In Episode 14 of “May the Record Reflect,” we gather insight on how to start your legal career against a daunting backdrop of covid, layoffs, and societal change. Listen as Dean Marc Miller of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and Allison Regan, professional development director at Houston’s Bracewell law firm, offer their perspectives on being a successful law student and young lawyer during this unique moment in our nation’s history.  

Topics

3:33    Is this a terrible time to go to law school and become a lawyer? 

6:32    Law school, firm response to pandemic

9:25    2020 bar exams

12:29  Difficulties in transitioning to online

18:02  Standing out in Zoom 

19:34  Enrollment deferrals

22:10  On-ramping and training new hires

25:11  Student loan debt

26:33  Two-year J.D.s

28:44  ROI on educational debt

31:38  Practice areas with a bright future

36:25  Silver linings of the pandemic for young lawyers

41:20  Positive workplace changes

44:10  Top three tips for success

49:10  Signature signoff question

 Quotes

“I just filled out reports for U.S. News [& World Report Top Law Schools] and we [Arizona Law] report to the ABA every year and so follow those numbers closely, and we have not only kept tuition down and lowered it – we lowered it after the last economic downturn – and this is my eighth year as dean, and we have not raised tuition either for in-state or out-of-state J.D.s. We have diversified how we fund our enterprise, making both the J.D. accessible and the bright career paths accessible is fundamental to who we are. I know [the average student loan debt of $160,000] is real, but I also know I don’t have to look at my students and wrestle with that.” (Marc Miller)
 
“The practice of law can be hard. It can be grueling, and I think being resilient is really the key and really bouncing back, learning from those situations and being able to not just push harder but kind of pivot – pivot and move to the situation, and I think that we’re all being forced to learn that and I think that will hopefully pay dividends for our young associates over the course of their very long careers.” (Allison Regan)

 Recommended Resources

Dean Marc Miller (bio)

Allison Regan (LinkedIn)

U.S. News & World Report Top Law Schools

A Guide to Transitioning from Law Student to Lawyer