Leila Hicks Shares 3 Essential Tips for Law Students, Plus 9 Student Reps Offer Their Perspectives

February 16, 2021

We recently spoke with Leila Hicks, NCBA Young Lawyers Division Law Student Division Director, and nine NCBA Law Student Representatives, who describe how the Law Student Division is an important resource for students, especially this year.

 

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“When people graduate from law school with confidence, I think that it sets them on a really great path to have a successful career,” says Leila Hicks.

Leila works with student representatives from all six of the law schools in North Carolina. She and the representatives assist law students by connecting them with the NCBA, members, and each other. Specifically, Leila and the reps work together to create and facilitate virtual events, workshops, pro bono opportunities, and resources tailored to law students.

Gaining practical experiences and forming new connections go hand in hand. Both are important in preparing law students to become lawyers. Through connections, students can learn about internships and volunteer work; through internships and pro bono service, students gain valuable experience, have opportunities to explore practice areas, and expand their network.

By joining the Law Student Division, students have access to both kinds of resources, practical and personal, during their law school career. These resources are especially important in 2021 because students’ coursework is primarily conducted online rather than face-to-face. Providing a sense of community through virtual means is what Leila and the law student reps have set out to accomplish this year, and their efforts are making a difference.

Connecting with Others

Leila’s efforts are laying groundwork for overcoming a particular challenge faced by law students today: a sense of isolation.

“Law students themselves do feel very disconnected,” said Leila. “But with the resourcefulness, passion, and ingenuity that the law student reps and the committee chairs have this year, we have been able to do a really good job of putting together virtual events and staying connected as much as possible to provide opportunities for networking, for job searching tips, and for connections with other law students potentially not in their schools.”

In conversing with the representatives, several students described spending days and weeks alone in their apartments or homes – for some, places too familiar – watching classes on Zoom, studying, and missing in-person interactions with other students.

They also described, with excitement, what they have learned from virtual panels organized by Leila and the Division, and their plans for serving with the Division in the future.

If students can continue to connect with others, whether over the phone, through a message on social media or an online chat, they can continue to make friends and find mentors. These moments can remind them that they are part of a large network of individuals who have much in common, including a future profession.

Last year, one event Leila helped to organize was a new twist on a classic experience. While in previous years, NCBA law student reps were able to set up a table in a common area on campus with other student organizations, offer candy, and speak in person with students, this year, this type of event had to be reimagined.

The Elon student reps stepped up to the challenge by creating a virtual sign-up held via Zoom. “It was an informal conversation about the Law Student Division and the Young Lawyers Division and what resources the Bar Association has,” Leila shared. “Some asked me questions about my practice; some asked about my background, and what they could do at the Bar Association as law students and how they could get involved. So we’ve been finding ways to make sure that people still make those connections that we can’t do in traditional way but in a new method that feels like a traditional way.”

Giving Back through Pro Bono Work

Providing students these resources is a joy for Leila as she hopes to give students the resources that would have helped her when she was in law school.

Leila is a personal injury attorney with the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin. She is originally from Davie County, near Winston Salem, and she graduated from the University of North Carolina, where she earned a B.A. in political science and philosophy, and from UNC School of Law, where she obtained her J.D.

She has volunteered in a number of ways with both the North Carolina Bar Foundation and the NCBA. Before her role as Division Director, she served with the Foundation’s McIntyre Youth Leadership Challenge in the Legal LINK Committee and the Law Student Division’s Bar Exam Committee, where she assisted in coordinating the Bar Exam Meet and Greet, which provides students refreshments and encouragement on bar exam days to students who are taking the exam.

In her current role as Division Director, Leila is especially passionate about working with first-generation law students. As the first person in her family to attend law school and receive a J.D., she is glad to help other students gain opportunities that will set them up for future success.

“Letting people know what they need to prioritize during law school is also a big factor. Not having any lawyers in my path growing up, I didn’t know how important it was to do things like journal, or to do specific internships, or to try pro bono projects and things like that, because the pro bono projects we do give practical skills, like Wills for Heroes.”

“Pro bono projects really are so important for law students because if they can put practical skills on their resume, even during their 1L winter break, if they do a project, it will help them get their first internship, and that first internship helps them get the second, and the second helps them get their job – their first associate position out of law school. So being able to learn something while helping people, connecting with the NCBA, those are all really wonderful benefits.”

Envisioning a Bright Future

When asked what law students need the most right now, Leila responds, “positivity and hope.”

Being a part of a group and taking hold of these resources can help students to offset some of the challenges they are currently facing – challenges which can impact their decisions. In many cases, the weight of fear – of the future and the unknown – can lead to hesitation, especially in applying for jobs and internships.

While reaching out to career development offices at four law schools in North Carolina, Leila learned a surprising fact.

“A lot of employers that were posting positions were not getting applicants. Other than remaining connected with each other, their professors, and their profession, students need positivity and hope that things will be back to normal. Because if they are not hopeful, they’re not going to take the steps that they need to prepare them for when they graduate.”

This sense of optimism can have practical results for students. Through accessing the resources offered by the Law Student Division, students can move forward into the future with confidence. That next step might be as simple as walking another student through how to register with the NCBA via a brief phone call. It might be virtually introducing a fellow student to a mutual connection or signing up to attend the next Law Student Division virtual panel discussion. It might be volunteering or applying for an internship.

Whatever that next step may be, the Law Student Division, Leila, and the representatives are here to support students.

“I really hope all law students find some way to connect to the Bar Association in any of those avenues because it makes a huge difference,” she says. “I have a lot of fun. I enjoy working with everyone. I feel like I’ve developed skills you wouldn’t traditionally develop just in regular everyday practice. I am glad I am here to help people.”

The NCBA is grateful for Leila’s service and for the difference she is making in the lives of law students in North Carolina.

On Staying Connected in 2021: Law Student Division Reps Weigh In

Nine Law student reps share how being an NCBA representative has empowered them to remain connected with others.

Ashley Williams

Ashley Williams, a 2L at Wake Forest University School of Law, is grateful to work with and learn from Leila.

“If you tell her any kind of vision you have, she tells you how she can make it happen or how you can make it happen. She is so incredible and understanding and wants to work with us and get as much accomplished as possible, and especially during COVID, that is beyond incredible. She has this great ambition. She wants all of us to be phenomenal, wants the best for everybody and wants to find a way to make it all happen.”

As she thinks about what is on the horizon this spring, Ashley hopes to create a panel on the topic of choosing a practice area.

“I think people, especially 1Ls, who don’t know what they want to do, giving them the opportunity to get involved and to hear different attorneys talk about their path and how they got there or what their job is – this is really is something we want to focus on.”

Ashley studied political science and government at the University of Alabama, where she also earned her Master of Public Administration. As she learned more about legal administration during her master’s degree, she was drawn to the legal profession. “I love the policy aspects of legal administration. I found myself being more interested in it, and that solidified my decision to go to law school.”

In thinking about law school this past semester, Ashley has found that online education offers some new avenues for learning. She describes the collaboration that is now involved in her courses, facilitated by breakout rooms and Google documents. Virtual group projects are now possible – projects that provide hands-on experience she would not have had otherwise. One major difference is that professors are less likely to use cold calling and more likely to lecture or offer collaborative learning projects.

In her business organization course, she and fellow students were given an assignment in which they read shareholder proposals and meetings while looking for specific information in the documents, but as part of a group.

“It was almost like a scavenger hunt, what goes through the proxy statements, what goes through the proxy card. I had never fully seen these documents before. They are hundreds of pages long. The way we were instructed, we were trying to figure it out, to draft shareholder meeting minutes. It is a little bit different than being cold called and asked what was in a proxy statement. I enjoyed it.”

Trey Ellis

Trey Ellis is a 2L at the University of North Carolina School of Law. Trey likes that as a rep, he can assist other students in getting involved with the NCBA.

“Becoming an NCBA rep is about bridging the gap between my fellow students at UNC Law and the NCBA, letting the students know about the benefits of being in the NCBA, and helping students to have a greater understanding of the NCBA and its advantages.”

One of those benefits is the accessibility of virtual events, which law students across North Carolina can attend from the comfort of their homes.

“All you have to do to go to these panels is to click a link.” The format makes it possible for students across the state to be included.

Trey, originally from Charlotte, moved back to North Carolina after completing his undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt University, where he played football as a walk-on. He stayed an additional year at Vanderbilt, earning a Master of Marketing while playing a fifth year with the football team. He decided to attend law school in 2019.

From a young age, Trey knew he wanted to be a lawyer because he wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. “I majored in political science at Vanderbilt and I was very involved in student government while being an athlete,” he said.

Now, in his second year of law school, Trey continues to volunteer in a number of roles: he is the 2L class president at UNC School of Law, a member of the trial team, and a member of the Dean’s Fellows, a group of law students who mentor a specific section of 1Ls.

When classes transitioned from in person to online, the change presented a new opportunity for Trey in the leadership positions he held. He remained connected to his fellow law students by reaching out to them over the phone.

“I had to create and find new ways to remain engaged with my classmates and continue to hear their voices. What that looked like for me is I have a lot of my classmate’s numbers, so checking in on them, even just a simple text, one person a day, a couple people per week, checking in and asking, ‘How are you doing? How are you feeling? How is the semester going for you?’ – it’s something as simple and casual as that.”

At the same time, Trey looks ahead to a time when in-person activities will be able to safely resume. “Once we return in person, knowing someone is in the room with you, knowing you can reach out and shake someone’s hand and give them a hug, I think that value will skyrocket. I miss my classmates, I miss my professors, I miss the staff and faculty at the law school, so that personal interaction is a very instrumental part of law school as well.”

Kristen Renberg

Kristen, a 2L at Duke University School of Law, shares how Leila has made an impact on her life.

“She takes an interest in every law student and understands that the NCBA is a great opportunity for the Bar Association to connect with law schools but also for Law School Reps to connect with the Bar Association.”

Kristen adds that Leila asked about the areas of law Kristen would like to practice in and recommended specific conferences to attend. Being able to reach out to Leila is something Kristen is grateful for.

Originally from Fresno, a large agricultural area in California, Kristen moved to Durham to obtain her Ph.D. in political science and government from Duke University. During the process of completing her Ph.D., she was drawn to the law and decided to go to law school at Duke after earning her doctorate.

“There is something very satisfying about helping people who have been hurt by the system,  people who are being taken advantage of by bigger entities, and that was the thing that convinced me that perhaps I should be an actual attorney.”

Kristen would like to stay in North Carolina upon finishing her degree, and she has enjoyed the chance to meet others who want to make a difference in the state through practicing law.

“It’s been so refreshing to be around new people, especially people who have shared interests with me and who want to get involved in North Carolina and be the best they can be within the state and contribute to the legal education of their peers and the professionalization with their peers. It’s been a great group to connect with.”

During an academic year when so many transitions took place, Kristen is glad to be working with Leila and the other student reps. As a law student representative, Kristen helped to bring the Grab-a-coffee program to Duke School of Law. “A couple of students took advantage of that and were able to talk to attorneys in RTP who had very similar practice areas to what they were interested in. It’s perfectly suited for a virtual situation. You just hop on your computer.”

Giving back through pro bono work is one way to gain new energy for moving forward, especially while in law school. When asked what law students need the most right now, Kristen says, “positive feedback – in the form of pro bono work. It’s so easy to study every day, all day and take an exam at the end of the semester, but having little wins along the way is so rewarding, like working on something for a pro bono client, it might just take a couple of hours, but you know you did something great, and that person said thank you. Little small wins throughout the semester—I think that is what law students need right now.”

Ataesheeana Storr

Ataesheeana (Tae) Storr, a 2L at Elon University School of Law, has enjoyed meeting new students and helping them to become connected with the NCBA. Following the virtual sign-up event for law students at Elon, Tae reached out to some students who were not able to attend and walked them through the NCBA Law Student Division registration process.

“It required me to meet more 1Ls, with more classes being online and some hybrid, and it allowed me to talk to people I normally wouldn’t talk to.”

Tae is from Rockingham, and she knew at a young age that she wanted to become a lawyer. After graduating from North Carolina Central University with her undergraduate degree in political science, she earned her paralegal certificate while working at a law firm for two years before applying and beginning law school at Elon. She hopes to become a personal injury attorney.

On the value of being a representative, Tae mentions her new friendships.

“I made connections with students from other schools. And we still talk outside of NCBA business. I appreciate that because even though they are not my classmates, they will be my colleagues.”

She also describes her favorite NCBA virtual event held last semester, a panel on what to expect in preparing for the bar exam. “It wasn’t about doing the material,” she shares – instead, it covered work-life balance, a study schedule, and stamina. After hearing the experiences of students via Zoom, Tae feels more prepared to figure out what will work best for her. “There is more than one way to study for the bar – more than one way to be successful.”

These resources on work-life balance can be especially helpful for figuring out what that looks like even before the bar exam. Tae is active in several organizations and is a vice president of case managers for the Innocence Project. She is learning to prioritize both serving and studying.

“While being driven and having a lot of self-discipline is important, it is also important to be selfless and thoughtful in this field because if you don’t care about your clients, can you really do a good job for them? Connecting with people and giving back your time with people . . . that is exactly what we’re doing when we practice.”

In the meantime, what do law students need the most? For Tae, it is the chance to process what is happening.

“Sometimes because we are so busy, we don’t deal with our mental health. So I think sometimes just having a space where students can talk about whatever it is they’re going through. We’ve conditioned ourselves to believe that rest is a reward and not a right. And that is something I had to learn this term. It’s a right, not a reward.”

Jeffrey Traversino

Jeffrey Traversino is a 3L at North Carolina Central University School of Law, and he anticipates being a part of upcoming virtual service opportunities this semester. Over the winter break, Jeffrey took part in a virtual meeting to plan for the semester with fellow NCCU law student representative Luke Ryan, as well as Jared Pone and Kayla Britt, who both graduated from NCCU School of Law.

In the online session, the group brainstormed different ways to share information with NCCU students about the Legal Feeding Frenzy and to increase NCBA Law Student Division membership and engagement. Their conversation was lively, and they each shared ideas for providing NCCU students opportunities to connect with the NCBA this spring, such as using social media to facilitate engagement with students.

Originally from Phoenix, Jeffrey first considered going to law school four years ago, when he moved to Raleigh. He took the LSATs but decided to obtain his Paralegal Certification and joined the NCBA. In March 2018, while attending a paralegal conference, he realized that becoming a lawyer was the next step for him because it would offer him the chance to accomplish what he wanted to do in the legal field.

One month later, Jeffrey applied and was accepted to North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Going to law school has surprised him in some ways – he wasn’t sure what to expect. Throughout the last few years, he has learned a great deal and anticipates using this information in his future career.

“They are trying to turn you more into an analytical thinker, to understand things from multiple perspectives because that’s what you’re doing as a lawyer, you are thinking about problems that are very multi-faceted, and you have to get to the bare bones of it, and mentally do that process automatically.”

Recently, he enjoyed one course in particular. “One of my favorite things last semester was trial practice.” This course will help him with bar exam preparation, he adds.

The transition to online coursework was an adjustment for him because the previous distinction between home and school was beneficial. “Being at the law school – that law school environment breeds focus on law school,” he shares. Jeffrey is married and has a daughter. He remembers the drive to school, which gave him time to prepare for the day ahead.

Despite the challenges the previous year presented, Jeffrey looks forward to the future as his time in law school draws to a close. He is eager to serve with the NCBA representatives during this, his final semester, and to graduate and practice law very soon.

Shena-Kaye Butler

Shena-Kaye is a 2L at Elon University School of Law. A native of Boston, Shena-Kaye moved to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to attend the University of Alabama, and after graduating and working for a year at a non-profit, she moved to Greensboro to pursue law school.

She recalls the excitement she felt when signing up to join the NCBA: last year, she learned of the opportunity in person at orientation. This year, Shena-Kaye assisted with the virtual sign-up event for Elon students. “We logged on, we just answered questions for students, showed them how to navigate the website, what resources were available, how to join. That was a foundational activity for law students.”

Shena-Kaye also enjoyed a Law Student Division virtual panel discussion in the fall of 2020 on the topic of the bar exam. Several young lawyers offered their first-hand experiences on taking the bar exam. She mentioned that law students often take unpaid internships while studying for the exam, and what she learned from them will be beneficial as she plans for the future.

“A lot of times law school doesn’t necessarily prepare you for that gap between ‘I’ve graduated, I’m studying for the bar, how do I finance this, how do I pay for this, how should I start planning for this?’” She continues, “It was really great for students to see that although we are in a difficult time, their goals and dreams are attainable, and their law school experience was not for naught. And where there’s a will there’s a way.” 

A number of factors played a role in her decision to become a lawyer: her interest in history, her love of learning about the world, and her personal experience. As a child, she observed the difference lawyers make in the lives of their clients. Shena-Kaye’s parents immigrated to the U.S. – her mom is from Jamaica, and her dad is from the Bahamas – and she watched them go through the process of becoming citizens. “It established that it is important to have someone to advocate for you and someone in your corner to help you navigate along the justice system.”

Shena-Kaye hopes to assist other law students in finding the support that they need. She is a part of the first-generation law student alliance at Elon, the Alliance of Legal Pioneers & Supporters.

“We all bounce ideas off each other, YouTube videos, all of that. It’s a really great resource for people that don’t have elsewhere to look. That’s one of the major reasons I joined the NCBA. I wanted other law students like me who didn’t have a point of reference to be able to know that these resources exist in NC for law students.”

When asked what students need the most right now, Shena-Kaye says, “I don’t think there are enough resources for universities and colleges going into mental health support for law students specifically.” Often, one person serves approximately one hundred students and is on campus once per week, she says, which can make it difficult for a law student to take advantage of counseling services. If full-time counselors are available, students would have greater access to mental health services and might be more likely to make the time for a counseling session.

Isaac Ridgeway

Isaac, a 3L at UNC School of Law, has served for two years as an NCBA representative. He earned his undergraduate degree in political science at North Carolina State University, where he minored in statistics and psychology, before working full-time at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and then going to law school. His work with the reps is important because it gives him the chance to provide information to students, to offer encouragement, and to connect them with others.

He discovered his passion for the law and for informing the public at a young age. His father is a judge, and his grandfather was a lawyer with Parker Poe. His grandmothers on both sides taught public school in North Carolina, and his other grandfather was a professor at N.C. State.

In college, his internship at the North Carolina General Assembly opened his eyes to the field in a new way. Then, during law school, he continued to work with Superintendent Mark Johnson in the Department of Public Instruction by managing social media accounts for public schools in North Carolina.

Now, Isaac enjoys leveraging his position as a representative to provide students access to networking and mentorship opportunities.

This year, Isaac has thought often of 1L students, who have not been able to meet and interact with other students and professors in the way that he and other 3Ls once did, before the pandemic. “Everyone is craving not just social interaction but interaction. There is a longing for feedback and some type of connection.”

He hopes to remind them that they are not alone.

“There has been sort of an identity crisis of what the culture will be for oncoming generations of law students. One thing I have enjoyed is finding ways to creatively use this virtual environment to instill this important culture among incoming law students.”

On this topic, he adds, “The next challenge is figuring at law schools how to generate a culture of collaboration as opposed to isolation and figuring out what it is to continue to communicate and grow together.”

To 1Ls, Isaac recommends prioritizing work both inside and outside the classroom and not being discouraged by impostor syndrome.

“Grades are one thing and experience is another, and I think you need to have a healthy combination of both to be a successful law student. You earned your spot, you deserve to be in the room, and not to be intimidated. The law school environment – a lot of people perceive it as intimidating. Once you kind of fight that giant, the fog kind of clears a little bit, and you are able to run your own race and focus on yourself.”

Ethan Trice

Ethan Trice is 3L at Wake Forest University, and he looks forward to graduating soon and to practicing real property and estate planning law.

He has participated in several events with the North Carolina Bar Association, and three stand out in particular: the Legal Feeding Frenzy, the Law Student Networking event, and a pre-pandemic casual networking event for law students and lawyers. Ethan recalls the latter and the informal conversations he enjoyed there, an event held at a local pub.

“They are most advantageous to meet folks who are practicing law and chat about how you got from law school to get the job, how you figured out your practice area and any advice to law students to keep their sanity. It is always good to network, to meet folks.”

Ethan is a non-traditional student who discovered his passion for the legal field while he was working in Prague. A friend of his was studying for her Bachelor of Law program at Charles University, and a conversation with her one evening about human rights law prompted him to write a response to what they had discussed.

“I wrote up what I meant to say. I sent it to her, and she sent that to her professor, and her professor invited me to an exit interview that she was doing for the final bit of her break. We spoke for several hours about human rights law, and I started to realize law wasn’t just criminal or family law.”

As Ethan looks ahead to taking the bar exam and finishing his degree, he is thrilled to become an attorney this year. What is he most looking forward to after graduation?

“Making money for the first time in my life,” he says.

His reply speaks to a major concern of law students today – or perhaps, for many, the primary one.

“Schools are offering mental health and counseling, which is obviously something that is good to have. At the end of the day, a lot of people’s concerns boil down to ‘I need a job.’” No amount of counseling overcomes that concern.”

Haley Haynes

A 3L at Campbell Law School, Haley likes letting other students know about the benefits of being a member of the NCBA Law Student Division and a student representative. She has served as an NCBA representative for two consecutive years.

“I have really enjoyed all the people I met through this position. I’ve become closer with the other law school reps. I’ve also met a lot of great attorneys.”

These connections have been instrumental during her time in law school.

“It’s made it a lot better to have connections, and I have learned that’s how a lot of people get jobs and internships, and friendships, which are important.”

Haley has seen this to be true in her own life. A conversation over lunch with two of her connections led to one of her internships with the North Carolina Secretary of State, where she worked with Ann Wall, who is a mentor. “She has taught me the importance of working with your team and building strong relationships with them in order to get further.” Through the internship, Haley had the opportunity to attend one of the Administrative Law Section Meetings in 2019.

Born in Asheville, Haley has been interested in politics and history ever since she can remember. She went to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington for her undergraduate degree, and during that time, her interest in the law was confirmed during an internship experience.

“When I interned at the DA’s office my junior year of college, that solidified to me that was the type of job I wanted to do, working directly with people, and just seeing how it makes an impact on people’s lives. And it felt rewarding.”

Following this position, she interned at a law firm in Wilmington during her senior year and the year after graduation.

As she looks ahead to her final semester, she anticipates virtual events with the Law Student Division this spring – one will offer practical tips for students who are taking the bar exam. “We are going to do a bar exam self-care panel,” she shares. This event that will assist students as they figure out work-life balance in a complex time.

Haley plans to join the Army JAG program after graduating from law school. “I think the experience I get in the military as a young attorney will be invaluable for the rest of my career.”

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The law student representatives will continue to give their all as they finish their degrees and step into their careers as attorneys. In the meantime, they look forward to virtually connecting with attorneys and other students and helping them to access the information they need the most. Through these connections, law students have the opportunity to place themselves on a path to achieve their goals, and Leila and the student representatives are doing everything they can to provide students meaningful events, resources, and mentorship along the way.

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Jessica Junqueira is communications manager for the North Carolina Bar Association.

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