I have received a lot of questions like ‘Why did you do this?’ and ‘What was the thinking behind going on this trip?’ Lawyers and legal students should not be scared to do internships or pursue experiences unrelated to the law. I think anytime you are able to speak from a position of experience rather than one of simply conjecture or what you have read in a brief, that makes you not only a more effective lawyer but also a better representative for who you work for.
— Ryan Marr, a third-year student at Penn State Dickinson Law, commenting on his decision to forgo a law-related job to participate in a project mapping an unexplored patch of the Atlantic Ocean’s floor with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this past summer.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
