On Wednesday, Feb. 15, Complete Legal Writer book co-author Katie Pryal (note: she’s also co-blogger here) published an article in Quartz on the role of lawyers under the new presidential administration, in light of the new administration’s somewhat strained relationship with the judiciary.
Titled “Trump’s disregard for the judicial system has accidentally made law school cool again,” Pryal’s article took a closer look at how crucial lawyers are to a functioning democracy:
Trump’s disregard of the judiciary is incredibly troubling because, according to [law professor Adrienne] Davis, “the rule of law is probably one of the two or three basic precepts of democracy. There are some things you can say it would be nice to have in democracy. But the rule of law is [required].” And, just as importantly, “You cannot have the rule of law without the lawyers.”
Lawyers—and law students—are more important than ever.
If you’re a law student, what can you do now?
(1) Get involved, starting now. Your law school likely has clinics or pro bono programs. Both of these avenues give you a chance to gain valuable practical experience and a chance to help meet unmet legal needs in your community.
(2) Learn all you can in your first-legal legal research and writing (LRW) course and any upper-level skills courses, gaining all the practical skills you can as quickly as possible. You will make yourself invaluable to your clinical or pro bono supervisors right out of the gate.