Stephen E. Reil, an attorney for Nixon Peabody LLP, told BYU-Hawaii students to “be comfortable with the uncomfortable” if they want to study law during a Legal Studies forum titled “Path to Law School and Service in the Law.” Students said the forum helped them realize they can serve in a positive way through law.
Hosted and conducted by the BYUH Prelaw Society, the forum was held during the normal Tuesday Devotional time on Mar. 21. Attendance at the forum low anticipation, but the several seats that were filled allowed for a more intimate discussion.
Apart from giving his law school background and describing what he does for a living, Reil also shared that this occupation requires a lot of forgoes. Even when on vacation with family, he often still does work. He said, “Depending on what you do with a legal career, it could require a lot of sacrifices… but it’s a rewarding career.”
For those who could not attend the forum but are interested in law, Reil said, “My main advice is to not go to law school just because you don’t know what to do. But if you feel drawn to the law then go for it and find a practice in the law you are passionate about. And then, regardless of your career path, find ways to serve those in underserved populations.”
Having originally worked in engineering, Reil had what he called “a mid-life crisis.” He decided to go to law school at age 30 with two kids and more on the way.
He said he originally wanted to do construction litigation. “To be honest,” he said, “I didn’t want to be in a courtroom…I realized what I’m comfortable with: I’m comfortable with people’s money.”
Reil was opened up to the audience and answered questions during a Q&A session at the end of the forum. He offered pieces of advice such as “Be serious about law school” and “Law is ever-changing; things are always moving.”
At the end of the forum, he humbly thanked his wife and five kids, who arrived at the forum towards the end. The BYUH Prelaw Society presented him with a gift and took a group photo with the audience, Reil, and his family.
Reflecting on his presentation, Reil said, “I think it went okay, but in retrospect I probably got a little too technical. I was trying to give people a brief synopsis of what transactional attorneys do but realized they were pre-law (not law) so probably got a little too far into the weeds.”
Reil said that he reached out to Jennifer Kajiyama, an adjunct professor in political science, to let her know he would be in town vacationing with his family. “I asked if there was anything I could do to help her pre-law group and I ended up speaking at this forum.”
Faavela Ah Sam, a sophomore in political science from American Samoa, said she’s interested in going to law school and heard about the forum from her political science professor. She said, “I liked the forum because it made me realize that practicing law and having a legal career require a lot of sacrifices. The thing that stood out to me the most was when he said we should find areas where we can serve the people who really need it. Serving others is important in every career, but I feel like what makes a legal career unique is being able to serve those who really need it.”
Morgan Smith, a freshman from Georgia in political science, said she came to the forum to learn about law school and Reil’s past. “We learned more about the good lawyers do, rather than the negative we always hear in the media.
“Something I am taking away is learning to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. I never thought about it that way. You have to learn about it and law school teaches and gives you these skills.”
Smith said she would encourage others to attend Legal Studies forums “because law is for everyone, and we live under its dictates. You can never be too well-rounded.”
Writer: Leslie Owusu