Phil Robinson came to Roger Williams after a long career in Manhattan including stints with the Boy Scouts of America, a dot.com, and real estate. He did his undergraduate work at Michigan State and earned his MPA from Troy State. He came to law school to complete something he put off a long time ago. His goal is a career in corporate law.
On the transition to law school:
The transition was a bit abrupt. A few weeks earlier I was going to work every day, setting my own schedule and managing my own projects. All of a sudden, I was doing exactly what I was told on a schedule that was given to me. There was a significant change in life control involved. I tried to treat school like work with regular hours and structure and that worked for the most part.
On succeeding in law school:
Much of law school is about managing the flow of work. It is very important to stay current or get slightly ahead of your work, because there will be more coming in the next assignment. It is hard enough to stay current, it is even harder to catch up.
On the RWU community:
I think it is a very connected student community. I know many students and feel that there is a sense of togetherness which contrasts with the competitive environment I had anticipated at law school. The faculty and administration go out of there way to demonstrate that they care about the students.
On life outside of law school:
I commute to school about an hour each way, so that takes up a large part of my “extra” time. I still reserve time for my partner and have been able to travel all over New England in the past year. I also spend way too much time on my fantasy baseball league.
On what makes RWU different:
I feel that the school is young and intent on making a solid reputation for the future. It is nice to be a part of that. As a result, I feel that I am getting a solid education oriented to getting me started on my career after school. The excellent bar passage rates of the recent graduates testify to that in my opinion. |
