Regrets, lawyers have a few...

Over at the ABA Journal's e-report, this link sets out some responses from lawyers to a question that might be of great interest to all the incoming first-year law students:

If you could go back and attend law school again, what opportunity do you wish you had pursued?  Or what seemed like a big deal at the time but, looking back on it, you would not pursue again?

This afternoon I gave these questions some thought and was pleased to discover that answers did not instantly jump to mind.   But, upon reflection, I regret being too focused on law firm jobs when I considered summer and post-clerkship employment possibilities.   I have always felt I under-utilized my 1L summer by taking a job at a small firm where I was really a glorified paralegal and received little significant experience.  And, while clerking, I did not explore the government or public interest opportunities that might have been available; I simply took for granted that I would return to the large NYC firm where I spent my 2L summer.

Of course, with loans to pay and other economic constraints, the almighty dollar (justifiably) played a role in my perspective and approach to employment opportunities.  And, knowing I wanted to teach, I (rightly) believed the big firm path was a good means to that end.  Nevertheless, my own (small) regret now finds expression in my advice to students to have a dynamic perspective on, and flexible approach to, their employment goals.

Others?