Law Students

Making the Most of Your Law School Experience
By:  Michael Schneider, Texas A&M School of Law

Howdy! My name is Michael Schneider and I want to share some of the great opportunities and blessings that have presented themselves to me in my short time at Texas A&M School of Law.

These opportunities are available to law students in most locations in one form or fashion who are willing to get involved. However, from my limited experience, most law students do not take full advantage of these opportunities and most regret it after the fact. 

First, at the beginning of law school I took advantage of my local young lawyers association, the Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association. I attended happy hour events regularly. And I will admit the first few events were intimidating. 

Here I was, a non-traditional law student in my early 30s, attending events with attorneys who were younger than me. Luckily for me, the TCYLA board and its members were very welcoming and open to students. In fact, at only the second event I attended, I was lucky enough to win a door prize of tickets to see the musical Cats. This was a really fun experience. As a law student on a tight budget, it added an experience that I wouldn’t normally have on a Saturday night—a much-needed night away from studying that I was able to enjoy because I got involved with activities with my local bar.  

In the spring of my 1L year the TCYLA had its big spring event, the Spring Fiesta. This was a great time, and because I had attended so many other events my confidence had grown and I was determined to meet some new people at this bigger event. So after grabbing my plate of food, I set out to find an empty seat at a table with some people I did not already know. 

Little did I know that the empty seat I would find would be at a table full of judges. Yes, at first I was intimidated and kicking myself for trying to be bold. However, I survived. And the great thing about this was I ended up getting a judicial clerkship with a judge who was sitting at that table. My first summer job was taken care of simply because I pushed my limits and went outside my comfort zone. 

Later in that spring semester the TCYLA was looking for a new student liaison. I applied and was selected for this amazing opportunity. I have been able to foster some very close relationships with members of the TCYLA board as a result of this. I have made friends and have gained several mentors. I even got an interview that turned into a yearlong clerkship with a great local firm.

Again, I received these amazing opportunities all because I took advantage of things that are available to almost all law students. I simply participated and attended events offered by my local young lawyers association. 

I could list several other opportunities related to the TCYLA and the connections I made there. Instead, I want to share some of the great opportunities that my school has offered. 

As many of you know, there has been a transition at Texas A&M School of Law; in fact, my first day of orientation was the school’s first day with its new name. Since that time my school has experienced a lot of change. It has revamped the academic support program offered to students and introduced a professionalism program. Both offer amazing opportunities to students, including programs focused on better learning techniques, recognizing your communication style, dealing with the stress of law school, as well as the stress of being a young attorney. I’ve taken advantage of many other opportunities as well, and I have benefited greatly from them. 

The problem is that many students simply do not take advantage of these activities both with the TCYLA and the wide variety of activities that A&M Law offers. There is a core group of students who participate in many of the events and I am glad that my school is represented well. However, as student liaison I hated that more students are not experiencing and taking advantage of these opportunities. 

One of the most consistent pieces of regret I hear from both young and experienced attorneys is that they wish they had gotten more involved while in law school. Now that I’m graduating myself, I wish I had taken even more advantage of different opportunities available to me.

My advice to fellow students and future students is simple—get involved. You are pushing yourself by being in law school; now push yourself to network and take advantage of the opportunities presented at your local bar and your school.