I Love That Loyola Is A Law School for Los Angeles

Chris Kissel is an LLS student blogger.

Everyone has their expectations of what law school will be like when they get there. If you don’t have family members or close friends who’ve gone through it, those expectations are probably shaped by movies and TV. Some images are very familiar: mountains upon mountains of homework; humiliating cold-calls; classmates ripping pages out of library books so no one else can study from them. It’s all enough to make you wonder why anyone goes to law school in the first place.

Loyola definitely is not like that. (And, for all I know, neither is any other law school – I mean who, in the 21st Century, even looks at library books anymore?) Loyola is a down-to-earth place; a place for students who are ready to dig into their work as lawyers. An attorney I know who practices in L.A. – a person who did not go to Loyola – once described Loyola as “the city’s law school.”

I love that idea. I feel great when I see that idea borne out in real life. I see it manifested in many of the students, who are hard-working, unpretentious, and always willing to collaborate. A good many, it seems to me, are eager to work through law school so they can go on to join the bloodstream of this city – perhaps in public service, or on behalf of clients with special needs. In my own experience interning in both government and public interest law offices while at Loyola, I’ve met so many inspiring grads – from judges to civil rights lawyers to executive directors of nonprofits. They all seem particularly well-prepared for the avenue of service they have pursued.

I’m inspired by the idea that Loyola is where so many people who want to serve this city come to get their education. After all, it has a nearly 100-year history of educating lawyers, much of that history at its current campus adjacent to downtown, where there are so many in need of representation.

If you want to go to law school, but worry the environment will look too much like what you’ve seen in the movies, I can reassure you – that’s not Loyola. While it’s by no means easy (it is, after all, law school) it’s a supportive environment, and one that particularly speaks to the ideal of service. To call Loyola “the city’s law school” is, I think, to pay it a tremendous compliment.

TOPICS: Alumni, Los Angeles, Networking, Peers & Colleagues