David Noble spent the summer between his second and third year of law school in New York City as a Summer Associate with Pillsbury Winthrop. This was in 2000, the year before the economic downturn started to take an effect on law firms and their summer programs.

David and his fellow summer associates were wined and dined; he was assigned interesting and challenging work; and from the start of the summer program, it was clear that a job offer was soon to follow. At the end of the summer, David returned to Miami with a job waiting for him when he graduated.

After earning his JD degree at the University of Miami School of Law, David made his way back up the eastern seaboard to New York. He sat for the New York Bar in July and started working last September. David illustrates the mobility of Miami's law degree. "In general I think the Alumni want to stay in Miami and the top graduates get great job offers in Miami, but everyone who wants to leave Miami, leaves Miami. UM Law has an excellent faculty and the school is known nationally."

On the legal landscape, Pillsbury Winthrop is one of the largest law firms in the country. The National Law Journal ranked Pillsbury Winthrop #17 on its list of the top 250 law firms in the country. Pillsbury Winthrop has over 800 attorneys, spread across 16 offices in five countries.

David is doing transactional legal work at Pillsbury Winthrop. While corporate law may appear to lack the drama and glamour of the courtroom, David dismisses that as a television created fantasy and he's not interested in trading places with any of the trial lawyers he knows.

"My firm is working on multimillion dollar deals; I've met CEOs from major corporations; I read about my firm's deals in the papers and on the web; and two or three months after starting negotiations, a deal is closed that I had a role in creating. To me, that's exciting work."

For anyone considering corporate law, David says, "the most important attribute for my job is attention to detail. You have to be able to read. And I mean really read and digest some very complex documents. It's not rocket science, but you have to understand what you're reading and then continuously convey that information to the involved parties. Keeping everyone on the same page and moving the deal forward is crucial."

Originally from New England, David came straight to Miami out of undergraduate school. He was a political science major at Northeastern University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. -An impressive feat considering that he graduated in three years from a program designed for five years. By going directly into a JD program he avoided having to readjust to the academic mindset, and at just 20 years of age, he did not feel ready to join the workforce.

An assumption about law school is that the first year is the toughest. David disputes this popular notion. "I thought it was my easiest year. All you have to do as a 1L is wake up, go to class, and study. Your life is very simple. Law school consumes your life to such an extent that you don't have time for a job or any other distractions. As a first-year Associate, I can easily say that without hesitation I'd be glad to trade places with a first-year law student any day of the week."

David says the class he got the most out of while at UM Law was his first-year Contracts class with Professor Alan Swan. "In law school its easy to lose sight of how the law is connected to the real world. Professor Swan's course was the best preparation for life after law school. He's interactive with the class and very spontaneous with syllabus."

David's life was more complex his second year. In addition to a full academic schedule, David was a member of the University of Miami Law Review and he worked 20 hours a week as a clerk at Steel Hector & Davis.

While some of David's approaches to legal studies were a little unorthodox, his advice may be worth considering. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and was awarded the Achievement Award for his performance in Property Law and US Constitutional Law and he earned the Cali Award in International Economic Law.

"I wasn't much of a note-taker in law school. For me, it was just a matter of relaxing in class and trying to see where the professor was coming from. I would just listen to the lecture, always paying particular attention to the professor's questioning habits. After a little time, I was able to anticipate the professor's next question. By the time finals started, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. This approach had a lot to do with why I did so well on my finals. And instead of striving to be the best in every class, I tried to be the fifth best. Trying to be the best in class is not only very ambitious, but in terms of grades, it doesn't matter whether you finish first or fifth, you're still going to get an A. It's much less pressure, and overall I believe I did better."

David is quick to stress that what works for one person won't necessarily work for the other. "When you go to law school, everyone will have advice on how to succeed. The truth is that there is no right or wrong way to study. The best advice I can offer is for new law students to remember that they were good students before law school and the study habits they used in undergrad will also work for them in law school."