By: Mike Pike

Law school can be a stressful time for many students. Having gone through it ourselves, our team at Skeeters, Bennett, Wilson & Pike wants to offer some practical advice to current and aspiring law school students.

• Work for an attorney or law firm as soon as possible. Sit in on client interviews, staff and attorney meetings and similar events. Experience will help you see how law is practiced in the real world, something the classroom can’t offer.

• Learn basic business, finance and management skills. When lawyers have poor business and financial acumen, their staffs and their clients suffer. Be sure to build a strong understanding of the skills you need to manage a business.

• Spend your time and energy being productive. Study, ask questions and want to know more. Don’t waste your time on activities that will distract you from your goals.

• Learn to manage your time. If you think law school is time consuming, wait until you become a lawyer. It is important that you master time management now, not when you begin your career.

• Participate in class. Students who are active in class will learn more and ultimately be better lawyers.

• Ask your professors for feedback. The best lawyers are open to feedback. Learn how to take criticism now. It will only refine your skills as a lawyer.

• Remember your reputation is your most important characteristic. If you damage your reputation through your own behavior, you may spend many long years trying to repair it.

• Be trustworthy in all that you do. Clients want a trustworthy attorney representing them, whether in a corporate, criminal, domestic, administrative, transactional or any other setting. If you are not trustworthy in your work now, you will not be a trustworthy lawyer.

• Know that you will make mistakes. Learn from them, do not repeat them and grow as a student and as a person.

Law school can be demanding, but we think it’s worth it. Keep working hard, but most of all, become the kind of person people can trust.

 

 

 

Mike currently is the attorney for the Cities of Radcliff and Vine Grove, advising elected officials, employees, and various city boards on a wide variety of legal matters. A member of the American Bar Association, the Kentucky Bar Association, Hardin County Bar, Meade County Bar, and Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Mike focuses his legal practice on cases concerning personal injury and social security, municipal law, business formation, and estates and probate law. Additionally, Mike oversees the real estate law department for the firm.