Experience Spotlight: Lucie Cao ’26L Lucie Cao gained valuable experience in corporate law working for the Delaware Court of the Chancery.

Lucie Cao ’26L

Lucie Cao ’26L is from Hunan, China. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. At W&L, she serves on Law Review and as a Law Ambassador. Lucie lives with her roommate, Sierra, and their lovely cat, Sarabi, in an apartment overlooking the Maury River. 

Why did you choose to work at the Delaware Court of Chancery for your externship?

When I was a 1L, I talked with Sam, then a 3L, who also happened to have worked with Vice Chancellor Laster (“VCL”). He told me how amazing his experience was. Also, I moved to the U.S. because I was amazed by the role courts play in the judicial system. After taking Business Associations, I was very certain that this was the dream externship.

How did you secure this externship?

I applied through the Working in Law Full-Time (WILF) Semester Externship program. I submitted my resume to Professor Keri Gould, and VCL reached out to me by email. We had a Zoom interview, and ultimately VCL selected me as his extern.

Describe your work experience and daily schedule.

It varied a lot based on how many hearings were scheduled in a day. When it was a trial day, we were in the courtroom from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On other days, we could have multiple hearings from different cases. VCL and the clerks stayed past 8 p.m. most days. I sometimes stayed and worked with them, but most days I maintained a 9-to-6 schedule so I could go to the gym after work. This was a job that working outside of normal working hours is expected, and that includes weekends too.

What are some skills you developed?

I think the most important one is I practiced writing in a consistent style. The work at the court involved research, reading, and writing. It was terrifying to make mistakes in the work I sent to VCL, but I learned so much from him. I remember that in one piece of work, VCL changed the word “this” to “any,” and that sentence became an overall conclusion. It is in changes like this that I practiced how to achieve the overall goal of consistency. Studying legal writing with VCL was greatly helpful to me as a non-native English speaker because he laid out strict but helpful guidelines to follow. VCL gave me this great advice: the practice of law is all about doing reps. The only way to get better is to do more.

Beyond substantive writing skills, I also learned to be comfortable with not knowing. “Drinking out of a firehose” is a good phrase to describe my 1L experience, and this externship felt even more so. It was really scary when VCL gave me my first task and he said that this is easy and it is the same as a previous case, and I had never even heard of that case name before. I developed the expectation that I will not fully know what the substantive law is in a task, and the fun of it is to figure things out along the way. This anticipation helped me stay positive during difficult tasks. VCL told me it is important to bring a positive attitude to work because there is no way that young associates can know a lot about substantive law, but having positive energy makes it much easier for partners and senior associates to work with you.

What surprised you about the work you did during your externship?

I expected the level of work to be intense before I started, but I still felt amazed by it when I got to witness the process. What surprised me the most, though, was VCL’s ability to move on quickly from finished work. He cautioned us about the importance of being as thorough as possible while we were working on a case, but it was equally important to move on from a finished piece of work and let go of the obsession. I heard him say almost every time after we finished an opinion or order, “It’s done! Now onto the next one!” I try to adopt this onward mentality in my own life too.

What was your favorite aspect of your experience?

It sounds corny, but my favorite aspect was the people I got to work with. Besides how smart he is, VCL is also so charismatic and fun to be around, and he’s curious about almost everything! The clerks are also brilliant attorneys in this competitive field. I look up to them as role-model attorneys that I want to become. They taught me many useful skills, such as how to segment a big piece of work and how to mentally manage concurrent projects. VCL was intentional about team-building practices, and that helped us get to know each other on a much deeper level. The externship class gave me some great questions that I tried to ask during either team meetings or team lunches, and it was so great to hear stories from everyone. Everyone was empathetic and willing to answer all kinds of questions. I was very emotional when the externship ended, and I’m so excited about reconnecting with everyone after graduation!

Has this experience helped you figure out your post graduate plans, and if so how?

Before working with VCL, I was very certain that litigation was something that an attorney either was gifted with the magical ability to do well in or was not. In the half year that I was there, I realized how much hard work matters in the process. I think that gave me the confidence to dabble in the field of corporate litigation. I also went to a lot of social events with VCL and the clerks, and I got to see firsthand how close-knit the Delaware bar is. My experience in Delaware convinced me to go back there after graduation to practice at Abrams & Bayliss, a Delaware boutique corporate litigation firm. I’m so amazed by the work that the firm has done in the past. I look forward to working with the team after graduation!