Entering law school can be an intimidating thing for a student as they begin their journey toward a career in law.
From new concepts to heavy workloads and competition, it can take some getting used to. Lea Gaetto, a law clerk at Ankin Law in our personal injury department, found that out first hand in 2025.
“It was very challenging. I never expected school to be that difficult,” said Lea of her 1L year at UIC Law.
In that spirit, Lea decided to share a few tips for those who are starting law school over the next few weeks.
- Always do the readings: “There’s so many shortcuts that you can take with AI. I definitely don’t recommend doing that, at least for your first year, because you really gain a lot of knowledge and key details that you might not get if you were to use AI.”
- Don’t compare yourself to peers: “You might study in a different way than someone else, and they might need to do more work, or you might need to do more work just to learn a concept. So trying to avoid comparing yourself to the person to your right or left because it will just tear you down if you’re thinking about that.”
Along with having a year of experience at UIC Law, Lea also credits her time working at Ankin Law with Attorney Raquel Gross for developing a strong perspective on her legal education journey.
You can see more from Lea on her advice for those who are attending law school for the first time in the video.
