MEMBERSHIP

Briefs , Bedtime Stories & Better Halves : Thriving as a Married Law Student

XINY " LILI " SONG Emory Law 2L xinyi . song @ emory . edu

W hen I decided to attend law school at 37 , my two daughters , aged 8 and 6 , along with my husband , were nothing but supportive . At the time , I had been a faculty at a tier-one public university for nine years and was starting to question the realworld impact of my research beyond just accumulating a respectable publication record on Google Scholar . My husband was thrilled for me to pursue my childhood dream of becoming a lawyer — a passion I can ’ t quite trace , as no one in my family is remotely connected to the legal field . My children were simply excited about the prospect of household diversity ; their dad is already a university professor . Naturally , none of us were truly prepared for the challenges ahead : the endless pages of reading , more frequent take-outs , and the disappearance of fall breaks . The most shocking change for the family was the timing of my first final exam in Torts that fell right after Thanksgiving weekend , a time we had reserved for meticulously planned vacations since the girls were born .

26 January / February 2024