With a few magic words at a ceremony in June this year I was transformed from a mere Student-at-Law into a Lawyer, with all the powers, privileges and responsibilities that come as part of the profession. It was a great feeling to be leaving behind my life as a student, all that learning, tests, and constant evaluation and joining the world of the professional, no more evaluations, no more tests, and having the answers for all of the questions.
Well not really, just like every transformation I had experienced previously, child to teenager, teenager to adult, elementary school student to high school student, high school to University there was no abrupt change from before and after a ceremony, aside from having a socially acceptable excuse for wearing robes in public of course. It turns out that those magic words did not give me all the knowledge and wisdom to be able to answer any question, and there still are evaluations and tests; every time you interact with a client or stand before a judge you most certainly are being tested and evaluated.
The most important thing that I have learned from the transition from Student-at-Law to Lawyer is that change, personal growth and learning is fundamental to our profession and never ending, each day you should be building on the last, becoming a better lawyer by improving our skills, learning about and keeping up with advances in the law, and providing more efficient and effective service to our clients. This is not something that ends at the Call to the Bar, but continues right on through a lawyer’s entire career.