Handles Civil Cases Appealed from Lower Courts

Name: William Hart

Major: Political Science

Law School: University of Minnesota

Description of your job: I handle civil cases that are appealed from lower courts (the district courts where trials are held) to appellate courts (intermediate courts of appeal and supreme courts, state and federal).

Do you have any advice for students who are considering going to the same law school you did? Learn to write. Learn to think critically. Read. Develop a broad base of knowledge about the world, its history, and how it works.

Is there anything in particular that you did during your undergrad that benefited you more than anything else in getting through law school and/or transitioning into the legal profession? I learned how to write.

If you had a chance to go through law school all over again, is there anything you would do differently? I would hope to connect with someone who could give me a broad perspective of the real world that lies beyond law school and the reason it's important to learn as much as you can.

Is being a lawyer what you expected it would be? Why or why not? No ‑ see answer above. I went through law school for law school's sake. I did not understand what the practice of law would be.

What is it like transitioning from being a law student to being a lawyer? While students learn and then demonstrate their learning in a controlled test, lawyers solve problems on a field with no boundaries. Realizing that the responsibility falls on the lawyer to take charge of and solve problems was a big eye opener for me. There are no "right" answers, and a lawyer's skill and individual approach makes all the difference. That surprised me.

Is there anything students should know about the legal profession before they decide to commit their life to it? It's not glamorous. It is very competitive, and not everyone will succeed.