A Perfect Balance

Sept. 2010 column
For: The Verdict, MSL student paper
By: Jennifer Hicks

“A perfect balance”

It is an understatement to say that balancing law school obligations with those of work and family is important. For a new student, it’s a horrific challenge to complete all of the reading and other assigned work without neglecting relationships and commitments outside of school. As a third-year student, I realize more everyday that the challenge won’t go away when you become an attorney.

The best part about law school is that it makes you strive to be good at everything. Fortunately, it also teaches you that that there is room for error and everyone is only human. You learn that whatever you’ve got going on, whether it be a special business assignment at work, a child’s homework project, a financial problem at home - these issues need to be given full attention. Nothing can be neglected or you will fail in the big picture. While I squeaked by the first semester cutting corners on happenings outside of law school, I eventually learned that was unacceptable. I learned to prepare for my family and work obligations as if I were preparing for classes.

There is more than enough information available to law students and other career professionals on how to address the balancing act. In order to not bore anyone with what they already know, I decided to get creative and offer this candid reflection back in time on the transformation I grudgingly went through.

It was the summer of 2008. I was eagerly prepared to start my first semester at MSL that fall. I had made scheduling arrangements with my employer and worked out a child-care arrangement for my daughter. I was 28, vibrant, healthy and fit. I already had a well-developed career in journalism, but now I was going to have even more opportunities. Then I attended the August orientation and woke up. The glowing feeling dimmed and I felt like I was drowning.

Sitting in a classroom with over 70 new students, I mustered up enough courage to raise my hand for the “mock“ Property class which I had done my best to prepare for. I incorrectly answered the question and was instantly shot down: “Keep pluggin’ kid,” the professor said, shooting me a friendly wink. Surely, being cute wasn’t going to get me far. It was discouraging.

That weekend before the “real classes“ began, my cousin had an extravagant wedding in the Berkshires. Unfortunately, my anticipation for mingling had plummeted after orientation. I was worried about how I’d sound in class the next week. I spent a great portion of the reception wallowing in the kitchen with the innkeeper. Slowly sipping a Sam Adams while everyone got sloshed out of their gourd, the innkeeper asked why I wasn’t partying. I snapped at him: “You try to celebrate when you have to know the facts of Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo in two days.” He looked at me like I had three heads. The other guests were doing the Congo line in florescent flip-flops, and I was worried about school.

The changes I went through didn’t stop there. I literally began tearing out pages of my expensive case books just to read cases at work, under my “work“. I lugged textbooks and outlines to the park while my daughter played on the playground. I was most noticeably out character when I began reading outlines on the treadmill at the gym.

It all sounds ridiculous, but it started to pay off. By mid-semester, I was giving impressive responses to hypothetical questions posed in class. Things were looking bright again, until mid-terms. I took the Civil Procedure mid-term on a Friday afternoon. Afterwards, I stayed in a nearby hotel for a review on exam taking-techniques early the next morning. (How ironic they were in that order.) I recall waking up at 2 a.m. - my heart racing. “Oh no. I didn’t address part at the end of the fact pattern where a man who entered the restaurant and slipped and fell…” For weeks my friends outside of school listed to my griping about exam and assured me I did well. They were impressed by what I had learned and could barely follow the legal terminology.

It seemed like eternity for grades to come out, but when they did, everything was fine. My supportive friends were right. There have been many rewarding times and overly stressful and trying times in between, but I’m still doing well. So now, when people ask how I balance everything, I smile gracefully and say “with a lot of support.“ The truth is, I‘m grateful for everyone putting up with me doing what I had to do, and for teaching me that I couldn’t act like that forever.

Next month’s column, Taking the Initiative, will discuss bar exam planning and concerns. Please feel free to email me at j.hicks.ma@gmail.com