-: Yeah I mean as I said I think having a strong
background in writing, reading legal,
I mean writing and reading kind of gets you into
the legal analysis.
Obviously to be a lawyer go to college, go to law school,
pass the bar.
These are all necessary things but they're not sufficient.
Clerking is another thing that a lot of people do.
I was lucky enough when I clerked for an appellate judge
in Pasadena California and then I clerked for
Justice Kennedy in the spring court last year.
And that's a really great way if you wanna break into
appeals specifically because you get to see
how a judge thinks.
Often they're just like you or I
but I think often judges kind of get this,
you know they're very, very smart people
but they are people at the end of the day.
So having a chance to talk with them, work with them,
see how they think about things
then makes you a better lawyer because you're thinking
well here's the person I'm trying to persuade.
What lessons did I learn from working for them?
And often I will not be filing with the judge
I actually worked for but these things actually apply
across state courts, federal courts, trial courts,
appellate courts.
You just kind of learn how people think.
I think what really distinguishes people
is you can't be just brilliant
and you can't just work hard.
You have to do both and I think there are some fields
where you can get by on one of those.
Law is just really, really hard.
Because you're surrounded by all these really, really
smart people who are also very good at their jobs
and you're basically trying to either work with them
to make the product better
or beat them if they're on the other side
if you're in litigation like I am and
so it's being willing to work a little bit longer
than nine to five hours is kind of a necessary component
to the job or at least being available
when those things come up.
I think the thing to do is to think about how you can be
a better writer.
That's something that will never go out of style
for lawyers because that's a lot of what we do.
I think trying to find people to learn from
is really important.
That's one of the benefits I've had in my career
is I've had a number of mentors
both of the firm, Justice Kennedy,
people I've worked for
who are really good writers and are really smart people
and seeing them and seeing the way they think
about the world and seeing them actually
correct your mistakes sometimes
because you will make them.
Is tremendously valuable and so having that kind of
mentorship is something I would strongly suggest
people reach out for.