{"id":3423,"date":"2024-08-29T20:07:31","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T20:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/?p=3423"},"modified":"2024-08-30T01:43:08","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T01:43:08","slug":"justice-phil-berger-jr-kicks-off-new-student-orientation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/2024\/08\/29\/justice-phil-berger-jr-kicks-off-new-student-orientation\/","title":{"rendered":"Justice Phil Berger Jr. Kicks Off New Student Orientation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Phil<\/a><\/p>\n

HPU Law\u2019s inaugural class of over 70 students began orientation on August 12 with a visit from one of the state\u2019s top jurists: North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Phil Berger Jr.<\/p>\n

The topic of discussion was Making the Most of Law School<\/em>. He opened his remarks by encouraging the students, \u201cYou are going to be a game changer. You will help battered spouses, children in need, taxi drivers, and criminal defendants.\u201d He next praised the faculty of High Point Law, stating, \u201cThe faculty are here to help you be a good lawyer and a good leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

If there was one overarching theme of Justice Berger\u2019s remarks, it was that \u201cthe little things you do\u2014every day\u2014lead to big things.\u201d Among the many insights he shared, his key takeaways for the law students included:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Always try to improve your writing. The most essential skill for a lawyer is the ability to write. Your brief, complaint, motion\u2014these are what the judges see first and most.<\/li>\n
  2. Be curious about what you\u2019re reading. Ask \u201cwhy\u201d and read with a purpose.<\/li>\n
  3. Take advantage of internships. Use a broader approach. There may be a path that you haven\u2019t considered, and having experiences in many areas of practice helps you know when a particular area is not the best fit for you.<\/li>\n
  4. Learn to be a peacemaker. There\u2019s plenty of time to make money, but the real goal is to be a leader\u2014to be a peacemaker.<\/li>\n
  5. You have to have grit. Sometimes, you\u2019re the only voice in the community for someone. That takes grit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The role of a lawyer, as Justice Berger views it, is to \u201corganize thoughts and communicate them influentially.\u201d Reading is critical to grow this skill. \u201cA lawyer without books is like a workman without tools,\u201d Justice Berger remarked, quoting President Thomas Jefferson.<\/p>\n

    When asked about the evolving tools of the profession like generative AI, the Justice analogized practicing law to playing sports. In both, the \u201cfundamentals\u201d always apply. And the \u201cblocking and tackling\u201d of law\u2014to keep the metaphor\u2014includes (1) communicating effectively and efficiently, (2) learning to have difficult conversations, and (3) mastering time management.<\/p>\n

    All of this counsel, of course, was premised on the importance of hard work. \u201cYou can have all the motivation in the world,\u201d Justice Berger noted, \u201cBut discipline every day is the key to success.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Founding Dean and Professor of Law Mark Martin\u2014a former colleague of Justice Berger on the NC Supreme Court\u2014moderated the discussion and facilitated Q&A afterwords. Reflecting on the session, Dean Martin said:<\/p>\n

    Justice Berger\u2019s willingness to sacrifice precious time from his demanding schedule to encourage and equip our law students is an act of great generosity. It was an incredible opportunity for our inaugural class to hear such wise counsel and practical advice from one of the state\u2019s top jurists on their first day of law school.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    HPU Law\u2019s inaugural class of over 70 students began orientation on August 12 with a visit from one of the state\u2019s top jurists: North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Phil…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8690,"featured_media":3424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_hpuaeo_plugin_post_data":"","_hpuaeo_plugin_meta_tags":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-law-school"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJustice Phil Berger Jr. Kicks Off New Student Orientation - Law School<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/2024\/08\/29\/justice-phil-berger-jr-kicks-off-new-student-orientation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Justice Phil Berger Jr. Kicks Off New Student Orientation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"HPU Law\u2019s inaugural class of over 70 students began orientation on August 12 with a visit from one of the state\u2019s top jurists: North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Phil...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/2024\/08\/29\/justice-phil-berger-jr-kicks-off-new-student-orientation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Law School\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-29T20:07:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-30T01:43:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/files\/2024\/08\/240814-Law-Orientation-0007.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"798\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mary Vecellio\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mary Vecellio\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/2024\/08\/29\/justice-phil-berger-jr-kicks-off-new-student-orientation\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/2024\/08\/29\/justice-phil-berger-jr-kicks-off-new-student-orientation\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mary Vecellio\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/#\/schema\/person\/92ff61211d1da9837094a2142152a3aa\"},\"headline\":\"Justice Phil Berger Jr. Kicks Off New Student Orientation\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-29T20:07:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-30T01:43:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/2024\/08\/29\/justice-phil-berger-jr-kicks-off-new-student-orientation\/\"},\"wordCount\":496,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/2024\/08\/29\/justice-phil-berger-jr-kicks-off-new-student-orientation\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/files\/2024\/08\/240814-Law-Orientation-0007.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Law School\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/#University\"},\"copyrightYear\":\"2024\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/2024\/08\/29\/justice-phil-berger-jr-kicks-off-new-student-orientation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/law\/2024\/08\/29\/justice-phil-berger-jr-kicks-off-new-student-orientation\/\",\"name\":\"Justice Phil Berger Jr. Kicks Off New Student Orientation - 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