Get Out of the Starting Blocks Quickly This School Year

 With the conclusion of the London 2012 Olympic Games, I now look back fondly at my favorite Olympic events  - the track events. For me, the excitement of watching these superior athletes coming off the blocks with such spectacular speed is an unparalleled thrill. I found it even more amazing that these track Olympic athletes often train for years – 24/7, day and night -- for an event that lasts in some cases less than ten seconds.  The dedication and discipline of these athletes is indeed exceptional.

As I sat watching the 100/200 meter dashes, I noted that the commentators talked of the “quick starts” of the runners. Some of the runners were able to blast out of the starting blocks and were never caught by the others as a result. Others, due to their sheer athletic skill, were able to overcome a slow start and burst to the front right at the tape (such a race is great to watch!). Then of course, there were the runners who, after years of training, simply did not perform as they had trained, getting off to a poor start and never able to recover.  

With the approaching commencement of the new law school year, I can’t help but see a few parallels between track runners and law school students. They both share that one thing in common that leads to success – the need to get off the blocks quickly and burst ahead.

Here are a few tips that I have for law students to get off when the “gun” sounds in this brand new school year:

·         Develop a routine as quickly as you can – that includes deciding whether you are a “study group type” or not (even in you do not like a formal student group environment, a law student still needs at least one “study partner” to periodically bounce ideas about. Law school is about discussing, analyzing, presenting and the student can only do this with someone else). Other decisions include: the hours and places where you will do the brunt of your studying;  which organizations to join (more importantly, should I join?… do I have the time to join?) and, for the upper-class students: whether part-time work, internship/externships during the year may be a viable option.

·         Set your goals for the year – One does not win Olympic “gold” in law school, but a law student is able to look at the finish line (the end of the semester and the year) to see what hurdles need to be cleared, i.e., courses that need to be taken, clinics, internships, externships that need to be taken, along with the networking and job strategies that need to be immediately engaged as the year begins;

·           Don’t fall behind – keep up with your reading and outlining and be prepared for each one of your classes. Proper preparation is what is expected of any trial lawyer worth his/her salt, so please conform with what is expected of you in and after law school;

·         Be Professional from the Get-Go: In everything you do, be mindful of timeliness, detail and process. Be meticulous in your work and in everything you research and draft. Finally – and most importantly for me --- be courteous to one and all. Remember that you are only a law student with many mountains to climb ahead of you, thence you have accomplished nothing yet. Humility and good manners to all are keys to a successful law career. Do not misinterpret all the talk of lawyers needing to be “tough” and “gritty.” These two terms do not mean that you get a pass on being courteous.

·         Know How To Adapt – Sensing he needed to adapt to succeed, U.S. Olympic hurdler, Aries Merritt, abandoned the more traditional eight-step approach to the first hurdle and joined the seven-step club in a bid for more consistency and speed.  He indicating that, at the outset, it took much determination to be able to make the changes that he needed to increase his speed. However, now he has mastered the seven-step approach and he is a better hurdler as a result.. .

. .. How does this translate for law students? . . Be flexible, introspective and self-analytic. If you are a returning student, work on those aspects of your skills and academic approach that you would like to improve on and put new routines in place (see, first bullet, above). If you are an anxious 1L, “know thyself” – your strengths and weaknesses and develop a routine for success that you know will work for you.

Go for the “gold” as you start out the year. Like a sprint race, the way you kick off usually determines the way you will end.