2L Robin Love: Taking a Practical Approach to Law

<<"As generic as it sounds, I really want to help people," Love says.

For her undergraduate studies, Love attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she studied history. She then decided to attend the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta.


Click Here to Find Law Student Jobs on LawCrossing

"I chose [John Marshall] because it was relatively close to home and had an outstanding faculty. It is unique because it is a small private school...and everyone helps one another," she explains. "There is not the cutthroat competition like in most schools."

Love, 26, says she is stimulated by the plethora of information that the law gives her.

"If you learn the law, then you learn both what your constraints are and what your freedoms are. And having the knowledge of what you can and cannot get away with (and, in turn, what others can and cannot get away with) is very empowering," she says. "As it turns out, knowledge really is power."

As far as her most-enjoyed classes go, Love says her favorites have changed over the course of her time in law school.

"Civil Procedure was my favorite during my first year because it actually teaches you strategy," she says. "Now, Evidence is my favorite class because it is so hands-on and trial related."

Love says that she "feel[s] at home inside of a courtroom," so she hopes to work for a criminal or civil litigation firm in the future.

"I'd rather talk than write, and I know most people would rather listen than read. So this makes courtroom work more appealing — even though I am fully aware that I have to write it before I can say it. But there is just something comfortable about writing an argument that you know does not need to read perfectly because you will have the opportunity to explain it," she says. "I also find the atmosphere very exciting; it gets my adrenaline pumping. And because every case is precedent, I feel like with each case I have the opportunity to shape the law."

Click Here to Find Summer Associate Jobs on LawCrossing

Being involved in student organizations has been very important to Love. She is a junior staff member of the law review, and she's also on the mock trial team. Additionally, she's a member of many student organizations, such as the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America).
 

Q. What do you do for fun?

A. Watch movies, drink, church — odd combination, I know.

Q. What CD is in your CD player right now, or what was the last song you heard?

A. A mix CD.

Q. What is the last magazine you read?

A. I only read casebooks these days.

Q. What is your favorite TV show?

A. Grey's Anatomy.

Q. Who is your role model?

A. Jesus.

Q. What is something most people don't know about you?

A. I am very eclectic in my tastes and interests. I like all types of music and movies. I love law but watch medicine shows. And lawyers are supposed to have no creativity, yet I oil paint!

"It's a good learning experience as well as [a good] networking opportunity," she adds. She is planning to intern in the future.

Unfortunately, Love is on her own financially. Her parents are disabled, but she says they provide her with the emotional support she needs. She currently works as the LexisNexis student representative of her school.

"[It's] empowering and rewarding...to know the true extent of our freedoms," she says about the law overall. "I'd like to help people by sharing this knowledge with them and defending civil liberties."

Love says that prospective law students need to accept admission into a law program with little doubt.

"I think you should only consider law school if you are serious about it," Love says. "Law school is a huge commitment, and if you are not ready to make that commitment, then you are not ready for law school."

Click Here to View the 2015 LawCrossing Salary Survey of Lawyer Salaries in the Best Law Firms

Hoping to graduate in May of 2009, Love has a final word of advice for her peers: "Read!"