You want to help people. You also want to pay your bills, spend time with the people you love, and have enough energy left to enjoy your life.
All of those things can matter to you.
When you’re thinking about law school, it can be easy to focus on getting in. What do you need to do? Where should you apply? Who can help you figure it out?
But I encourage you to spend some time on another question: What do you want your future career to make room for?
In the first post in this series, we explored your reasons for considering law school. Now, we’re going to look at your core values—the things that matter to you and can help guide your decisions.
This is the next exercise from my Do You Want to Be a Lawyer? workbook. You can complete it right here with a notebook or an open document. Take your time. This is for you.
What do I mean by “core values”?
Your values are the principles and priorities that help you understand what matters to you.
Maybe you value service and want to contribute to your community. Maybe financial security is especially important because you want to support yourself and your family. Maybe you value creativity, independence, or having time to care for your health.
You might be thinking, “Ana, all of that sounds important.”
I know. There’s a lot to care about. 😉
The purpose of this exercise is to give yourself room to notice what matters most to you, what those values mean in your life, and what you want to consider as you explore a legal career.
Why think about your values before law school?
In my own journey, I knew that I wanted to use my legal training for social justice advocacy. That helped guide what I looked for in a law school.
Your priorities might lead you toward different questions or opportunities. You may have a particular community you want to serve, an issue you want to work on, or a vision of financial stability you want to pursue.
Understanding those priorities gives you something to come back to as you learn about legal careers.
When an opportunity sounds exciting, you can ask: What about this appeals to me? How does it connect to what I want? What would I need to learn before deciding whether it fits?
You don’t need to map out your entire career today. But knowing what matters to you can help you decide what to investigate.
The exercise: What matters to you?
Read through the values below, adapted from the workbook. Write down the ones that resonate with you. Add anything that’s missing.
For this first pass, you don’t have to rank them. Notice what catches your attention.
Physical and mental health
Health: Caring for your physical well-being.
Balance: Making room for work and the other parts of your life.
Self-care: Taking time for personal care and rest.
Resilience: Recovering from setbacks.
Mental clarity: Caring for your mental wellness and peace.
Career
Achievement: Accomplishing professional goals.
Leadership: Guiding and supporting others.
Integrity: Acting in ways that reflect your principles.
Innovation: Finding new approaches to problems.
Learning: Developing your knowledge and skills.
Financial wellness
Security: Feeling financially secure.
Freedom: Having financial independence and choices.
Stability: Having consistent income and manageable finances.
Growth: Improving your financial well-being over time.
Generosity: Sharing resources with others or supporting causes you care about.
Community
Connection: Building meaningful relationships.
Service: Helping others.
Diversity: Valuing different perspectives and backgrounds.
Collaboration: Working with others toward shared goals.
Justice: Working toward fairness in society.
Joy
Happiness: Finding joy in everyday life.
Fun: Making room for enjoyment and play.
Adventure: Trying new experiences.
Creativity: Expressing yourself and your ideas.
Gratitude: Appreciating what matters to you.
Spiritual and personal growth
Faith: Connecting with a higher power or spiritual purpose.
Mindfulness: Being present.
Humility: Recognizing your limitations and learning from others.
Purpose: Living with intention.
Courage: Taking meaningful steps even when you feel afraid.
Family and relationships
Love: Prioritizing meaningful personal relationships.
Loyalty: Being dependable for the people you care about.
Trust: Building relationships grounded in honesty.
Empathy: Seeking to understand other people’s experiences.
Support: Showing up for family, friends, and loved ones.
Education and learning
Curiosity: Exploring ideas and asking questions.
Wisdom: Applying what you learn.
Growth: Continuing to develop as a person.
Knowledge: Building your understanding.
Open-mindedness: Considering new ideas and perspectives.
Independence and autonomy
Freedom: Making choices that reflect your priorities.
Self-reliance: Developing confidence in your abilities and judgment.
Accountability: Taking responsibility for your actions.
Authenticity: Being true to yourself.
Autonomy: Having a say in how you live and work.
Justice and advocacy
Equity: Working toward fairness and opportunity.
Accountability: Holding yourself and others responsible for their actions.
Civic engagement: Participating in your community and public life.
Advocacy: Speaking up for people or causes.
Empowerment: Supporting others in pursuing their goals.
Some values show up in more than one part of life. You may also use different words to describe what matters to you. That’s okay. Make this list your own.
Choose a few values to explore more deeply
Look at the values you selected and choose about five that feel especially important to you right now.
Five is simply a starting point to make the reflection manageable. You can revisit the others.
For each value, answer these questions:
- What does this value mean to me?
- Why is it important to me?
- What does it look like when I make room for this value in my life?
- What would I want to learn about a legal career to understand whether it could support this value?
Try to get specific.
For example, “family” might mean living near your parents, being available to care for someone, or having time to build a family of your own.
“Financial security” might mean paying your bills without constant worry, helping relatives, building savings, or having choices about where you live or retire.
“Service” might mean working directly with people, supporting a community organization, or addressing an issue through policy.
Your answers help explain what these words mean to you.
Turn your values into questions you can research
Once you understand your priorities a little better, use them to guide your exploration.
Let’s say you identify service, financial stability, and health as important values. You could begin with questions like these:
- Who would I be helping in a particular legal role, and what would that work involve?
- What do jobs that interest me pay, and what would I need to learn about the cost of getting there?
- What does a typical workweek look like at a particular employer?
- What should I ask lawyers about workload, time off, and how they care for themselves?
These questions give you something concrete to investigate through job postings, employer research, and conversations with lawyers.
Keep them handy. Later in this series, we’ll explore legal roles and prepare for informational interviews. Your values can help you decide what you want to ask.
What if your values pull you in different directions?
You might care deeply about meaningful work and also want a certain level of income. You might want professional growth and time for responsibilities outside of work.
Those are real considerations. Give yourself permission to examine them honestly.
Ask yourself:
- What feels essential to me at this stage of my life?
- Where might I have flexibility?
- What am I assuming about a career that I still need to verify?
- What would I need to know before considering a tradeoff?
You don’t have to resolve every tension in one sitting. Sometimes, the useful outcome is recognizing a question you hadn’t thought to ask.
And please don’t use this exercise to decide that you’re somehow not “lawyer material.” Wanting rest, financial stability, or time with your family is worth taking seriously as you explore your future.
Keep your answers—and leave room for them to change
Your priorities may change as your life changes. You can return to this exercise when you’re considering a school, internship, job, or career move.
For now, notice what you’ve learned. Do your values help explain why law interests you? Have they raised questions about what kind of work or environment you might enjoy?
My hope is that your legal education and career would support a life that feels meaningful to you. Understanding your values is one part of figuring out what that could look like.
In the next post, we’ll explore your strengths, interests, and the skills you want to develop.
If you’d like to work through the exercises at your own pace, my Do You Want to Be a Lawyer? workbook brings the reflection exercises, legal career resources, and networking tools together in one printable place. I’ll continue sharing exercises here on the blog for free.
If you’re comfortable sharing, what is one value you want your future career to make room for? Feel free to leave a comment, and keep the rest of your reflections for yourself.
To bright new beginnings …
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