Here are just a few of the advantages of evening program law grads:
- They have a high tolerance for pain
- They are experts at multi-tasking
- They have demonstrated mastery of time management
- They know all about working 2,200 hours a year.
- Their mutual need to survive makes more collaborative and they are less likely to regard classmates as “the competition.”
- Having worked in a business environment they will arrive with a skill set and industry knowledge that can be leveraged in both practice and client development.
- They likely have spent more time using their computer for Excel than for Facebook.
A Word About Teamwork One of the key characteristics of night school students is their willingness to help each other out rather than viewing each other as “the enemy.” They tend to have empathy for each other’s unique “juggling act.” There are the famous stories of vicious competition among day students. That is not at all common among night students who develop a very unique bond and special forms of team work to help other “cross the finish line.” Night students excel at collaboration which is a touted as a key strategy for law firm success.
Are the Tables Turning? She like many other evening grads had ended up “in-house.” The shoe is on the other foot now as partners compete to gain favor and business from GCs. Let’s hope she is more open minded than the white shoe partner if he shows up to pitch work to her.
In light of the market upheavals, it may be time for law firms to seriously consider the advantages of evening law students as strategic assets in the “new normal.”