Ramsey Cooper is a first-year student at Loyola Law School dedicated to centering community and humanity through her legal studies and career.
Each school day, I try to go to a lunch event happening on campus. In doing this, I have been able to learn about different areas of law and what the day-to-day for various lawyers looks like. As a first generation law student, these events have been incredibly helpful with understanding how the legal profession operates. I had a vague idea of what kind of law I wanted to practice before coming to Loyola, but these events allow for personal perspectives to influence my choices. These events have proven to be more helpful than just a general Internet search about the topic.
I attended an event called “Defending the Family: Child Welfare and Why Public Defense Must Evolve” hosted by the Criminal Law Society. Along with the delicious tacos provided, the information that I learned was immensely valuable. I started to tear up when one of the speakers recalled the pain of seeing families ripped apart in court. Getting insight from lawyers who experience this tragedy often and are actively working to better the system has been one of the most impactful parts of my 1L year. I had no interest in family law before law school. I’m not even sure I knew what family law was a year ago. But now, I know much more than I would have thought possible about one topic from just one hour at lunch.
One of my favorite parts about law school is having the opportunity to push my brain in ways I would have never tried to had I not continued my academic career. Obviously attending classes, doing the readings, and taking exams has pushed me academically, but also attending these lunchtime events and gaining valuable insight from practicing lawyers about their various practice areas has played a big part in my learning experience as well. Taking advantage of these lunchtime and after class events has been rewarding and insightful.