Ever since I was a child, I've wanted to be a lawyer. The idea was enchanting to me, as I wanted to help people. Unfortunately however, my idea of what that looked like changed once I realized that my law school education would not be paid for, as my undergraduate experience was. And so, the conversations about “Big Law” began. I became a member of the SEO Law program, where I experienced for myself what “Big Law” was and what it could mean for my future. In eight weeks, I was making more money than ever before. When I got to law school, I felt like I was in a game show. Behind Door One, was the private sector, and behind Door Two was the public sector, and maybe there was a little Clerkship path in the middle. Do you want to work at a firm or do you want to do public interest work? That was it. Nothing about how to pivot out of those doorways.
I won’t speak for the Public Sector Door, as that is not what I am most familiar with, but I know those that are in the PIPS program seem to be exposed to the “strangers in the building” I crave for in my own career search. Perhaps if I was exposed to more people who made lemonade out of lemons from the firm life to get to where they truly wanted to be, the idea of working at a firm for a few years wouldn’t seem so daunting. Instead, it would seem like an opportunity for training and seeing the law from a different point of view.
I suppose Columbia has already made its legacy, and it does not seem like they will change the first year model, but now it is time for me to create my own. I just wish I knew ahead of time that it was going to be on me to seek out the “strangers” to help me figure out what that looks like. Perhaps some of this has to do with the Pandemic, but based on speaking to past students, it seems Columbia has always been dedicated to churning out these Big Law jobs and missing detours along the way. Part of me wants to confront this problem head on, to be able to help those that the “Columbia Bus” may have missed along the way. I do not know what that looks like at this moment, and hope I eventually do. I hope now that the windows are no longer foggy, I am able to explore the possibility of the options beyond law school and firm life further, and I am excited at the prospect of doing so.
Taryn, I really enjoyed reading your reflection on the gold-paved path our school provides us to big law—especially because of your acknowledgment that it wasn't your goal when you applied to law school. I sometimes feel like deleting the personal statement I wrote when I applied to law school because I know the person who wrote it wasn't planning on going to big law. However, I am not completely upset that I am taking the path Columbia leads to the first door. From my summer as an SEO fellow to my current experience as a summer associate, I would be lying if I didn't say the money provides a security I have never felt—and I don't feel bad about it. I do wish I would know all the options out there, so that way if I still ended up behind door one, it was at least from a well-informed process. A lot of the ground work to make these options known to students will have to come from word of mouth of other students, and I hope that Columbia will provide more than just two doors. –Adrian
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