplomas in their offices. Some had certificates showing their academic achievements if they had any, but that was about the extent of it. One day when I meet someone new outside of work and tell them I’m an attorney, they will be impressed, no questions asked. I may stress out about my grades and class rankings now, but it will all be pretty irrelevant down the road, at least from what i’ve seen.

Overall, I wouldn’t change much about how my 2L year went. Now helloooooo 3L!