Things Every Law Student Should Do Over The Summer

For law students, “summer vacation” typically means only one thing – work. Law students shift their focus from studying and school to working and employment. This job may be in the form of an internship or clerkship. A summer legal job provides an excellent, if not the best, opportunity for a law student to apply basic lawyering skills and gain real, practical experience. However, work should never consume any law student’s summer. These hot months also provide a chance to recharge for the following school year. The following are some things every law student should do during the summer.

Focus

Most law students work in a law firm or public agency over the summer. For many, this may be their first work in an office environment. This is a good time to focus on your work ethic and how you will perform when you have a permanent job as an associate. Reach within yourself and find what it is that brings out the best in you and allows you to consistently do your job at a peak performance level.

Exercise

Maintaining your mental acuity requires maintaining your physical fitness. Whether it is jogging, cycling, doing Pilates, yoga, or simply working out, some physical activity performed regularly will help you stay healthy, fit, and mentally sharp for the upcoming school year.

Recharge

Unwind. Relax. Travel. Most law students have some gap of time between their summer jobs and the end of the prior law school semester. This is an excellent opportunity to recharge. Forget everything legal and do something self-centered to recharge your energy. Law school does not provide many opportunities for an extensive “escape” from the pressures of school, which is why students must take advantage of these types of opportunities.

Network

There is a saying among working professionals – “If you’re not networking, you’re not working.” At first glance, this may not seem like the type of groundbreaking insight that may quickly push your career forward. However, when you consider people have built successful careers from just one or two contacts, it may be more than average or decent advice.

In many ways, summer jobs and internships are auditions for permanent employment. But they are also excellent and important opportunities for networking and meeting new people. Never turn down the chance to meeting anyone, whether they are a lawyer, nonprofessional, or client, inside and even outside of the office. You never know whose acquaintance may help you find a future job, or even a client, that benefits your career as an attorney.

Learn

Study something that will benefit your law practice like basic accounting principles or another language. Knowing something about the business end of a law practice is helpful, especially if you want to become a sole practitioner. If you are not already fluent in a second language, summer is a great time to enroll in language classes. This benefits your career since your skills are available to a new group of clients. Also, jobs that require second language skills typically pay twice as much as those that do not.

The path to becoming an effective attorney-advocate leads to the California Desert Trial Academy. The distance learning program offered by the California Desert Trial Academy College of Law is tailor-made to meet the needs and demands of students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Call us today at (760) 342-0900 or find out more online here.