Law students don’t like things that militate against their sense of individuality. This presents a problem when they are about as predictable as an old episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent (i.e. Goren interrogates the suspect with his head askew and miraculously solves the case without breaking a sweat; case closed).
According to ‘Stuff White People Like’ by Christian Lander, white people are pretty predictable, and we clearly believe law students can be too. To pay homage to the format of this infamous blog-turned-book, we have generated our own list, which applies to all law students. We hope you like it, whether you happen to be a law student or not.
Coffee
Caffeine is THE legal drug of choice (pun intended). A law student functioning without coffee is like trying to drive a car when its wheels have been stolen; nobody’s going to get very far.
No matter how much a law student may have to carry on a typical university day, they will always manage to get their ‘scales of justice’ on (sans the blindfold) and find the capacity to balance everything, coffee in hand. It follows that most law assignments are unintentionally christened with coffee stains before they are handed in – it’s almost expected, really. Furthermore, getting ‘coffee’ provides law students with endless excuses to avoid that looming exam or the class that started 10 minutes ago.
Being a law student
Law students certainly enjoy this – almost as much as they enjoy making fun of arts students (– arrogance, moi?) for their purported lack of career prospects (no matter how untrue this may be), or seeing the puzzled look on their non-law student friends’ faces when they mention words like ‘torts’, or ‘mooting’. As much as they do sometimes exhibit problem child tendencies and have a whinge about life, law students love to give that knowing smile when others mention how much they must have to read and how difficult and challenging law is – we know, we’re such martyrs; heroes, almost.
The Hon. Michael Kirby
No legal figure tends to instil more hope and inspiration in the hearts of law students than the Hon. Michael Kirby. His retirement from the High Court after reaching 70 years of age in 2009 was a sad day in law schools everywhere. Law students treat Justice Kirby as a man synonymous with dissent; breaking the mould and challenging the stereotype; he is the grandfather we wish we could have. As the students’ equivalent to the Surry Hills indie kid on the bench, the Hon. Michael Kirby has produced some of the most revered judgments, speeches and other stimulating reads that students examine with keen interest. It follows that the law kids flock to him like a moth to the flame, the ultimate question being: ‘what would Kirby do?’
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