Letter to the Editor: SU’s College of Law must do more to guide specialties
Our columnist discusses why a law student's chosen specialty has real implications on their career path. He argues Syracuse University’s College of Law should do more to encourage students to make their choice earlier. Danny Amron | Daily Orange File Photo
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At the Syracuse University College of Law, students begin exploring specific career paths in their second year. The law school even offers experiential learning opportunities such as clinic work, internships and externships that allow students to put classroom knowledge to the test.
Yet, as an admissions advisor and tutor at Juris Education, a national law school admissions consulting firm, I can attest that choosing a law specialty is top of mind for these students even before they matriculate. This isn’t without reason. Choosing a law specialty affects not only law graduates’ income but also influences their lifestyle, stress levels, work-life balance and long-term career satisfaction.
It’s easy for students to drift through school without a clear direction, which can hurt aspirations post-graduation. With such high stakes, law schools around the country need to do more to guide students, something that goes beyond resume screening and interview preparation.
During my time at law school, I noticed a disproportionate focus on choosing a specialty only for its financial prospects and prestige. After spending a considerable amount of time in this field, I’ve realized a speciality must be chosen to align with a student’s interests, passions, skills and long-term goals. Failure to do so at the right time can lead to early burnout, career dissatisfaction and a lack of professional clarity.
SU’s College of Law should take a different approach.
The College of Law should introduce the option to explore specialties as early as the first year of law school — even if that means helping students explore all 16 common law specialties and more.
The College of Law should encourage students — through questionnaires, workshops and sessions with practicing attorneys —- to develop a deeper understanding of which specialty matters to them. For example, if a student’s priority is to pay off $100,000 in student debt as soon as possible, they may be more inclined to choose a corporate law or public law career with loan forgiveness.
The College of Law should encourage students — through questionnaires, workshops and sessions with practicing attorneys — to develop a deeper understanding of which specialty matters to them.John Parker, Writer
If their passion toward the environment outweighs their financial needs, they might choose environmental law. In that case, they can begin exploring the field early by joining organizations such as the Syracuse Environmental Law Student Association. This prioritization and hands-on experience can help them feel more prepared and confident in their choices when entering the professional legal world.
Second, law advising and career counseling centers at the College of Law must encourage students to engage with current attorneys about their professional trajectories and challenges. These conversations can cover long-term career growth, average career timeline, work hours, job satisfaction and opportunities for career transition — helping students chart a course for their entire career, not just their first job. Even though that course is liable to change, having a direction is far more invaluable than none at all.
Finally, leading institutions like the College of Law must take on the onus of helping students identify their specific law interests by accounting for a range of factors. This can be done through in-depth assessments, created with the help of lawyers, career coaches and psychology experts to help students ascertain their strengths, weaknesses, passions and working preferences.
While law schools strongly emphasize external factors, early internal evaluation can save students years of career stress, uncertainty and burnout.
Choosing a law school speciality is ultimately a personal decision, but it’s certainly the responsibility of law schools to help students make informed choices — ones that extend beyond salary and prestige to include goals, sustainability and personal meaning.
By offering opportunities to explore specialities early in the law school journey, encouraging students to assess their internship opportunities holistically and giving them the tools to self-evaluate their interests against a host of factors, law schools can play a significant role in helping students make the right decision for a future in law.
This letter was submitted by John Parker, Class of 2024. He can be reached at john.parker.juris@gmail.com.
