In three years, they’ll be serving clients.
And what they must hold on to above all else is integrity.
“It’s a welcome-to-the-profession,” associate dean Elaine Gagliardi said. “We wanted to set a good tone, that this is not just another job.”
Dean Ed Eck told the students that they must listen to each other, to faculty, to other speakers.
“Don’t expect everyone to think alike,” Eck said. “But listen.”
This class, 44 women and 40 men with an average age of 25, from 18 different states and with 31 different undergraduate majors, came with as many different perspectives.
Some came prepared, knowing what their future holds.
“I’m going to study environmental law,” Beth Chambers, from Georgia, said. “It’s always been about the environment for me.”
Some came with just a few expectations.
“I try not to think about what happens,” Kirsten Tuntland, from North Dakota, said. “I know the first semester is the hardest and it’s better after that.”
And of the preconceived notions of law school the students brought with them, at least a few were dispelled the first day.
“Don’t take yourself too seriously,” Justice Brian Morris of the Montana Supreme Court told students gathered on the bottom floor of the law school.
Morris, who was elected to the Montana Supreme Court in 2004, picked out personal stories from his 16-year career in law and his time at Stanford Law School to persuade, encourage and mollify students about their chosen path.
“Remember what passions brought you to law school,” he told them, encouraging the 1-Ls to continue to do the things they loved before law school.
And he walked them through the next three years, with advice for each step along the way.
“After you make it through that obstacle course of the first semester, you’re headed for disaster,” Morris said. “Exams.”
He told them to form a study group, something he didn’t do the first semester of law school at Stanford.
“After you’ve made it through the first semester, about next January, you’ll start wondering, ‘What am I going to do for my first job?’ ” Morris said. “I would encourage you to look at public sector jobs, public service jobs.”
Morris gave more anecdotes about his first job with the U.S. attorney’s office in New York and his friendship with Jeffrey Toobin, then a lowly U.S. attorney who now is a well-known CNN legal analyst and legal writer.
“I always tell people I launched Jeffrey Toobin on his career,” Morris said after telling the students how he helped Toobin win his second case after losing his first as a U.S. attorney.
“One advantage of public service is the interesting people you meet,” Morris said.
About graduation: “It’s not about you, it’s about your family,” Morris said. “Sit back and smile, let them enjoy the day.”
After graduation, two tasks await: the bar exam and your first job.
“You’ll pass the bar exam - if not, then you’ll pass it the second time,” Morris told the students, who broke out into laughter. “Remember, it’s only a first job. Take it from me, I’m in my seventh job in my 16 years out of law school. ... Move toward a job where you want to be.”
One thing students liked about Morris’ talk was the fact that he appealed to them as colleagues.
“He didn’t talk down to us,” said Tim Daily, of Missoula. “It was good. It was practical knowledge for the next three years.”
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