My story with Law began two years ago when I first picked up a book in school called 'What About Law?'. Perhaps because my mother was a corporate lawyer, since I was young, I had always associate Law with contracts, obligations, jargon, and something far out of my reach (absolutely no offense intended). However, this book brought me to realize how relevant and intricate law is related to our daily lives. Needless to say, this book had ignited my passion for studying Law.

 

From then on, during my spare time, instead of procrastinating on social media, I started to search and read about areas of law or recent legal news that are of my interest. However, to my surprise, there had been little guides for me – someone who is completely new to Law and a high schooler – to follow. It was unlike exploring STEM subjects, where there were plenty of organizations (such as Khan Academy) that you can learn about content that was not taught in school. Admittedly, it had been a struggle for me to get a grasp of the venues that provide content on law. I have experimented with multiple methods: attended online courses, read books about different aspects of law (from jurisprudence to the Supreme Court), listened to a wide range of legal podcasts, watched lectures of prominent speakers, followed recent legal cases, and many more.

 

If I had not spent the time to learn from different sources myself, I would not have had the chance to get a more comprehensive view of Law. If I had not persevered, my passion for Law would have been short-lived. Through my personal experience, I could comprehend why Law had not been a popular topic discussed among teens and alike. There were just too few places where we can be exposed to it. I was fortunate because I could discuss it with my mother, but many teens do not know anyone working in the legal profession. Some might have never thought about of Law when considering their future career. Others may have been stopped by their prejudices against Law – like what I had done before.

 

But this should not be the way it is. With this in mind, I first began to spread awareness of Law in my close community. In my school, I had established the Law Society, which invited anyone who wants to learn about Law to join. With only the first term, we had nearly 30 members in our club. I was struck by the number of students, just within our school, that are curious about Law. Through running Law Society, I devised an approach to allow my members to know where they should start from and provide resources as they delve into their exploration. Through active learning, the members will decide and research topics that interest them. In complement to it, we met with legal professionals (such as in-house IP-counsel, family lawyer, etc.) to get a scoop of what Law meant to them.

 

After running Law Society for almost a school year, I decided to bring my passion for Law to a greater platform. By establishing Law101, I endeavor to generate more discussions on this subject by not only teens but for anyone who is curious about Law. Anyone can easily access this website and navigate their way through this complicated maze. Like a social platform, people are welcomed to talk about their interests and engage in discussions with other members in our Law Discussion Group on RoundPier. Like an inventory, members can research and write about legal topics that intrigue them. Like Wikipedia, members can not only read about content written by other contributors; more than Wikipedia, they can find answers to interesting legal questions in the blogs and recommendations of wonderful resources.

 

Most importantly, Law101 strives to become the Forest – providing the firewoods that sustain the fire of passion.