Four Tips For Overcoming Law School Imposter Syndrome

4 Tips For Overcoming Law School Imposter Syndrome

Some people start law school with confidence oozing from every pore. Maybe they come from a family of lawyers. Perhaps they worked as a paralegal before starting law school. Maybe they read Supreme Court opinions as an undergraduate. Or maybe they just feel that they have what it takes to be a lawyer. However, not everyone starts law school with this kind of confidence. Below we talk about four tips for overcoming law school imposter syndrome.

4 Tips For Overcoming Law School Imposter Syndrome

What is law school imposter syndrome? 

Dictionary.com defines “imposter syndrome” as “anxiety or self-doubt that results from persistently undervaluing one’s competence” that can lead to “falsely attributing one’s accomplishments to luck or other external forces.” An imposter is someone who deceives others by pretending to be someone they are not.

In the law school environment, imposter syndrome can manifest in a variety of ways. For example, you might feel like you are not smart enough to be a law student; instead, you might chalk up your great LSAT score to simply a lucky test day.  You may cringe when your mother brags about her “brilliant son who is going to be a lawyer.” You might believe that you shouldn’t have been chosen for law review. And as you get closer to graduation, you may start to think that you have no business representing people. The thought that people might trust you with their life, liberty, or property is terrifying to you. If you have any of these thoughts, you might suffer from law school imposter syndrome.

If you do, you are in good company. Imposter syndrome is prevalent in high-performing and self-critical people. In fact, the same qualities that brought you to law school are the very same ones that might set you up for law school imposter syndrome.

4 Tips for Overcoming Law School Imposter Syndrome

 1. Remind yourself how far you have come.

If you are in law school, you have come a long way since you were a freshman during your undergraduate studies. You have come even farther from where you were in high school. Yet, you may have dreamed of being a lawyer for years. Even if you didn’t, you know a lot more about the law now than you did just a short while ago. You can recognize issues in cases, you can now identify the plaintiff and defendant, and you might have some experience briefing cases.  Take a moment to reflect on how much you have learned already. Doing so is the first step in overcoming law school imposter syndrome.

2. Remember how hard you worked to get here. 

You know better than anyone else how hard you have worked. Law school success is not handed to anyone. You have to work at it. Recall how many hours you have spent reading, studying, writing, and then reading some more. Think about all the activities and events you have missed while you were in the library studying for exams. Remember how you struggled to understand the Rule Against Perpetuities and to memorize the Federal Rules of Evidence.  Those efforts provide you with the right to call yourself a future lawyer. Your hard work distinguishes you from an imposter.

 3. Rely on your school’s judgment.

While law school can certainly be overwhelming at times, keep in mind that you did not grant yourself admission. Someone reviewed your application materials and determined that your credentials would make you a good fit to excel at their institution.  You are in law school because the admissions committee believed you could get through law school, pass the bar exam, and make the law school look good in the process. You are capable and worthy to be in law school.

4. Realize that you are not alone.

Know that you are not alone and that anyone can have law school imposter syndrome.  That incredibly confident (on the outside) student in your class might be struggling just the same way you are.  You probably have some professors who had to deal with this throughout law school (and might continue to have it throughout their careers!). Law school imposter syndrome can strike the most knowledgeable, professional, and experienced amongst your classmates and colleagues.

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