Panel discusses entry to law school

By Catherine Bratic     10/23/08 7:00pm

For many Rice students, the decision to go to law school can be a shaky one, made more unsettled by the lack of a pre-law track at the university and only a handful of law-related classes. But those students unsure of their future post-Rice careers can rest assured in the words of the seven speakers at Wednesday's law careers panel, who all described their accidental entries into the law field. Justice Carolyn King, who serves on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, said she found herself in law school merely because she lacked a plan for anything else.

"I went to law school because I didn't have anything else to do," King said.

King serves on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and said she does not regret the decision.

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"If you don't have something that's grabbing you [or catching your interest], law school may be where you end up," King said. "Law school is a great place to end up."

The panel, which has been held annually for the past three years, was organized by Rudy Ramirez (Lovett '01), an assistant to the district attorney in Fort Bend County, as a corollary to the LOVETT 237: Introduction to Law class he teaches each fall. Ramirez said he offers the class and organizes the panel to give back to Rice. He plans to continue teaching the course next year, as well as a new cybercrimes course this spring.

"When I was at Rice, one of the things that I saw was lacking was a way for people thinking of going into law to see what law school is like," Ramirez said. "It's a way of giving back the pre-law preparation that I thought was necessary when I was here."

The speakers at the panel included King; University of Houston Law Professor Gavin Clarkson (Lovett '91); United States Attorney James McAlister; Lauren Doughty (Will Rice '03), an assistant at Locklord Bissel and Liddell; Christian Capitaine, partner and founder of Capitaine, Shellist, Warren and McAlister; John Nickelson, a law clerk for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; and Robert Riddle, an intellectual property lawyer at Baker Botts.

The speakers explained their backgrounds and the paths that led them to law. The mysterious law school experience was of particular influence.

"The first thing I did when I got to law school was go to the library and notice that the books didn't have names on them, they had numbers," King said. "I thought, 'My God, this is going to be the death of my soul,' and to some extent it was."

Most law school course grades are based on one exam at the end of the semester. Fortunately, much of the exams are open to interpretation, Nickelson said.

"In law school, as I discovered, your exams and your answers are as much about your thought process, how you get there, as where you get," Nickelson said. "Law school exams are problems with no right answers. You've got to embrace ambiguity to make it in law school."

Clarkson used his experience as a law professor to offer students advice on those infamous exams.

"Let me give you a law school exam tip," Clarkson said. "The answer is, it depends. The advanced version of that answer is it depends sometimes."

Doughty reassured Rice students that no matter what, they were prepared for the challenges of law school.

"It's not the big scary thing that people think it is," Doughty said. "Your education at Rice will prepare you. You're amongst your peers and being challenged in your intelligence now, and you'll be prepared for it at law school. You're smart, don't worry about it."

The lawyers at the panel told students they were happy with their current careers, whether they had chosen to focus on prosecution, criminal defense or had chosen to work for a large law firm. For most, the spirit that guided them was public service.

"It's not my job to judge [my clients] or to defend what they do, it's my job to protect their rights, and the juries decide what's right," Capitaine, who works in criminal defense, said. "Have I ever had a client that needed to go to prison? Absolutely. But you realize how important it is to defend their rights in due process."

The discussion helped many students make more educated decisions about a future career in law.

"The speech was very informative, particularly with regards to the public service aspect," Baker College sophomore Connor Hayes, who is enrolled in the law class, said. "I'm not really sure at this point if I'm going to law school, but in part taking the intro to law class paired with the career panel has solidified some of the ideas I had about going to law school."

King encouraged all students, even those not considering a legal career, to give law school a shot.

"Law school is the best liberal arts education you can get, if you think about it," King said. "Even if you never practice law, the world we live in is surrounded in law. If you go to law school, you're going to understand so much more about the world that you live in than if you hadn't gone to law school. You will understand so much more when you read the paper.

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