Do you know much about studying law? -Career advice

[questionable]

..........Hello reader,

 

I was just wondering if you study/have studied law, and would have the time to post some of your experiences here, as I am considering studying law myself, but would like to know more first. somethings that would be interesting, but not limited to are

 

Why did you choose law?
Did you complete your study?
If not, why didn't you continue?
Do you enjoy it?
Are you employed in your field?
What do you want to achieve/ what have you achived through law?
What area did you study?
What advice would you give to someone who's ineterested in law?

Thanks for your time.

[RayKay]

..........Hello reader,

 

I was just wondering if you study/have studied law, and would have the time to post some of your experiences here, as I am considering studying law myself, but would like to know more first. somethings that would be interesting, but not limited to are

 

Why did you choose law?
Did you complete your study?
If not, why didn't you continue?
Do you enjoy it?
Are you employed in your field?
What do you want to achieve/ what have you achived through law?
What area did you study?
What advice would you give to someone who's ineterested in law?

Thanks for your time.

 

Not yet, but I am writing my LSAT this fall and applying for 2006, after a 5 year stint in the working world.

 

I am choosing it as I initially wanted to do so when doing undergrad, but had a change of heart. I am ready for a change now, and think I am more mentally ready now (was getting burned out) to do so after some real life experience.

 

I have no doubt I will complete it. I did very well in my undergrad, and have the right "mind" for it.

 

I hope to get some better career options, and flexibility. Law is a great start for many different avenues and is not just litigation.

 

I am still keeping my options open, though I think I will avoid litigation. By the time I am done I will be looking at starting a family, and do not want the hours that involves, or the stress. I prefer some flexibility for my lifestyle and family plans, so am looking along lines of family law, though that may change.

 

I think if you are looking at it, just keep your options open, there are many avenues and you don't necessarily have to be the typical lawyer, there are lots of side avenues, and it is a great stepping stone. Be prepared for a lot of work..from those I know who have done it, it is not HARD (unless you really don't have mind for it) but it is a lot of work to finish school and is very competitive. Articling in itself is tough, and many hate the reality that when they article they are making very little and it is grunt work often..I am okay with this as that is what I have been doing last 4-5 years

 

I think Law is a great career choice as it IS a great start point for many careers, not just straight "law"...but you do need to also be ready for the more tedious aspects of it (ie lots of paperwork, bureaucracy).

 

Research schools, different career paths, make sure you are ready for it.

 

Oh, and prepare for the LSAT!

[Cecelius]

Why did you choose law?

.

 

Cash. Lots of cash. Plus I wanted to do deals.

 

Do you enjoy it?

 

For the most part. In corporate finance (I'm a deal lawyer, IPOs, public company work, mergers and acquisitions) there's a lot of artistry and a huge learning curve

 

Are you employed in your field?

 

Yes. AmLaw 100 law firm

 

What do you want to achieve/ what have you achived through law?

 

More cash, early retirement, better life for my kids

 

What area did you study?

 

American law school is a prescribed graduate school program. All of the 1st year is general legal instruction. Following that I took as many corporate finance related classes as possible (governance, takeovers, etc.)

 

 

What advice would you give to someone who's ineterested in law?

 

The LSAT will tell you whether you have strong aptitude for doing well in law school. Depending on how well you write exams, if you get fairly good grades you will have more job options (law school mostly costs the same, scholarships aside, for everyone whether they go to the public defender or a larger law firm). If you can get into a top tier school, that is probably preferable over being first in your class at a very poorly ranked school. Regional schools will help you get a job in that area, so picking your school carefully will tend to help get you a job in the place you want to go.

[heloladies21]

I will be going to law school in the fall. A great book to help you is "How to get into the top law schools" by Richard Montauk. Studying for the LSAT is best done with the Kaplan book (course if you can afford it and need the classroom motivation) and old LSAT exams. Be careful though, because in 1995-6 there was a change in the company which makes up the questions and they look a lot different and got a LOT tougher. Just do the most recent ones and you'll be fine.

 

Reasons for me going to law school: lots of money and i think it's really interesting. i think i'll be very good too whether it be trial, transactions, or counseling clients. Hope this helps!

[RayKay]

I will be going to law school in the fall. A great book to help you is "How to get into the top law schools" by Richard Montauk. Studying for the LSAT is best done with the Kaplan book (course if you can afford it and need the classroom motivation) and old LSAT exams. Be careful though, because in 1995-6 there was a change in the company which makes up the questions and they look a lot different and got a LOT tougher. Just do the most recent ones and you'll be fine.

 

Reasons for me going to law school: lots of money and i think it's really interesting. i think i'll be very good too whether it be trial, transactions, or counseling clients. Hope this helps!

 

Also should be noted for the original poster that this year they also changed the format of the written portion - while it is not graded by LSAT, it is sent to the schools you have chosen and many of them may or may not use it as part of their selection criteria. The old books with LSAT tests do not have the new format for these, so read up and just be prepared, it is not VERY different, and if you do the old writtens you should still be okay.

 

I am studying using old LSAT exams, and a couple study guides. My weakest part is the logic games, though in practices I am managing to score 156-160's even when I felt I did horrible Hopefully the same will hold true for LSAT (I don't write it until October 1st).

[mgirl]

Doesn't anybody do anything for the enjoyment anymore? All i read here is, "lots of money".

[RayKay]

Doesn't anybody do anything for the enjoyment anymore? All i read here is, "lots of money".

 

Read my post, I never said a damn thing about money

 

It was something I have always been interested in doing, more due to the "mental" aspects of it, it suits my "brain" and my interests. And I talked about the flexibility and numerous career opportunities.

 

Not all lawyers make tons of money, it is all about what aspect you get into and how GOOD you are at it.

 

If people are only going into it for the money, I think they will find themselves very underfulfilled.

 

However some people do go into things for money, if your life circumstances have made that important, there is nothing wrong with that persay. As long as you also have things outside of work you DO love. Sometimes what you love and work do not mix. The job I have not, I hate. I have hated the last three jobs I have had. But in my free time I pursue what I absolutely love, so its not a big deal. And now I am going back to school to pursue something I am very interested in, so it will all balance out eventually.

[Cecelius]

The poster asked why you went into it. Fundamentally I enjoy what I do because I have an enormous amount of control, expertise and ability in my area, and eventually will not be so much a lawyer as an advisor. But that is down the road.

 

I agree with Ray that there are plenty of aspects to it. My point was that the JD generally costs a lot, and it generally costs most people the same whether they get a BIGLAW salary or a PD salary; there is a cost benefit analysis.

 

Big firm life (and I believe government litigator life) is basically about doing a huge amount of other peoples' homework for them. I dunno why people do that for lower wages if they have options, but no one puts up with the boredom, stress and repetition of big firm life without a big paycheck to go with it.

[questionable]

Hello readers,

 

Thankyou for posting! lots of interesting things to look at. Maybe I should have mentioned I am currently residing in Australia, so I think some of the information is a little different. Thats ok, Thankyou anyway, it's very interesting. I hope to ask you more questions soon.

[Napoleon Bonaparte]

I am taking the LSAT in october. Unless I become a successful novelist I want to do law for two reasons.

1. I love the law, legal system and the creativity of legislation and commenting over what we could do to improve our society's legal sytem.

2. I want to help people.

 

I plan, if I get into law school and get through it, to pursue a career as both a public defender and prosecutor and perhaps eventually teach.

They do not make much money however I want to do it cuz

A) I would have more time to raise a family and write novels than I would if I were working at a firm.

B) I want to be a great lawyer in a field where the people who are innocent but who cannot afford it need somebody great at what they are doing to get them justice.

Basically I want to prosecute the rich untouchables (as well as your rapist serial killers etc) and defend innocent people who don't have a dime.

I always felt like I had a natural apptitude for enjoying being hated so I figured why not have fun and make a career out of it while doing it for the good of humanity blah blah blah. Being a billionaire is overrated anyway.

[RayKay]

Hey NB - I am doing the LSAT in October too...October 1?

 

Are you doing any prep for it? I am writing a few practice LSATS....usually score between 158-160, no matter how hard or easy it seems..lol. The logic games kill me though!

 

Filled out and am sending in my law school application itself this week....I know I have the GPA, but just need to do decent on the LSAT to get that index scor

 

I too want to have flexibility and time in my life for family and my passions....yet still be challenged and enjoy my job. It is not about the money at all and the avenue I choose likely would only provide a middle-higher income or "comfortable" earning. I am leaning towards family law so I can practice privately or in a smaller partnership, and I may also look at estate law, or something similar to that. Both give you some more flexibility then the big firms. I will be 30/31 but the time I am done, wanting to look at starting a family, and have no interest in spending 10 years clawing my way up through a big firm. Also want to have time to pursue my cycling, and drawing (the drawing of which I rarely have time for NOW...lol).

 

I also like the challenges and opportunities law provides..it is so much more than litigation and people fail to realize. I have the brain that loves to understand, seek knowledge, research, and have that contact with people as well in different and tough situations, which is what law can provide.

[Napoleon Bonaparte]

Ray you will do fine. Those are commendable scores. Besides that you can "learn" to get better scores. It isn't an IQ or talent test.

If you want to chat about it e mail me at email removed and I can give you the run down. I have been studying it for quite sometime.

[gersanos]

Interesting enough, the majority of people that do go to law school have 3 main criteria: Money, Power, Prestige.

 

Unfortunately, those are the exact same things that make lawyers miserable. The Vandy Law Review published an article not too long ago about it: link removed

 

Good article. My only point of contention is that the author himself worked in biglaw and got rich, and secured himself a teaching position, and is now preaching all of this.

 

Money: If you get into a tier 1 school, then yes you can get a great job afterwards. The bad logic comes in because many think that because they are going to any law school that it means that they will be set. The reality is that you start off at the bottom of the pay scale, work horrendous hours if you want to climb that ladder, and eventually reach it. It's a proven fact that much more money can be made with a great MBA degree versus a JD, and with less stress. I do enjoy money, who doesn't? But, you must enjoy the work you are doing.

 

With power I guess that ties in with the notion that money is power, or perhaps that as an attorney you do have a say in people's lives. With prestige just ask most people what they think about lawyers and you can find out.

 

I'm not trying to discourage, I am merely offering the full picture. The study and practice of law does not come with rosy colored glasses.

 

Many people I know think that they just do it for 3 years then start off at 125k, go to court, and life is easy. Nobody is going to pay a 24-25 year old that kind of money, go to court unless your a public defender/prosecution or going to pull records for the guys that will go to court, and have life easy. I wish them the best, they went because they couldn't find a job, and wanted to delay the real world for 3 years, and think a law degree equals big bucks, "success," and champagne falling from the heavans.

 

It's a huge investment: 3 years of your life, 150k to live and go to school for those 3 years, and then most begin there law career making under 50k a year, but working no less than 50 hours. If you have the motivation and the determination and the desire to do it, then you are set. I offer this other angle because most don't do it for the "right" reasons and are miserable: I have a friend that just graduated from Duke, has 150k in debt, and doesn't want to get a job related to law, so is sitting idly trying to figure out how he can use a law degree elsewhere than in law/government with zero work experience at all on his resume, and pay off his debt. He was in the top third of his class. I can't even begin to reason with him...

[RayKay]

I don't think you were discouraging at all gersanos - you are correct in that many go into Law with the wrong reasoning, as many do go into other streams with similar reasonings (ie like B. commerce). Law up here is a bit different in that after the 3 years, you also do articling...an internship of sorts...which gives many a reality shot I think!

 

I am glad I did NOT go into it right after my undergrad, and am going back now, I will be 27 by the time I start, just because I do have a better reality of what is out there, what it offers....and know that no matter WHAT you go into, it takes hard work to do well at it.

 

Too bad about your friend, I know someone who is similar, only an Engineer, who too basically does not want to get a job unless it is ABSOLUTELY perfect, so for the last three years he has been doing very blue-collar work (which is fine if you want to do that but he does not really). He fails to realize that he must get experience before he can move up and do what he really wants....there are many things lawyers can do without practicing Law itself but they must get experience.

 

Thanks!

[gersanos]

Hey RayKay -

 

That's exactly it, they should make it a requirement that you do not go into it right after undergrad, just like the majority of MBA programs require a minimum of 2 years work experience.

 

Many of my friends went into the study of law. Almost all of then went because it was money, power, prestige, and the opportunity to continue the student lifestyle. You ask them what a lawyer does then they start discussing some landmark case or something they caught on Law & Order. Landmark cases are just that - the last landmark case this nation had was Roe v. Wade which was many years ago, and Law & Order is not reality. The reality is that as a lawyer you sit in an office and do tons of research, even if you are a trial lawyer. It is not a glamorous profession by any means whatsoever. But, if you enjoy the many aspects of the job then you will enjoy being a lawyer.

 

On the other hand, I have 2 friends that will make excellent attorneys: they have been involved in politics since high school, interned at government institutions accross the State, and began there legal profession as a public defender upon graduation to get a ton of fast paced court room experience. The pay isn't the best (around 40k here) considering you need to live and have debt to pay off, but that experience will carry you far, and in 2 years they can get many offers from law firms or State's Attorneys office. They enjoy the law itself. One of those guys is 27, and wears the same darn pair of airwalks and concert t-shirts that he had in college. Absolutely brilliant mind (he got a full ride to law school), but no ambition for greed (I will admit the guy should buy some new clothes and shoes though ). I guess it's there approach, or attitude if you may, which I like about them and why I think that they will make great attorneys.