In a matter of days, some of you will walk into your very first law school class.<\/p>\n
Others will head back for your second or third year, armed with a little more confidence, a lot more reading, and probably a better understanding of where the coffee is.<\/p>\n
I envy you.<\/p>\n
Not because I\u00a0miss\u00a0the exams.<\/p>\n
Not because I\u2019d love to relive cold calls or finals.<\/p>\n
I envy you because you\u2019re starting your legal career at a time when you have an opportunity my generation never had.<\/p>\n
The funny thing is, almost nobody will mention it during orientation.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll hear about study groups, internships, networking receptions, journals, clinics, and summer associate positions. You\u2019ll get plenty of good advice about grades and time management.<\/p>\n
Listen to all of it.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019d like to add one more suggestion.<\/p>\n
Start writing.<\/p>\n
Not because you\u2019re trying to become an influencer.<\/p>\n
Not because you\u2019re trying to get followers.<\/p>\n
Because writing will make you a better lawyer.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t understand that when I was in school.<\/p>\n
Back then, I thought writing was something lawyers did after they had become experts. You spent years learning, years practicing, years earning credibility, and only then did you have something worth saying.<\/p>\n
Now I think I had it backwards.<\/p>\n
You become a better lawyer by trying to explain what you\u2019re learning.<\/p>\n
The first time you sit down and try to summarize a complicated case in plain English, you\u2019ll discover very quickly whether you actually understood it.<\/p>\n
The first time you explain a Supreme Court opinion to someone who has never been to law school, you\u2019ll realize how much unnecessary jargon lawyers use.<\/p>\n
The first time someone asks you a follow-up question you can\u2019t answer, you\u2019ll go back, read more carefully, and remember the material far better than if you\u2019d simply highlighted another page in your casebook.<\/p>\n
Writing has a way of exposing the gaps in your own thinking.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a gift.<\/p>\n
Some of you will immediately think, \u201cWho wants to hear from a first-year law student?\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the wrong question.<\/p>\n
The better question is this:<\/p>\n
Who else is trying to understand the same things you are?<\/p>\n
There will always be another student preparing for the same class.<\/p>\n
Another college student is wondering whether law school is right for them.<\/p>\n
Another friend asked why a court reached a particular decision.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to pretend to be the smartest person in the room.<\/p>\n
You just have to be honest about what you\u2019re learning.<\/p>\n
Over time, something unexpected happens.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t just become a better writer.<\/p>\n
You become a clearer thinker.<\/p>\n
You ask better questions.<\/p>\n
You become more comfortable explaining complicated ideas without hiding behind legal terminology.<\/p>\n
Clients notice that.<\/p>\n
Judges notice that.<\/p>\n
Partners notice that.<\/p>\n
Long before social media, the best lawyers were almost always the best communicators.<\/p>\n
That hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n
The platforms have.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s something else I wish someone had told me.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t worry if hardly anyone reads what you write at first.<\/p>\n
Almost nobody read my early work.<\/p>\n
Honestly, some of it deserved that fate.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s not the point.<\/p>\n
Every article, every post, every attempt to explain an idea was practice.<\/p>\n
Not practice for social media.<\/p>\n
Practice for being a lawyer.<\/p>\n
Years later, I realized something I never expected.<\/p>\n
People weren\u2019t just finding my content.<\/p>\n
They were finding me.<\/p>\n
By the time some of them called my office, they already had a sense of how I thought, how I communicated, and what mattered to me.<\/p>\n
I never set out to build that.<\/p>\n
It happened because I kept writing.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re beginning law school this fall\u2014or heading into your second or third year\u2014you have an opportunity that simply didn\u2019t exist when I was sitting where you are.<\/p>\n
You can spend the next three years collecting grades and experiences.<\/p>\n
Or you can spend the next three years finding your voice.<\/p>\n
One earns you a degree.<\/p>\n
The other can shape your entire career.<\/p>\n
If I had the chance to start over again, I know exactly which one I\u2019d begin working on the first week of classes<\/p>\n
Amanda Demanda is the founder of\u00a0Amanda Demanda Injury Lawyers<\/a>\u00a0and a nationally recognized trial attorney with a focus on serious and catastrophic commercial truck accident litigation. She currently serves as\u00a0President of the Miami-Dade Trial Lawyers Association<\/a>. She has built one of the\u00a0most visible plaintiff firms in the country<\/a>, with offices in Miami, Tampa, Houston, Dallas, and throughout Florida and Texas, allowing her team to handle high-stakes cases across key transportation corridors. Known for blending courtroom skill with strategic insight, Amanda brings a people-first, safety-driven approach to complex trucking and personal injury cases, with a focus on accountability and real-world impact.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The post An Open Letter To This Year\u2019s Law Students<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a matter of days, some of you will walk into your very first law school class.<\/p>\n Others will head back for your second or third year, armed with a little more confidence, a lot more reading, and probably a better understanding of where the coffee is.<\/p>\n I envy you.<\/p>\n Not because I\u00a0miss\u00a0the exams.<\/p>\n Not because I\u2019d love to relive cold calls or finals.<\/p>\n I envy you because you\u2019re starting your legal career at a time when you have an opportunity my generation never had.<\/p>\n The funny thing is, almost nobody will mention it during orientation.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll hear about study groups, internships, networking receptions, journals, clinics, and summer associate positions. You\u2019ll get plenty of good advice about grades and time management.<\/p>\n Listen to all of it.<\/p>\n But I\u2019d like to add one more suggestion.<\/p>\n Start writing.<\/p>\n Not because you\u2019re trying to become an influencer.<\/p>\n Not because you\u2019re trying to get followers.<\/p>\n Because writing will make you a better lawyer.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t understand that when I was in school.<\/p>\n Back then, I thought writing was something lawyers did after they had become experts. You spent years learning, years practicing, years earning credibility, and only then did you have something worth saying.<\/p>\n Now I think I had it backwards.<\/p>\n You become a better lawyer by trying to explain what you\u2019re learning.<\/p>\n The first time you sit down and try to summarize a complicated case in plain English, you\u2019ll discover very quickly whether you actually understood it.<\/p>\n The first time you explain a Supreme Court opinion to someone who has never been to law school, you\u2019ll realize how much unnecessary jargon lawyers use.<\/p>\n The first time someone asks you a follow-up question you can\u2019t answer, you\u2019ll go back, read more carefully, and remember the material far better than if you\u2019d simply highlighted another page in your casebook.<\/p>\n Writing has a way of exposing the gaps in your own thinking.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a gift.<\/p>\n Some of you will immediately think, \u201cWho wants to hear from a first-year law student?\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the wrong question.<\/p>\n The better question is this:<\/p>\n Who else is trying to understand the same things you are?<\/p>\n There will always be another student preparing for the same class.<\/p>\n Another college student is wondering whether law school is right for them.<\/p>\n Another friend asked why a court reached a particular decision.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to pretend to be the smartest person in the room.<\/p>\n You just have to be honest about what you\u2019re learning.<\/p>\n Over time, something unexpected happens.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t just become a better writer.<\/p>\n You become a clearer thinker.<\/p>\n You ask better questions.<\/p>\n You become more comfortable explaining complicated ideas without hiding behind legal terminology.<\/p>\n Clients notice that.<\/p>\n Judges notice that.<\/p>\n Partners notice that.<\/p>\n Long before social media, the best lawyers were almost always the best communicators.<\/p>\n That hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n The platforms have.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s something else I wish someone had told me.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t worry if hardly anyone reads what you write at first.<\/p>\n Almost nobody read my early work.<\/p>\n Honestly, some of it deserved that fate.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not the point.<\/p>\n Every article, every post, every attempt to explain an idea was practice.<\/p>\n Not practice for social media.<\/p>\n Practice for being a lawyer.<\/p>\n Years later, I realized something I never expected.<\/p>\n People weren\u2019t just finding my content.<\/p>\n They were finding me.<\/p>\n By the time some of them called my office, they already had a sense of how I thought, how I communicated, and what mattered to me.<\/p>\n I never set out to build that.<\/p>\n It happened because I kept writing.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re beginning law school this fall\u2014or heading into your second or third year\u2014you have an opportunity that simply didn\u2019t exist when I was sitting where you are.<\/p>\n You can spend the next three years collecting grades and experiences.<\/p>\n Or you can spend the next three years finding your voice.<\/p>\n One earns you a degree.<\/p>\n The other can shape your entire career.<\/p>\n If I had the chance to start over again, I know exactly which one I\u2019d begin working on the first week of classes<\/p>\n Amanda Demanda is the founder of\u00a0Amanda Demanda Injury Lawyers<\/a>\u00a0and a nationally recognized trial attorney with a focus on serious and catastrophic commercial truck accident litigation. She currently serves as\u00a0President of the Miami-Dade Trial Lawyers Association<\/a>. She has built one of the\u00a0most visible plaintiff firms in the country<\/a>, with offices in Miami, Tampa, Houston, Dallas, and throughout Florida and Texas, allowing her team to handle high-stakes cases across key transportation corridors. Known for blending courtroom skill with strategic insight, Amanda brings a people-first, safety-driven approach to complex trucking and personal injury cases, with a focus on accountability and real-world impact.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The post An Open Letter To This Year\u2019s Law Students<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a matter of days, some of you will walk into your very first law school class. Others will head back for your second or third year, armed with a little more confidence, a lot more reading, and probably a better understanding of where the coffee is. I envy you. Not because I\u00a0miss\u00a0the exams. Not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-161203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161203\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n