What’s So Great About Law School?

October 15, 2009 by Neelu Pal · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Where Law & Medicine Meet. Dr. Neelu Pal

Neelu Pal, MD/Seton Hall Law Student

SURGEON/ONE L

Where Law & Medicine Meet

What’s so great about law school?

It has been two months since I started attending law school. After two months the initial surreal-ness of law school is starting to wear off and a reality about the hard work that is required to excel is setting in. Yet with every passing day I realize how fortunate I am to have this opportunity to get a legal education. Understanding the law and being able to apply it is a unique ability that is often underrated by many people, including law students and lawyers themselves.

martinlutherkinggandhi3 Recently I had the opportunity to attend a reception at Capitol Hill, in Washington DC. It was an event that commemorated the historic meeting between Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King with Mahatma Gandhi. This was a meeting that forever created solidarity between people separated by oceans and continents, yet intertwined in parallel struggles for freedom and equality. The event itself was remarkable in that it was attended by so many dignitaries: senators, ambassadors and congressmen who spoke of inspiring events in their own lives and of the history that they had witnessed. It was a truly expansive experience to see people from South Africa, India, America, France, Germany, Mongolia, Vietnam and numerous other countries, all assembled to pay homage to something that had happened so long ago, yet was so formative in the histories of the two countries: India and the United States.

At this event, I had the opportunity to meet many of these dignitaries and senators. I met an eminently qualified individual, who after we exchanged brief introductions, told me about her very impressive work at the Health Policy department of the Veterans Affairs in Washington DC. She had considered going to law school in the past. She wanted to know why, after medical school, residency and fellowship training I thought it important to spend time to get a legal education. I could not explain to her the many events that led up to this decision, but I want to tell her what is so great about law school and why she should seriously consider getting a legal education.

In my mind the study of law serves two purposes. First, it develops a formal understanding of the rules that govern our society. And second, the knowledge of the law can be used in conjunction with any other field to bring it into greater focus and examine it closely while separating its components, almost like a prism and a magnifying glass combined. Read more

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What’s So Great About Law School?

Neelu Pal, MD/Seton Hall Law Student

SURGEON/ONE L

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