If you are not on your own legal path, at best you will be in someone else’s footsteps and at worst, you may never reach your destination.
In someone else’s footsteps, you cannot innovate, only imitate; you cannot truly lead, only enthusiastically follow; you cannot fulfill yourself, you can only fill their shoes. You never have to follow the thousand-year path; only do so if it serves you. If it does not serve you, you will find yourself subservient to it.
As a first-year law student, there was a lot of pressure to comply with the traditional path. In the highly esteemed, yet competitive, field, there seem to always be “strongly suggested” activities which just put unnecessary pressure on students — particularly first years.
I remember quite well when I was approached to do editing for the law review. At first, they simply invited me on, to which I politely responded, “editing is not my virtue.” Then they played a hedonistic — AKA pleasure-centered — angle and tried to convince me it would be fun. I laughed a little at that and told them that Bluebook Parties are no fun, they’re an oxymoron.
But still, they appealed my decision and tried to tug on my pride by calling it prestigious. Their appeal had taken this conversation to a higher court, and with the game getting more intense — which is a polite way to say less interesting but more amusing — I decided to bring out the big guns. I employed Sarcasm to make my case — and I have to say, I think she did a pretty good job. She sauntered out and said, “Winning a national Spelling Bee is prestigious. My life has been complete without it.”
And just like that, with only one statement, she made that line of argument redundant — making it a moot point, in a moot court case. But the opposition was not done. Before Sarcasm could even sit back down, they blurted out another line of reasoning — claiming it would help me get a job. Sarcasm merely snickered, glanced over her shoulder and said that anyone who wants to hire me because of my Bluebook mastery should consider another candidate.
And that was it. Motion denied, case closed. Judgment passed. From the third year who now looked down on me, that is. In their parting comments, they threw a Hail Mary and remarked that it was a good contribution to legal scholarship, but I told them I’d rather be the one writing law review articles — which I did end up doing four times as a law student.
All that is to say, you do not have to follow conventions. Not for a good education, nor for a good job, nor for anything else. Granted, there are certain rules you’ll have to follow, for example, you cannot practice law if you haven’t passed the state bar (not yet at least!). But outside of the major requirements, there are a plethora of nuances to be explored. Both while studying law and outside of it.
Beware, the thousand-year-old path always leads to the same place. As, well-known author James Clear said, “The direction was planned. The path was serendipitous.”
Olga V. Mack is the CEO of Parley Pro, a next-generation contract management company that has pioneered online negotiation technology. Olga embraces legal innovation and had dedicated her career to improving and shaping the future of law. She is convinced that the legal profession will emerge even stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive than before by embracing technology. Olga is also an award-winning general counsel, operations professional, startup advisor, public speaker, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. She founded the Women Serve on Boards movement that advocates for women to participate on corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. She authored Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat and Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security. You can follow Olga on Twitter @olgavmack.