First-year Hofstra Law student Christopher Link is no stranger to hard work and dedication. Since the age of 16 he has led in managerial positions due to his strong work ethic.
“Usually when I’m in a position at work, aside from when I was doing clerking and substitute teaching, I have had a management role. At 16 I was on my own running the night shift at a bakery completely closing it out all by myself. I got another job at a catering company and immediately became a manager there, overseeing all sorts of equipment, machinery, and people.”
A Precursor to Law School
From a young age he knew that he wanted to be either one of two things — a doctor or a lawyer. After his first trimester in college he decided that law was the right path for him.
“I took the opportunity to change to a criminal justice major. I did that to gain a firmer understanding of the law, how the law works, and how people think about the law on both sides.”
While working on his undergraduate degree he was hired at the law firm McKenney, Quigley & Clarkin, LLP as a paper scanner. His eagerness to learn quickly earned him the promotion of office clerk.
“It really gave me a nice experience with delivering papers to the different court houses. I did all of that because I was working with only four attorneys. That small group of people allowed me to get some real world experience,” he says. “I was able to watch depositions, speak with clients on the phone, put together files, read all the papers and see what everything looked like. I had to create documents, create new cases in the system, put them all together, and file them. All of that really gave me a nice idea of the law.”
Edge Ahead
Prior to his first semester in law school Christopher participated in Hofstra Law’s Edge Ahead Program, which allowed him to make friends, meet professors, and gain skills needed for him to succeed in law school.
“The Edge Ahead Program was really the best experience of my educational career,” he says. “The program really helps to hold your hand through the month long process. It was Monday through Thursday and you had a legal writing class every single day. You also had contracts and torts rotating every other day. At lunchtime we had Hofstra Law alumni come in ranging in every field of law that you could possibly imagine, all the way from litigation to mergers and acquisitions with multi-billion dollar companies.”
Staying Involved
Now as a student he sits on the Dean’s Student Advisory Council where his committed to advocating for his peers and has come out of his shell.
“Everybody is super dedicated to the students, the success of the university and to the name of the school. I like how people don’t take that lightly.”
“The Dean’s Student Advisory Council has definitely been a great experience for me personally and professionally. It really helped me because before I came here I was very timid. I didn’t like to speak out and I hated confrontation, but now that I have this position it’s really helping me to develop my advocacy skills with speaking up and facing issues head on.”
Christopher has also been able to connect with the Hofstra Law alumni community through the 1L Mentorship Program. The program matches first-year students with alumni in their field of interest.
“My mentor is in big law transactional. Even with the crazy schedule everybody knows big law has he still makes time,” he says. “Everybody is super dedicated to the students, the success of the university and to the name of the school. I like how people don’t take that lightly.”
Don’t Give Up
Christopher is excelling in his first year at Hofstra Law, but it was no easy feat for him to get here. When he first applied to his top law school choices he was rejected by all of them. He wants other students be encouraged to never to give up.
“I took my first LSAT and I applied and got denied from every single law school that I applied to. I took a year off, I got a job, and I focused on myself and my studies. I knew exactly what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go,” he says. “I went in there and improved my score by eight points. I reapplied to every single school that denied me and every single one came back and accepted me and gave me a scholarship. So don’t give up. You can do it.”
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