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What I wish I knew about law school a long time ago

 April 26, 2017

By  Casey Berman

I took Tax Law as a 2L.

I struggled. I was a liberal arts major in undergrad, and was not used to doing problem sets. The professor was renowned, but I was intimidated by him and never went to office hours to improve.

And plus, Tax is just really hard.

I had ignored my homework, so I arrived at school early one morning to get it done before class. I plopped down in a chair at the school cafe, opened up my book, took out the worksheet, and continued to feel totally stumped …

… until I saw a fellow Tax classmate at a nearby table. He sat in the front row, was focused throughout class, answered most questions and was the resident Tax class expert.

He also was a really nice guy. And when I asked him if he had a few minutes to help me with the homework, he happily obliged. He explained the concepts to me clearly and with his help I got them done in less than fifteen minutes.

Wow, I said to him, thank you. If I may ask, how did you get so good at Tax?

Thanks, he said, but I should be good at it ... I was a CPA for ten years prior to coming to law school.

Betrayed

I'll never forget that day. Here I was in Tax Law class, competing with a more mature, sophisticated, driven person who was on top of all that deeply experienced as a Tax practitioner.

At that moment, all my doubts flooded in as to whether law school was the right place for me.

I felt I was too young to be there. I felt every other student was better qualified than I was to succeed. I felt going to law school was a big mistake.

As I look back on that time, I realize going to law school wasn’t actually a “mistakeâ€.

Rather, I realized that what drove me to law school were belief systems that actually didn't serve me right. Didn't serve my skills, my strengths or what I enjoyed.

I had subscribed to belief systems like A job is the only path to success.

And law school is the best way to get a good, respectable job.

And Security and Control should be top priorities.

And I can never make money doing something that calls on my creativity and bliss.

These beliefs were logical for me at that time. But they were not right for my life purpose.

It hurts for me to say this, but my belief systems betrayed me. They limited me.

And I've been working ever since to find beliefs that align with my desires and what is best for me.

If you’re ready to change your belief systems, and follow your bliss, join me.

If you’d like to schedule a call to talk directly, let’s find a time.

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