Nikolai Morse ‘24
Staff Editor
When I was considering applying to law school, my age was one of the things I weighed heavily. Assuming I got in, I would be thirty-one when I graduated, and turning thirty-two shortly after taking the bar and beginning work. I worried that this might be too old to begin a new career, but like many people, I also felt certain it was a career that I would regret not pursuing. While I’m not really that old by any objective standard (contrary to what my friends in Section A will tell you),[1] I do think being a few years older can lend a different perspective than the average law student[2] might have. As our semester begins to wind down and people tell me more and more that I “really need to start outlining” and “maybe you should go to office hours, even just once”, this “old” 1L wants to offer some observations from his first semester in law school.
First, we go to school in an incredible place. And believe me, I was prepared to dislike it—having lived in Chicago, New York, and Northern California, I was frankly not thrilled at the idea of living in a college town for three years. But any irrational[3] fears I had have quickly been quieted. All of the things people usually say about Charlottesville—beautiful landscapes, breweries and wineries, hiking, restaurants[4]—are of course true. But what’s truly remarkable about Charlottesville is how balanced it is. We have all of these things, but in a relatively small town. We are surrounded by beautiful rolling hills and farmland but have a terrifically walkable downtown. There is a gigantic incredible university, but there are a variety of neighborhoods with their own non-college personalities. This all combines to make Charlottesville an unbelievably “liveable” place in general, and particularly so for three years of law school. For all of you young(er) law students living in Pav, Arlington, and the general law school-Barracks strip mall bubble, I strongly encourage you to explore the rest of the town. Take it from a geezer who has lived in a couple of large cities—we are truly lucky to be here.
Pictured: This reporter enjoying 1L Contracts with Section A. Photo courtesy of Google.
Second, we are swimming in a sea of incredible opportunities. I could not imagine an environment where in one day you could go from discussing challenging legal concepts in class, to hearing a judge speak during lunch, to going back to class and learning that railroads are basically torts in infrastructure form, and then working with local attorneys to help community members to file refugee applications for their family members in Afghanistan. Now to be clear, I have never done any of this, so it technically is imaginary. BUT, I have seen students doing these things, heard them describe all that they’ve learned, and am impressed at how many weeks they have lived on free food. The daily reality of attending a world-class law school is that you are bombarded with opportunities that you rarely get the chance to access in the working world. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how valuable not only our class time is, but also the plethora of lectures, pro bono opportunities, and extracurricular activities. It was one of the things I was most excited to experience coming back to school after working for six years, and I have been awed by the array of avenues for education, self-improvement, and service which we are surrounded by.
Third, and most importantly, the people here are incredible. I’ll be honest – everyone is a bit younger than I had hoped when I came to law school. I assumed that there would not be quite so many K-JDs. I was wrong. I assumed I would not be surrounded by so many people ironically wearing 90’s clothes and calling them “retro” or asking “if skinny jeans were back.”[5] I was wrong. I assumed that most 2Ls and 3Ls would not regularly be four years younger than me. I was wrong. But most importantly, I did not know how incredibly kind and insightful all these youths would be. I am surrounded each day by peers who are here to learn, willingly and seriously engage with the material, and strive to improve themselves. This kind of earnestness and interest in something intellectual is something I haven’t been around in years. The reality is that most people in the working world generally don’t have the time, interest, or energy to sit around and discuss issues of policy or justice in deep and meaningful ways. Having worked for even just six years has helped me to appreciate just how valuable and rare this is. And we are lucky enough to be surrounded by these kinds of people every day.
All of this goes to underscore this elderly 1Ls my main takeaway from the first semester of law school: I am deeply grateful and appreciative of being in law school at this point in my life, and specifically, grateful to attend law school here. And every day I am reminded of that.
[1] Shout out Section A, specifically shout out the Gen-Z’s who keep trying to convince me that TikTok is a thing.
[2] Apparently, the average age is 24. Given all the youths in my section, that must mean every other section is filled with folks catching the early bird special at Denny’s. https://www.law.virginia.edu/admissions/class-2024-profile
[3] Genuinely was worried this might be my life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighbors_(2014_American_film)
[4] Special shout-out to the Alley Light where my fiancé works part-time and I mooch free drinks full-time.
[5] Again, looking at you Section A Gen-Z’s. Skinny jeans never went anywhere.