A Summer Outside the Law

My compatriots have found themselves in new places and in unfamiliar circumstances. My summer situation is far less exciting. Rather than traveling great distances and directly applying the legal knowledge I paid $10,000 for, I find myself back where I was before I started law school: working as an academic researcher looking at the controversies of hydro development - just this time, in BC.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty happy with what I've got going on. I work as flexible hours as I'd like, where I'd like, and work with some very cool people. The work is interesting and something I am very comfortable with. And I get paid well enough. Moreover, it allows me the long-term flexibility to leave for southern Ontario in the middle of the summer to work at a summer program for super-smart high school kids - they are far smarter than I will ever be.

But for all the advantages of this summer set up, there is a lingering feeling that I am missing out and falling behind. I found a remarkable and implied pressure during the first year of law school that we should pursue summer positions in the legal field. It needn't be limited to law firms and we were encouraged to seek out positions with the government and with non-profits. But it should still fall within the legal purview. Indeed, many of us were lucky enough to get into UVic's renowned law co-op program, which is designed to place students in four-month legal work terms. While many in our class were able to find positions in the co-op program, lots of us were unable to do so. The reasons are many and varied, but a less-than-stellar job market is largely to blame.