gonow

How do you know if you should go to law school. It's not my dream to be an attorney growing up, but right now it seems like a really good option. Please teach me how to make the right decision.
Category: Pre-Law

sweetlg

Joe gave me permission to repost his response to my very same question.


Here's what I tell people who ask me about going to law school. If
you are one of those people who has always dreamed of being an
attorney, not because of the money and prestige, but because you truly
want to help people like the underprivileged (I had friends like these
in law school and admire them immensely), then by all means go.

What you need to be aware of is that no matter what your motivation
may be, law school will do it's best to grind your ego into dust.
You will be surrounded for the most part by straight-A students, and if your school grades on a curve, as did
mine, most of those students will get C's (the majority of grades
handed out on a curve system) for the first time in their lives. And
unless you are in a top tier law school, getting C's will completely
ruin your chances of getting one of those high-paying big firm jobs.
Also, if your school grades on a curve, your professors will teach you
just enough to get a C (a professor at my school admitted this to me
at an off-campus event), but, unlike undergrad, will offer little
assistance or guidance if you're trying for an A. (That approach
makes sense, of course, because if they told everyone what it would
take to get an A, it would make it nearly impossible to apply the curve.)

Unless you are a genuine speed-reader, the reading load is ferocious.
In addition, the daily discussions in your classes will be pretty
much useless when it comes to the final exam. Yes, many professors
make their old exams available, but without further explanation just
being able to review old exams isn't going to help very much -- you'll
simply be familiar with the format of the question. I had more than
one professor who absolutely refused to discuss what they would be
looking for on the final exam (on which your entire grade is based)
either in class or during office hours. What's more, if you're a good
writer, you're going to be pretty much screwed when it comes to exams.
Exams in law school reward the person who is able to write down every
thought that comes into his or her head during the exam (Tim Tyler
calls this blather). OTOH, the person who turns out a finished
product that is actually readable has most likely lost a lot of
possible points and will end up in the middle of the pack when it
comes to grades.

It must sound like I hated law school, and the opposite is true, but
that was due to the friends I made there. I had been working for law
firms for 15 years when I started law school, and I learned very
little in law school that was applicable to the actual work an
attorney does. A lot of theoretical and very little practical.

As a aside, one classmate of mine as a 1L had been a police officer,
and after his first year he quit law school and went back to work as a
police officer. I always got a kick out of that -- he would rather
work at a job where his life was potentially at risk every single day
than continue going to law school.

Finally, during my now 20 years of working for law firms, I have seen
a LOT of miserable attorneys. The job is not at all what they thought
it would be, and if they are making those big-law bucks, they have
basically sold their lives to the firm. They have to work up to 90
hours a week just to make their billables, they have to cancel
vacations suddenly, and as for weekends and holidays off? Forget it.
Most attorneys at a big law firm will end up leaving after a few
years. Check out the Greedy Associates board if you want to get a
clue what the real life of an attorney is like. And I haven't even
talked about the availability of jobs once you graduate.

Okay, got to run, but I hope this gives you some helpful information.

Joe