Harry Potter Tickets vs.Three Years of Law School: Preparing Better Lawyers

There are many life lessons to be learned from J.K. Rowling's extremely popular Harry Potter series.  Some are obvious--tackling adversity, the value of an education, and for all experienced attorneys--how preparation joined with a little good luck and magic can lead to great success.  The Lawyerist includes a study of some of these skills and lessons in an educational review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

First, there's patience and how small steps can help an attorney achieve larger goals.  The Lawyerist notes:

When Harry finds out that he has to destroy numerous horcruxes hidden all over the world, that is a pretty big task. He accepts the task and sets out on his journey, knowing that it's a huge goal. But that goal can be broken down into smaller parts. First, figure out how to destroy a horcrux. Then find them one at a time. Simple, digestible goals. A great lesson for many attorneys with seemingly impossible tasks ahead of them.

Then there's the ability to rely on colleagues, friends and family for support.  Without his friends and professors, Harry's journey through adolescence would have been infinitely more difficult.  So will yours as a new attorney if you are too afraid to ask questions of your new colleagues and law school friends.

But most of all, The Lawyerist post stresses a new attorney's ability to be strong in the face of almost certain defeat.  Unlike Harry as he faces Voldemort, we may have tough days, defeats in court but the worst consequences we are confronted with in a law office or courtroom are not nearly as frightening as what Harry faces on a typical day.  Of course it is absurd to suggest that reading or watching the Harry Potter series would be sufficient preparation to launch a law career, but including life lessons and practical skills  such as these into the curriculum would be beneficial.

 Source:

 The Lawyerist