A career as a lawyer usually always come with a stamp of prestige, because society has always regarded lawyers to be in an elite circle of professionals who command respect and embody the definition of success.
But becoming a lawyer is an enormous undertaking in terms of time commitment and financial investment. Law school and passing the bar comes with various challenges.
For one, a law degree is definitely not cheap. The tuition fees for law students are among the highest in the world and there are always more expenses than what you would anticipate.
A qualification in law requires students to do a lot of reading so, be prepared to study for long and hard hours as a law student.
The standard requirement before one can practice as a lawyer is completing an LLB degree which takes 4 years. Alternatively, some students choose to first study a BCom or BA which takes 3 years and then study another 2 years to complete their LLB.
Here are few tips for students thinking of pursuing a career in law:
1. Commit to the work
Being a lawyer is not quite as sensational as the average television series legal melodrama that dependably grips mass audiences. While it probably does involve a good suit and many a late night, there is a lot about being a corporate lawyer that would not make for riveting television.
The reality is that, although the work may be challenging, interesting and precedent-setting, the everyday practice of law requires a bit of blood and sweat. And in the spirit of being vulnerable, maybe tears too!
To get through it, commit to the everyday, the task at hand and the moment. Your success will arise from a multiplicity of micro-commitments, all geared towards the bigger picture.
2. Grab opportunities to learn from the best and be prepared to unlearn
I began my legal career as a legal researcher to the Deputy Chief Justice of the South African Constitutional Court, Dikgang Moseneke.
To kick start my professional journey under the tutelage of a South African jurist (and person) of such calibre and esteem was an honour. It stretched me to the limit and then, it stretched my limits, cultivating my innate desire to unpick things. It also taught me about changing my mind and the process of unlearning (which is sometimes just as important as learning).
There are many things ingrained in us as product of the society that cultivated us – not everything we have learned remains true or optimal. Unlearning is core to adaptability (not to mention the transformation of our world).
3. Acknowledge that it took a village
My parents always encouraged social consciousness, discourse and frank debate. They invested in our education and travel locally and abroad.
Cognisant and very much a part of the local community, we therefore also came to learn about the world beyond it. With that foundation in place, I have had the benefit of both support and mentorship throughout my legal career from inspirational leaders in the industry that shaped my approach to legal work and my view of the world.
Where I am today is therefore the product of a group effort, for which I am deeply grateful. And I always go back to that village to give thanks!
4. To know what you want, first know what you don't want
Let's just say that I started out knowing what I didn't want and was guided about what my strengths were. I knew that anything remotely mathematical or medical would not play to those strengths (and was not in the public interest).
I envisaged writing novels in corner cafes or being in the music industry (which was also probably not in the public interest). But what it all boiled down to was that I was passionate about words, creative in some ways and technical in others and interested in people. All those attributes fitted quite nicely within the field of law.
And so that's how I stumbled upon law – not pursuant to some childhood dream (romantic as that would have been) but rather by a process of elimination and by identifying my strengths and finding a gig that supported them.
It isn't a story that you would play inspirational background music to when telling it, but it worked out excellently anyway because I feel grateful to be doing something I love to do.
5. Work out what you love and do that
I enjoy engaging with a field of law that is challenging and intellectually stimulating, involving new and different legal issues and a growing knowledge of different markets.
In short, I love being able to learn every day and appease my fairly insatiable desire to be a perpetual student. I love interacting with other legal minds that are leaders in the field.
I love meeting other people and learning about them and the work that they do. I love finding creative solutions to legal questions – to think outside of the proverbial box. I love working in a team and being part of the project of empowering others by sharing knowledge, mentoring and training.
6. Don't take yourself too seriously
That sounds counter-intuitive in the field of law (which is oh so serious), but being open to sucking up knowledge like a sponge and being humble throughout the process of learning and growing expedites the developmental process and exposes you quicker.
7. Embrace resilience and grit
Sounds like a line from a self-help book, but one cannot give up because someone, in a particular moment in time, is critical of you. Those criticisms are simply inputs into becoming an ultimate powerhouse.
8. Confront the things that you aren't great at
Decide to work through your issues rather than playing "ostrich in the sand".
9. Remember that certain things are part of a long game
Quitting before the game is up may amount to a pre-mature surrender – be patient. Equally, know when to change course; resilience does not require commitment to something that is inconsistent with your passions and strengths.
10. Recognise your privilege
In a country with a progressive Constitutional dispensation but deep divisions and inequality, I find it important for me to recognise my privilege, encouraging a constant dialogue with myself around learning and unlearning. We should all make an effort to pay it forward.
11. Be an ally
We must all become effective allies in the fight against inequality. To do this, we must educate ourselves on what effective allyship means in relation to all the "-isms" and what we need to personally learn and unlearn to equip ourselves to better support marginalised groups.
12. Remember you are an agent for change
You have the power to influence your own growth (rather than idly waiting for someone else to do it). You are an agent in your own, unique story - through it, you will inevitably make a ripple impact in the world.
In order to legally practice law, a graduate with a law degree must generally pass another examination, this is the attorneys admission exam. The exam tests your knowledge of legal practice and procedure, wills and estates, legal bookkeeping, and attorneys’ practice, contracts, and rules of conduct.
Baker McKenzie's application process for our next intake of candidate attorneys is now open.
