why do you want to study law essay

why do you want to study law essay

The Importance of Studying Law

1. Understanding the Legal System

The law is an essential tool for anyone in a modern society. In studying law, it is important to understand the basic functioning of the legal system. This includes the structure and purpose of key legal institutions, understanding the way law is made, knowing the concepts of public and private law, and distinguishing between criminal and civil law. This has a number of advantages should one become involved in a legal issue. It is often said that a lay person who represents themselves has a fool for a client. The reason that people can get away with saying this is that the legal system is often too complex for a non-lawyer to understand and understand how to use effectively. By gaining a basic understanding of the way the legal system works, one can often identify issues that affect their rights, gain an idea of what information will be relevant to their case, understand whether a decision is right or fair, and understand what a lawyer is telling them. This will put one who has a legal problem in a far better position to know whether to seek legal advice or represent themselves, and if they do see a lawyer, they will be able to use their lawyer more effectively and cut costs on legal fees. A law student is often taught law as it is and law as it should be. The ability to distinguish between the two is essential for a lawyer, and an understanding of the legal system is the only way to understand the reasons for the anomalies.

2. Advancing Justice and Equality

Lawyers and people aspiring to make a difference can use the legal system as a tool to assist those less fortunate, through negotiating with those causing the disadvantage, or using the law to effect a positive change. An example of this is the Welfare Rights Centre in NSW which assists people in a disadvantaged position by providing free legal advice and assistance in areas of social security and family assistance law. By talking to clients to understand their individual situations and then using knowledge and expertise in these areas of law, the Centre is able to have social policies changed and decisions reviewed to allow better outcomes for the clients.

Law often acts as a catalyst in society for change and the advancement of social justice. This is particularly true for marginalized and disadvantaged groups, and is evidenced through community legal centers and initiatives, the work of non-government organizations, advocacy and law reform work, and public interest litigation.

3. Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills

Not only will the thought process involved in reading case books and briefing cases help develop analytical and reasoning skills, but class participation in general will require thinking on one’s feet in response to tough questions. Socratic method is a technique used by professors to delve into the understanding of the student by asking a series of questions that will lead to a contradiction in terms, then to a conclusion. While this can be harrowing and embarrassing for some students, finding oneself at a loss for words, it teaches the student to think logically and to be quick and precise in reasoning. This, in addition to the composition of essays with clear and concise answers to intricate legal issues, will enhance the student’s oral and written communication skills.

Reading, understanding, and then piecing together information to compose a response is an essential part of law school. Students will be using case books and other legal writings, which can be very intimidating at first. At times, professors assign several cases to be read in preparation for the next class period. The most useful way to approach a case in terms of understanding the law, the parties involved, and the rationale for reaching the decision is to brief the case. This can be done using both inductive and deductive reasoning through questioning and answering. The five most common elements through which briefs can be constructed are facts, issue, decision, reason, and authority. This method of thinking while reading, a skill vital to practicing lawyers, provides a firm foundation of understanding and comprehension for what can sometimes be very complex and convoluted material.

4. Pursuing a Rewarding and Prestigious Career

Legal practice is one occupation where the young are not seen as the natural enemies of the old. The law is always going to be relevant in society, and it is the up-and-coming generations that will mould the laws of the future. A lawyer can often find out what his elders have done in similar situations, and this can be quite enlightening.

People want to meet a lawyer. Being a member of the legal profession is an assurance of status and employability. No matter how much automation there may be, the world will always require people with the ability to interpret information and use it to make well-informed decisions.

One of the main advantages of a law degree is its versatility – the fact that with a law degree you can do almost anything. A recent survey showed that law graduates are amongst the highest earners in the first five years after graduation. There are some genuinely well-paid jobs out there, but the truth of the matter is that most graduates will not be disappointed if they enter the workforce and are paid a mediocre salary, because the potential to earn more is always there. Almost every company in the world will at some time require legal expertise, and it is well-paying jobs that are often the most satisfying. Petitioners, and especially successful ones, know that rush of adrenaline and feeling of triumph when a tough argument has been won.

With a law degree, solitude is not something you will be familiar with. Lawyers are some of the most social creatures around – for the most part. They like people and people like them. A brief survey of your local area will quickly reveal how many people hold lawyers in high regard. This is due to the fact that they are perceived to be fantastic communicators, and if they do nothing else, this is the crux of what they do.

5. Making a Positive Impact on Society

These are the ways that a student of law can make a positive impact on society. Whether you are compelled to engage in law as a career or not, it is an understanding of the above concepts that will allow the knowledge of law to be a useful tool for positive change in the world. At the beginning, it was said that the knowledge of law is a useful tool. Now it has been shown how that tool can be used to work towards a better world. The knowledge of law is indeed an essential tool to have a positive impact on society.

Above all, it is the ideal of justice. Having an understanding of what is just and what is unjust in the world gives a person the ability to affect the changes that lead to a more just and equitable society. It is these ideals, often born in the minds of students of law, that provide the winds of change for a better world. Time and time again, it is men and women who hold the ideals of justice, equality, and freedom aloft that have the greatest impact on society.

Through the strength of the law, sympathy can be strengthened into action. When we are taught to realize the impact of our individual actions upon the well-being of the world, we begin to understand the intricate interplay of cause and effect. By avoiding the breaking of laws, this alone is an insufficient mode of fulfilling our duty to society. One must take positive action by involving himself in the change of his society. This involvement can take many forms. It could be working to aid those powerless to help themselves, such as the handicapped or the elderly. It could involve being an effective voice for those people whose voice has been lost in the tides of political wrangling. It could involve attempts to change the law, so as to improve the quality of life for people in a society. This sort of socially active law is a crucial way in which the quality of human life is enhanced. By learning law, one has a framework that he can utilize to influence real change in the world. Whether one is working through existing law or directly changing the law, the ability to affect social change through law provides a strong sense of personal fulfillment. Imagine the satisfaction of solving an actual problem in the world, as measured against a lifetime of having theoretical knowledge.