Andrew Jay McClurg, Neurotic, Paranoid Wimps―Nothing has Changed, 78 University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review 1049-61 (2010).
In an issue of the UMKC Law Review devoted to “1L Stories” and intended as a tribute to Scott Turow’s classic book, One L, the author recounts his own first-year tales of neurotic, paranoid wimpism (descriptors from Amazon.com reviews of Turow’s book). Turow wrote the foreword for the issue.
The author’s narrative asserts that a dominant theme of One L, the story of Turow’s first year at Harvard Law School, was negative affect. Turow talked of anxiety, fear, stress, panic, vulnerability, self-doubt, shame and grief, wounded self-esteem, unhappiness, paranoia, embarrassment, oppression, and insanity.
The author describes his similar experiences and asserts that, contrary to popular belief, things have not changed that much in legal education since his and Turow’s day.
[…] If you’re a law student who is struggling, seek help. Talk to your professors about it. Visit the university counseling center. Do not accept depression or severe anxiety as normal consequences of law school. There is no shame in suffering these conditions. I was a wreck during my first year. You can read about it in my 1L story for the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review: Neurotic, Paranoid Wimps—Nothing Has Changed. […]