Law Student –Academic and Personal Real Life Issues

With the number of blogs and internet sources—and people you know—it’s not difficult to learn what life as a law student is like.



One young woman I know had just bought a small house in Etobicoke with her boyfriend when she was accepted into two law schools. She chose the out-of-town university for its reputation even though it would mean weekend commutes and additional expenses. With the purchase of the house she and her boyfriend worried over how they would make payments on one income. Some of his—and her—friends suggested that she was selfish for selecting the out-of-town law school.



They solved their financial problem by renting a room to a friend who shared expenses. Instead of getting an apartment in the other city, the woman got a basement room with the parents of a former classmate. There were also student loans.



The reading and research demand was so arduous that the woman could not commute home every weekend. The time apart was difficult and sometimes lonely but it made the time together that much better. The relationship survived law school. The couple is married and the wife works for the Crown as a prosecutor.



One of the most difficult things about being a law student the woman said, was returning to school after she had worked for a few years. She had to get into the student mindset again and she was older than her classmates who entered right out of university. The positive though, was that she worked as an administrative assistant for a lighting rental company and the lack of challenge in the job persuaded her to apply.



A male friend also noted the age factor. "I started law school ‘late’. I was 27. Most of the students were 21- or 22-years old. I had been in grad school for several years, so I was antsy and I wanted out of school. In my last year, I'd go to class, sit there for 30 minutes, then walk out because I was afraid I'd begin to scream."



He noted several other difficulties: an enormous amount of "dry and boring reading" and the terminology. He said that learning law was "like learning a new language while simultaneously learning a discipline written in the new language."



What was the best part of being a law student? Learning from his classmates has been the real highlight of one student’s time. "I’ve heard about their experiences, their plans for the future, and their insights into what we’re learning now."



My antsy friend replied, "The red-headed law librarian."



For more information on working as a law student or a divorce lawyer in Toronto, contact Heydary Hamilton PC.