5 Things Your Non-Law Friends Have Said to You Before
- Survive Law
- May 27, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 10, 2023
Now don’t get me wrong, I know we absolutely adore our non-law friends and fam. In fact, I doubt I could get through my law degree without them. However, the thing is, they don’t know much about studying law. You realise that they all have the same ideas about what it means to go through law school and become a lawyer (read: no idea). I think it's safe to say we've all heard these five phrases enough over the last few years to last us a lifetime.
1. “I wish I had open book exams too.”
This would be fine, if it was followed by mutual laughter, good ol’ knee slapping and comments such as, “Good one, Sarah. Your jokes are always a real hoot!” Instead, I normally like to follow it up with awkward silence, before promptly showing my non-law friend my excessive use of tabs and cross-references throughout my exam notes, whilst simultaneously bursting into angry tears, to demonstrate just how very wrong they are.
2. “You must study a lot.”
Truth be told, whilst law students do spend a lot of time studying, we don’t study nearly as much as we tell people that we need to study. In fact, if I studied as much as I complained about needing to study, I’d be on my way to international fame and glory and would definitely not have to worry about #3.
3. “Remember me when you're rich.”
I don’t even want to think about the job market right now and the chances of actually finding a law-related job, let alone a high paying one after tax and FEE-HELP repayments. But I appreciate your optimism, friend.
4. “Will you be my lawyer?”
Sure, Aunty Sue, I’m a first-year law student who barely knows what a trust is let alone what rebutting the presumption of advancement entails, but more than happy to take a squiz at that for you. As long as I can pop this on my resume as work experience.
5. “How could you defend a guilty person?”
Ah, the typical dinner party banter that usually occurs on Christmas and at your cousin’s birthday. Firstly, as a student, I’ve only ever defended hypothetical people that can exist in fewer than 500 words. Secondly, let’s not forget about the presumption of innocence, guys. Pretty important stuff!
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The naivety of my friends who are not experts in the field sometimes makes me laugh and cry at the same time. I'd rather they made me manage and run a bustling virtual supermarket like in the game monkey mart, where everything runs smoothly with just the push of a button, than have to repeatedly explain that "open-book exams" are actually a nightmare of flipping through notes until my hands are raw in the exam room.
I’ve had the same experience—people outside law school often mean well, but their ideas about what studying law is like are usually way off the mark. You just end up smiling and nodding through the same repeated assumptions over and over. It’s a bit like Polytrack : from the outside it looks straightforward, but once you’re actually in it, you realize there’s a lot more complexity and adjustment involved just to stay on track.
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