South Carolina

Dane Phillips: Welcome y’all to the Direct Examination Podcast! My name is Dane Phillips.

Joseph Bias: And my name is Joseph Bias. Dane, how are you?

Dane Phillips: I’d be doing a lot better if Amber was here to do the “welcome y’all”! (laughs)

Joseph Bias: (laughs) We definitely miss Amber, but we are holding down the fort! Welcome everybody. We know this is a crazy, challenging time for everyone right now with the pandemic, and we appreciate you taking some time out of your day to listen to us.

Dane Phillips: Today we have two fantastic guests who are living right in the middle of this chaos as graduating 3L law students at the University of South Carolina School of Law: Alex Mendy and Austin Nichols!

Alex Mendy is a graduating 3L and the former Student Bar Association President at USC Law, and Austin Nichols is a graduating 3L who currently clerks at the Rutherford Law Firm in Columbia. Gentlemen, welcome to the show!

Alex Mendy: Thanks for having us on, Joseph and Dane!

Austin Nichols: Yeah, thanks for having us!

Joseph Bias: Guys, take us back to right before spring break. When did it hit you that law school was going to be completely different for the rest of your senior year?

Alex Mendy: It happened so fast. We were literally sitting in a mock trial practice late at night right before spring break when Dean Gary Moore walked into the room and told us, “It’s going to be at least one extra week off after spring break, and we need to prepare to figure this out.” From there, everything moved at lightning speed. Within days, the university announced we weren’t coming back to the building and all classes were moving online.

Dane Phillips: What was the immediate reaction among the student body when classes transitioned to Blackboard Collaborate and Zoom?

Austin Nichols: It was a huge shock to the system. Law school is so built around routine—waking up early, getting a cup of coffee, sitting in the same classroom seat, going to the law library. Suddenly you’re waking up and trying to focus on a complex lecture on Secured Transactions while staring at a laptop screen in your bedroom.

Joseph Bias: One of the biggest debates that played out across law schools nationally—and specifically at USC Law—was the grading system for spring 2020. Alex, as former SBA President, how did that unfold?

Alex Mendy: It was a very tense situation. Students were dealing with unprecedented stress—some had family members getting sick, others lost childcare, and some didn’t have reliable internet at home. Ultimately, the administration moved to a mandatory Pass/Fail system for the semester. While some students who wanted to boost their GPA for job applications were disappointed, it was the fairest decision possible given the circumstances.

Dane Phillips: For 3Ls, this is supposed to be the victory lap—graduating on the Horseshoe, celebrating with family, taking the Bar, and starting your career. What is the morale like right now regarding graduation and the Bar Exam?

Austin Nichols: It’s tough. Our commencement ceremony was postponed from May to August at the Koger Center instead of the Horseshoe. But the bigger anxiety is the Bar Exam. We’re all studying for a July exam, but nobody knows for sure if testing centers will be open, how social distancing will work, or if dates will be pushed back.

Joseph Bias: Having graduated in 2010 right in the middle of the Great Recession, Dane and I know what it feels like to enter a terrifying job market. What are you hearing from fellow classmates about job prospects?

Alex Mendy: Luckily, both Austin and I have judicial clerkships lined up for after graduation, so we have a safety net for the next year. But for a lot of classmates who had private firm offers or were interviewing, firms are freezing hiring or pulling back offers. It feels very similar to what you guys faced in 2010.

Dane Phillips: What advice would you give to 1Ls and 2Ls who are looking at an uncertain legal market over the next couple of years?

Austin Nichols: Don’t sit back and wait for a job posting to appear. Reach out to attorneys directly. Find three to five lawyers whose practice you admire, send them an email, ask for a quick phone call or virtual coffee, and ask for guidance. Lawyers love giving advice, and those relationships are what turn into job offers down the road.

Joseph Bias: Before we let you guys go, we always ask our guests for a war story. Since you guys haven’t taken the Bar yet, give us your best virtual law school war story!

Austin Nichols: During our very first online Employment Discrimination class on Blackboard, the professor asked, “Can someone raise their hand using the button on the screen so I can make sure the feature works?” I didn’t realize there was a digital “raise hand” button at the bottom of the screen, so I literally raised my physical hand to the laptop camera and sat there staring at the screen for a full minute! (laughs) Dean Moore actually sent me a private message saying, “Austin, he means the button on the screen!” (laughs)

Alex Mendy: (laughs) Austin looked like an absolute fool sitting there holding his hand up in his living room!

Dane Phillips: (laughs) That is fantastic! The digital age catches us all!

Joseph Bias: Alex and Austin, thank you both so much for joining us, sharing your perspective, and good luck on the Bar Exam this summer!

Alex Mendy: Thanks so much, guys!

Austin Nichols: Thanks for having us on!

Dane Phillips: You can follow Alex on Twitter @Mende2032 and Austin @RealAustinDrake. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook @SCLawPod, follow Joseph @JosephPBias, Dane @SCCrimLawyer, and Amber @RedJudicata. Leave us a five-star review and we’ll see y’all next week!