Do you really need to do it all?
Every year students ask me the following question: do I need to do [fill in the blank]?
The blank is different for every student. Some examples:
• Journal Write On
• Moot Court
• Clinic
Here’s my answer:
Many folks come to law school having done everything and done everything well their whole lives. I don’t yet have teenagers but I hear the “you must do EVERYTHING” syndrome starts really, really early.
And so it is no surprise that folks come to law school with the same mindset.
On top of that, there is a view that if you miss something you are closing the 🚪 to certain jobs. E.g., No journal = no clerkship. No moot court = no litigation job.
But in my experience as a law student, law clerk, lawyer, and now law professor, this is simply not accurate.
It is true that failure to do something might make you ineligible for a particular position.
E.g. a judge might say “I only hire folks on Journal” but that does not mean that failure to do journal will CATEGORICALLY eliminate clerking.
Instead it’s about building a package.
What do I mean by a package?
Think about your resume as a set of plus factors. Things that make you more experienced, more interesting, and more well rounded. Doing nothing but class is a pretty one dimensional package.
But by that same token doing everything is not necessary.
In fact, while doing too much makes for a multi-dimensional package, if you don’t like doing those things or don’t leave time to do them all well, the quantity won’t make up for the lack of quality in each.
Choosing which things to pursue is HARD. But remember it is a choice.
How do you pick? My view (others might disagree) is to ask:
am I doing things that build a compelling package for the jobs I might want?
am I doing things that genuinely interest me?
am I doing things that give me experience:?
am I doing what I have bandwidth to do well?
For some answering these questions might still lead to doing everything but for many if not most some choices need to be made.
And sometimes the choice is made for you by applying to a bunch of things and being accepted by a few. And that’s OK too.
It’s all a process.
OK Professor, but should I do X?
I don’t know. How does it fit into the professional package you are putting together and how does your bandwidth look.
Curious what others think too.