We know what you did last seminar
Law students are often thought of as loud, outspoken and kind of braggy, but that doesn’t meant they don’t have their secrets too.
In fact, there are lots of things law students are guilty of doing, but are just too embarrassed to admit. Here are Legal Cheek’s top 13.
1. Reserved a space at the library, then gone home for a nap
Library space hoggers are commonly thought of as the lowest of the low in law student circles, but we bet you’ve done it at least once.
2. Attended a lecture or tutorial in last night’s clothes or make up
Almost always hangover-induced. Particularly amusing the day after Halloween.
3. Picked an optional unit because it sounded easy
Stop pretending you’ve had a deep, long-standing passion for criminology ever since you were born; you picked it because it sounded a hell of a lot easier than transnational arbitration.
4. Prepped for the wrong tutorial
Having to nod along to two hours of constructive and resulting trusts when you’ve spent more than ten hours reading up on Rawls’ theory of justice is pretty soul-destroying, but you don’t think anyone clocked on.
5. Based your entire tutorial prep on Wikipedia/e-lawresources
Which didn’t appear on the reading list, by the way.
6. Dropped legalese into an essay when you still don’t know what it means
Inter alia, prima facie, who cares?
7. Boasting to your housemates you spent eight hours in the library; definitely did not spend eight hours in the library
Time spent shopping, eating out, smoking, going for walks and napping on the comfy chair in the foyer does not count towards time spent in the library.
8. Pretended you couldn’t find an article online, when really you didn’t even look
Other common excuses include ‘my LexisNexis account wasn’t working’ and ‘we’ve been having problems with the internet in our student house’.
9. Blamed your non-attendance at a social event on tutorial prep
Tutorial prep you knew you weren’t going to do that night anyway. Unfortunately your housemates won’t accept ‘but it’s Bake Off on Wednesday!’ as an excuse, so you have to resort to dropping the ‘I’m doing my land law essay’ bomb instead to get out of social arrangements. Then you can watch Bake Off in peace.
10. Lied about how many vac schemes and training contracts you’ve applied for
You can’t face the shame of receiving 20+ rejections, so you tell your friends and family you’ve only applied for one or two. The ultimate embarrassment comes when you realise you’ve finished every single application with the line ‘and that’s why I really want to work for Norton Rose Fulbright’. The shame.
11. Take photos and photocopies of library books because you can’t be bothered to lug (what must be at least half a stone worth of) books home
You think it might be a breach of copyright, but you do it anyway.
12. Came to the law fair to gorge on free cake and sweets
By the end of the morning you feel a bit sick, but you still have to keep up the false pretense among graduate recruiters that you’re really interested in shipping law and working at ‘firm name you’ve never heard of’.
13. Accidentally defaced a library book
One minute you were taking a sip of coffee, next moment said coffee is all over the Chitty on contract law you borrowed on a short loan. You may also have mistaken the offending library book for your own and, in a moment of madness, scribbled a note in the margin or highlighted a key word in the text. Mortifying scenes.
