In a world where law students are told to say yes to everything – from clerkships and moots to endless readings and networking events – Hayder Shkara argues that true success comes not from doing it all, but from knowing what to leave out.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Protégé Podcast, Hayder Shkara, principal of Justice Family Lawyers, revealed that thriving as a law student isn’t about saying yes to everything, but mastering the art of saying no – and staying laser-focused on what truly matters.
In the same episode, he opened up about his journey from discovering a passion for martial arts as a child to representing his country on the global stage at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Looking back on his time as a law student, Shkara explained that his success came from knowing when to block out the noise and being deliberate about where he invested his time and energy.
“I had a good system of understanding what I needed to do in order to get my degree. I think I really spent minimal time on all of the extras. I spent minimal time on extracurriculars, or the social aspect of [university],” he said.
“I would be really in and out and really specific with what I’m preparing for. I wouldn’t do, for example, a lot of readings just because they were assigned to you.”
While most university students are encouraged to say yes to every opportunity, Shkara argued that law students should flip the script – the real question isn’t what more they can do, but what they should confidently say no to.
“The more important question is, how do you decide what not to do? Where do you start? What do you say no to? I think that really is the more important question because you can start selecting what you’re focusing on,” he said.
While this might seem unconventional, Shkara highlighted the immense – and often underestimated – pressure law students face, constantly feeling the need to do more due to external expectations and the competing agendas of others rather than their own.
“But more importantly, people are constantly throwing things at you. It’s like, come join this, come be part of that, you need to do this, you need to do that. It’s coming from everywhere. It’s coming from your peers, from your tutors, from your lecturers and all that kind of stuff,” he said.
“They’re always kind of, you should be doing this six-week internship, and you need to apply for this and do the mooting. When people are constantly throwing things at you, it can be hard to say no, and it can be hard to understand what you should be saying no to.”
Instead, Shkara advised law students to start by clarifying their own personal goals, identifying the steps needed to achieve them, and cutting out anything that doesn’t serve those objectives.
“You need to be really clear on what your agenda is and what you want out of every experience. What do you want out of your university experience? Do you want a holistic [experience], or do I want to get into an internship at a big law firm?” he said.
“OK, to do that, I need to start ticking these boxes to go there. So you need to then start saying no to everything else that doesn’t allow you to kind of go through that pathway.”
