I Encourage You to Stretch Beyond Your Comfort Zone
I’ve always felt a bit uncomfortable around law professors.
They’re an exclusive club, and I’ve definitely never been “in” it.
In fact, before doing what I do now, I failed to get the 3 professor jobs I applied to.
👉 That made me feel like the entire law-school universe disapproved of me.
One plus from those years, though, was that I read a lot of articles by & about law professors.
👉 I learned a ton that helps me a lot in what I do now.
And the stuff written by this one guy really stuck out to me:
—His writing was crystal clear and captivating.
—The cadence of the prose really kept this otherwise slow reader moving quickly—which I can’t say is the case about a lot of what I read by lawyers.
But it didn’t even occur to me to reach out to him.
That’s because he was in that “club.”
(Why risk another rejection?)
And then I moved on.
I gave up the whole become-a-law-professor dream.
I stopped thinking about law school & legal writing altogether.
🔹 Fast forward through the years, and I see the guy on LinkedIn.
What should I do?
Should I reach out?
(I’d only posted 3 times at this point. So I was a nobody, and he had no reason to care about me.)
But I must have been feeling gutsy on Oct 15, 2021, because I sent him a DM.
(See my cringe-worthy, obsequious note that reveals the palpable state of my insecurity at the time.)
🔹 Now fast forward 4 years to the night before last.
You’ll find me featured to speak about legal writing on a panel he was moderating!
Wow — a “pinch me” moment.
➡️ All this is to say that last night really meant a LOT to me.
So thank you, Joe Regalia , for including me in your UNLV Law Lawyering Boot Camp panel.
I was sincerely honored.
⬇️
KEY TAKEAWAY FOR LAW STUDENTS:
You likely see lawyers and others on LinkedIn who you admire.
We all have our insecurities and baggage, and you are perhaps hesitant to reach out.
I hope my little tale will help to encourage you to stretch beyond your current comfort zone.
You never know where the story might lead . . .
💌 Amanda
P.S. Special shout out to my co-panelist, the great Patrick Hagen , and happy spring Saturday & weekend to all of you.
