How law school has(n't) changed me

For my ethics of the legal profession class I had to write a reflection essay about how the legal profession has changed me. Seriously, it's an ungraded essay, and I know what she wants to hear (and just in case anyone didn't, she included a note she wrote ten years ago in our course materials so we could figure that out). But I really wanted to hear what I had to say. So I just started writing.

And it turns out I think I've done pretty well at keeping law school from changing me. This place tried to take over my life, and I came in knowing I would not let that happen; I didn't. I got middling grades, and that's OK, because I have a job, and I have great friends here, and law school didn't kill my marriage like it did to so many others. Somehow, by the grace of God, I managed to keep my priorities relatively straight (most of the time).

This place tried to make me feel bad about my ambitions. Law firms are evil places - we should all be working in public service or in public interest law or doing something that frees our minds. (Are you kidding me?). I know that for some people that's valid, but for me this is what I wanted coming in. I knew coming in that I wanted to deal with contracts and carefully crafted language, and not litigation and constant arguing, and people's emotional baggage. And forget policy! I am glad people do those things - they're necessary - but I knew I didn't want to do them!! And I am not going to. And I don't feel bad about it either.

The one thing I noted that law school did do was to make me more detached. In some ways that's good. I tend to be too emotional and involved most of the time, so a little detachment probably won't hurt. I will have to represent people whose values differ from mine, and they deserve my best representation. But at the same time I do mourn the fact that when I'm talking about law, I at times forget to include emotion, or even morality. It's something I'm going to have to fight for my entire career. But at least I recognize it!

Anyway, this is basically the short of it: law school didn't change who I am. But in some ways it did change how I am, or when I am. It allowed me to keep all of myself, but it splintered me a bit.

I'm sure that it changed me in many more ways than this, but it was a 2-3 page double-spaced ungraded paper, so I didn't want to dwell on it. If I have more thoughts later I'll just post them here. :)