When people hear i went to law school, graduated, passed the bar course and that actually i am a lawyer, they act a little surprised. and in my heart am like “same feeling here”.

When they later pick up their jaw from the floor, next question is how is law school? Is it as difficult as people say it is? Are you people taught to lie?...and so on.Here’s a few things that i learnt at law school that I would love to share with any aspiring law student.

1. The law is gray. We learn in law school that the law is the law, but then we learn how to interpret it, how to defend it and how to argue against it. Overall law school teaches you a way to think not how to think. What they actually teach us is not to accept anything at face value. Almost anything is a good, reasonable or legal argument anyway.

2. They do not teach how to lie in law school. One of the professional ethics of a lawyer is honesty. However, honesty and truthfulness are distinct. Being honest means speaking the truth to the extent one speaks. Being truthful means actively disclosing the entire truth of the matter. Lawyers must be honest but they are not required to be truthful.

3. No lawyer knows all the law. Lawyers are specialists who work within countless fields. Once confronted with a legal issue outside their specialty, even lawyers hire lawyers.

4. A Law degree does not guarantee riches. There is a stark contrast between the high earnings people think lawyers are paid and what they are actually paid. Law school gives you knowledge and guides you on how to apply it. However how you use that knowledge to earn a living depends on what area of the law you choose to specialize in.

5. Everyone will try to pawn free legal advice from you. If I had a shilling for everytime a friend asked a legal question, I would be stinking rich. For some reason people think that law students are overflowing fountains of legal knowledge to be tested at will. This is simply not the case. It is okay to say you do not know or to simply decline to give advice and even if you do give advice, be sure to give disclaimers.

6. Did I choose the right degree? At some point when motivation levels are low, and the mountain of cases to read high, a law student will question their choice. A law degree will stretch you to your limits and test your commitment. Many of my colleagues dropped off unable to cope with the intensity. A law degree is a very expensive investment.

7. The process of learning and understanding at law school is different and it takes sometime to get used to. This contrast is very significant especially if one is directly shifting from A level to law school. I thought I would cope well with a law degree, having performed well at A level.
During my law degree, I felt very stupid about 70% of the time during my readings, and would become disheartened by how much I didn’t understand initially. I was unlucky enough to have lecturers who would use lectures as interrogation sessions to highlight your deficiencies in knowledge and understanding of the law I was very upset at struggling to achieve only 60% in an exam as opposed to over 80% at A level. This is relatively normal and you will have to get used to it.

8. Social stereotypes of law students. A series of phrases you will have to get used to hearing. Get thinking of good responses. “Oh you are studying law? Let me start committing crimes” “how can you defend someone you know to be guilty? You lawyers are heartless and coldblooded “ “Well, I see you have sold your soul to the devil for riches. It’s so sad that you lawyers are going to miss out on heaven”

But at the end of the day, the rewards will go to those who hang on and finish the race, looking back at the 5 years, i must say the journey was worth it 

Written by 
Grace Namataka
A Graduate of Bachelor of Laws from Makerere University
A Lawyer working with International Justice Mission