Why Law School is Like Hogwarts: THE REVISED VERSION

I can remember sending off my application, and then the waiting game began. One day, when I least expected it, I received my acceptance letter. When I arrived at law school, I received my schedule. After the first day of classes, I realized everyone in my classes had the exact same schedule, meaning I was going to be spending all of my time with these same people, day after day after day. The first week of classes was overwhelming as I was introduced into a whole new life of people and places. Much of my first year I was told what I could and couldn’t do. And that list was long. Coming from a world of autonomy, law school could be at times stifling as I faced a world of limited choices. What if I didn’t want to go into constitutional law? Too bad, it wasn’t my choice and I had to take that class. Law school professors (well, most of them) were portrayed as being downright scary, all the students were supposed to be afraid when they cold called and you knew had to be on top of your stuff. It’s supposed to help you learn, but does it really? Then, there are the know-it-alls, i.e. some of my fellow classmates, a.k.a. gunners. In fact, I used to be one of those people, and I don’t really know what changed. No one knows what the end of the year exams are going to be like. In law school, the professors just throw you into a situation, by giving you a fact pattern that you’re expected to critique and analyze. You think you’ve been learning something all semester and then you get to the exam. Here at law school, I’m learning that law school doesn’t teach us how to be lawyers, a fact which confuses me. Apparently we don’t learn black letter law, or anything useful that would help us actually practice law. I even thought back to my Contracts class, and realized we never even read an actual contract. It appears that we are not learning, practical lawyering skills. But then, what are we learning in law school?

The above parallels leads me to the conclusion that since law school is just like Hogwarts—we are all in the midst of a magical experience! Hogwarts taught its students, namely Harry, Ron, and Hermione to confront their fears, finding that elusive inner strength in doing so, and also committing to doing the “right thing” even in the face of adversity. During Orientation, all the professors talked and made speeches about how I was entering into a whole new world and I would forever be changed because of my time spent in law school…I was told, “my life would never be the same.” At Columbia Law School, like Hogwarts, nothing was as it seems. Literally, in Hogwarts, staircases moved, paintings talked, mirrors could show you things other than your reflection. Here in law school, I feel like this is the case in a more figurative sense. Because things don’t always go according to plan. And some professors, even though they seem mean, might be the nicest people ever. And, I think I am still discovering more uncertainties as I progress through my time in law school. However, one thing is certain. Just as you’re taught at Hogwarts to believe that good is good and how students are indoctrinated into a certain way of thinking, here at law school, it appears that Career Services is trying to indoctrinate us into a way of living. Make good grades. Get a good job. Those who attempted to stray off the path did not succeed at Hogwarts. In fact, people at law school who don’t think that grades are the most important thing are often seen as crazy.

Even with all of this, law school is still magical in my eyes. The ways I am learning to manipulate the law, the new language I am learning (almost like a book of spells), and my network of fellow law students, will all be valuable weapons that I can use to help me in fighting against social injustice. I know I am being given a wonderful opportunity by being here at CLS, and as another mythical superhero story says, “With great power…comes great responsibility.” When I graduate from Columbia Law School, I will have all this magical knowledge within my grasp, what I do with it is my choice. Will I choose to support the good side like Harry, or be on the dark side with Lord Voldemort, or maybe be swaying back and forth between the two like Draco? The power of the law, once mastered, is immense and great. My task as a law student is clear, learn the law, then figure out how I can responsibly use it, if necessary, dispute it, and then finally choose where to direct this great power.