The post was getting kind of long, so I decided to break it into two parts... happy reading!
• Graduation from law school is very anticlimactic. All it means is that you’ve secured yet another degree. When you graduate from law school, you are not really an “attorney”. I mean, technically, you shouldn’t really call yourself an attorney until you pass the state bar exam. So, really, you pay for three years of law school just to able to say that you graduated with a law degree – but you are not really an “attorney” in the traditional sense of the word. Take the bar while you are still in school mode, i.e., as soon as you graduate. The second you finish your last final exam, start studying for the bar exam. If you take time off, it will be hella hard to get back in study mode for the exam.
• The bar exam is the hardest test you will ever take – in LIFE. You should fear failing the bar. Not because you should be embarrassed that you weren’t successful (No need to be embarrassed since plenty of folks fail it every year. That’s no biggie.), but because you do not want to take the damn thing again if you can help it. After sequestering myself, including avoiding television and pretty much all telephone conversation, for 10 weeks during the summer of 2004, I made a vow to myself that if I failed I would NOT take the exam again. The entire process was too emotionally draining and stressful and I would NOT be putting myself through that drama again simply because I didn’t study hard enough he first time. Funny thing… as I said before, you are not a lawyer until you pass the bar exam. Everything you need to know about the bar exam will be taught to you during your bar prep course. Your bar prep course is only 8 weeks long. Which leads me to these questions: If I can learn everything I need to know to become a licensed attorney in 8 weeks, why did I just spend upwards of 100 grand on law school and three years of my life studying all this nonsense in the first place? I could’ve easily skipped the three years of being bored and worked to death and learned everything I needed to know in 8 weeks. Go figure…
• At one point in U.S. history, being a lawyer was something special. There weren’t many accredited law schools in existence. Those that did exist only accepted the top-notch applicants. Therefore, being a lawyer was an elite and respected profession. Now, law schools are more interested in making money than they are in turning out quality lawyers. And because money is the primary focus, they are willing to accept just about anyone who can secure a loan to cover the tuition, hence putting money into the law school’s pocket. As a result, being a lawyer is NOT an elite profession. In Washington, DC alone, something like 1 in 17 people is a lawyer. That’s just too damn many!
• Everyone seems to think that being a lawyer = RICH. In most cases, that equation is false. People who want to become a lawyer to get rich will be terribly disappointed. Yes, it is true that starting salaries at large law firms (100+ attorneys) are $160k/year for the fresh-out-of-law-school attorney. But, there are not enough of those jobs to go around. Since President W came to power, and the US economy took a nosedive, only the best of the best have been getting recruited by large firms. Every other lawyer (outside of the large law firm) is just making “regular” money. Government lawyers get paid at the same rate as a person with any other grad degree (around $55-60k/year). Solo practitioners or lawyers at small law firms in DC get paid anywhere from $40-80k/year. Last time I checked, $40-80k was not the kind of salary that makes you “rich”. If you are going to law school to get “rich”, save your money and three years of your time and pick another profession. And, like, I said before, don't get sold this bill of goods that “law school can take you anywhere". I fell for that, but would find out later that this was, in fact, NOT true and that law school can take you a few places, but it can’t take you EVERYWHERE. In other words, a law degree is more like an American Express card than a VISA...
Ok, I know this was an extremely long post. And, if you made it this far, then clearly you are interested in law school, or you are just bored and had nothing else better to do with your time. I hope you found some of this information helpful and that, if you decide to attend law school, you decide to take some of this advice to heart.
At any rate, maybe after reading this, some of you will understand why many lawyers groan when they hear someone say, “You’re a lawyer? I’ve been thinking about law school.” It’s definitely not for everyone. That being said, it definitely IS for some people. So, you have to do your own assessment to decide whether you’ll be someone who would enjoy the challenge that law school presents.
Now, just so you can see that I am not some bitter, jaded law school grad who is also completely off her rocker, please take a moment to read this article about the dismal legal job market that was recently published in the Wall Street Journal. Or this article (all at once humorous and depressing) that was published in the Washington City Paper that describes the hellish job that a good majority of law graduates end up taking when their dreams of getting rich don't pan out.
Alright! Enough about the law. I'm sick of talking/writing about it, as I am daily striving to live a law-free life. Back to what the Brown Girl loves best - mindless drama...
Showing posts with label Living a Law-Free Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Living a Law-Free Life. Show all posts
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Law School Redux: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
Without fail, when people find out that I am a law school graduate, the first thing that they ask (with the exception of a substantive question of law) is whether I can speak to their son/daughter/niece/nephew/grandchild who has expressed in interest in the legal field. Just a few days ago, I agreed to speak to a friend’s younger sister who has now decided that she wants to be a lawyer. I essentially relay the same advice over and over and make sure to add that law school is not for everyone and that they should be sure of their decision before they take on the responsibility of three years of hard labor.
In my last blog, I gave a little insight into what it means to be a lawyer in today’s oversaturated legal market. As I said, it’s a lot of smoke and mirrors. I went to law school optimistic, thinking I would graduate and somehow contribute to society with all the nifty things I learned. But, when I got there, I felt like an outsider from Day 1. For some reason, everything important about law school seemed just out of my reach. It was like everything was one BIG secret that everyone was privy to – everyone except me. But, pretty soon, I learned the ropes and was able to figure some things out, which made the experience a lot more bearable.
As promised, here are some things I wish I knew before I went to law school. One day, when I have the time and energy, I will probably write a book about this. So, here is the (not-so) short version. It’s pretty detailed and opinionated. I’m sure that you will find law school grads that disagree with my perspective. You will also probably find just as many that will co-sign every word of this post. Either way, do your research and make the decision that is right for you. Here’s a little bit of info that might help make your law school life go a little more smoothly…
• Everything you do from the time you apply to law school until the day you secure an offer for permanent employment from any willing employer, should be an effort to position yourself for the ideal post-graduate job. That means that your choice of law school (more about that later), your coursework, your extracurricular activities, your internships, and accomplishments should all be helping you reach the end goal – your dream job. If, along the way, you find you are spending your time on things that will not help make you marketable to your dream employer, stop doing what you are doing and focus on something else that will get you a step closer. Nothing else really matters.
• If you know the city/state where you would like to practice post-graduation from law school, you should probably save your money and attend the best state law school in that area. Why? Because most of the local lawyers probably attended that school as well and the alumni connections in that city will really help you out in the long-run. Plus, if you can get in-state tuition, you will save yourself the burden of astronomical student loan payments in the long-run.
• If you do decide to attend a private law school and spend ridiculous amounts of money to attend school each year, make sure to attend the highest ranked school that you can manage to get into. When I got ready to go to law school my dad said “Nobody will ask where you got your degree, they will only care that you got a degree.” Maybe that works for other grad degrees, but with a law degree… not so much. The best employers recruit at the best schools. If you go to a school that is in the second or third tier (you’ll learn about tiers when you start to research schools), you might as well just save your money and get a degree in something else. Trust me… you’ll be better off 30 years down the line.
• The best grad school advice that I ever got was from a teaching assistant in one of my undergrad government classes. When he found out that I would be attending law school he said, “It will not be humanly possible for you to complete all the reading that will be assigned. Immediately upon arrival, learn to skim your reading assignments for the important bits. Just do what you can and the rest will fall into place.” It’s true. Time management is the most valuable skill a law student – or ANY grad student – can have. If you are not good with managing your time, get good at it BEFORE you go to law school.
• The most important class you will take during your first year of law school is your legal research and writing class. If you can ace that course, you have pretty much gotten all the skills you need to secure a law clerk or summer associate position. You need to secure these jobs to add weight to your resume because when recruiting begins in earnest, you need to have a killer resume to get the best jobs.
• Remember that – no matter what – 50% of the class will be ranked at the top, and 50% will be ranked at the bottom. Mathematically, this isn’t necessarily true considering that typically significantly less than 50% of the class falls in the Top 50% of the class. (Anyone who understands curves knows what I mean by this.) But, law students need to learn this early. People who go to law school are typically type-A personalities that have always been at the top of their class. But here’s a wakeup call: EVERYONE in your class has always been at the top of their class. Smart people come a dime a dozen in law school. In law school, it’s not about being smart, it’s about being disciplined. Law school is not hard. Anyone can comprehend what is being taught in law classes. But, you can be the smartest person in the world and if you don’t lack the discipline required to DO THE WORK, you will be in the bottom half of the class. Every time. Be committed to the work and the rest will come easy.
• When the notices come around regarding law review/law journal, moot court, and mock trial, try out for these activities! The write-on competition for law review is no joke, but if you are lucky enough to make law review or journal, your life will be a lot easier! Take a look at attorney bios on law firm websites. You’ll see that the few law school-related activities that are mentioned is law review/journal and/or moot court/mock trial. These activities provide you with the practical skills that legal employers are seeking in a candidate. They are important. Participate if you can.
• At some point during your law school career, consider a judicial internship. A judicial internship is basically an opportunity to work under the supervision of a judge and a judicial law clerk. Depending on the court, you could get a ton of research and writing experience. No matter the court (or the judge for the matter) you will get an opportunity to say that you have first-hand knowledge of the judicial process, which will make you more marketable to legal employers.
In my last blog, I gave a little insight into what it means to be a lawyer in today’s oversaturated legal market. As I said, it’s a lot of smoke and mirrors. I went to law school optimistic, thinking I would graduate and somehow contribute to society with all the nifty things I learned. But, when I got there, I felt like an outsider from Day 1. For some reason, everything important about law school seemed just out of my reach. It was like everything was one BIG secret that everyone was privy to – everyone except me. But, pretty soon, I learned the ropes and was able to figure some things out, which made the experience a lot more bearable.
As promised, here are some things I wish I knew before I went to law school. One day, when I have the time and energy, I will probably write a book about this. So, here is the (not-so) short version. It’s pretty detailed and opinionated. I’m sure that you will find law school grads that disagree with my perspective. You will also probably find just as many that will co-sign every word of this post. Either way, do your research and make the decision that is right for you. Here’s a little bit of info that might help make your law school life go a little more smoothly…
• Everything you do from the time you apply to law school until the day you secure an offer for permanent employment from any willing employer, should be an effort to position yourself for the ideal post-graduate job. That means that your choice of law school (more about that later), your coursework, your extracurricular activities, your internships, and accomplishments should all be helping you reach the end goal – your dream job. If, along the way, you find you are spending your time on things that will not help make you marketable to your dream employer, stop doing what you are doing and focus on something else that will get you a step closer. Nothing else really matters.
• If you know the city/state where you would like to practice post-graduation from law school, you should probably save your money and attend the best state law school in that area. Why? Because most of the local lawyers probably attended that school as well and the alumni connections in that city will really help you out in the long-run. Plus, if you can get in-state tuition, you will save yourself the burden of astronomical student loan payments in the long-run.
• If you do decide to attend a private law school and spend ridiculous amounts of money to attend school each year, make sure to attend the highest ranked school that you can manage to get into. When I got ready to go to law school my dad said “Nobody will ask where you got your degree, they will only care that you got a degree.” Maybe that works for other grad degrees, but with a law degree… not so much. The best employers recruit at the best schools. If you go to a school that is in the second or third tier (you’ll learn about tiers when you start to research schools), you might as well just save your money and get a degree in something else. Trust me… you’ll be better off 30 years down the line.
• The best grad school advice that I ever got was from a teaching assistant in one of my undergrad government classes. When he found out that I would be attending law school he said, “It will not be humanly possible for you to complete all the reading that will be assigned. Immediately upon arrival, learn to skim your reading assignments for the important bits. Just do what you can and the rest will fall into place.” It’s true. Time management is the most valuable skill a law student – or ANY grad student – can have. If you are not good with managing your time, get good at it BEFORE you go to law school.
• The most important class you will take during your first year of law school is your legal research and writing class. If you can ace that course, you have pretty much gotten all the skills you need to secure a law clerk or summer associate position. You need to secure these jobs to add weight to your resume because when recruiting begins in earnest, you need to have a killer resume to get the best jobs.
• Remember that – no matter what – 50% of the class will be ranked at the top, and 50% will be ranked at the bottom. Mathematically, this isn’t necessarily true considering that typically significantly less than 50% of the class falls in the Top 50% of the class. (Anyone who understands curves knows what I mean by this.) But, law students need to learn this early. People who go to law school are typically type-A personalities that have always been at the top of their class. But here’s a wakeup call: EVERYONE in your class has always been at the top of their class. Smart people come a dime a dozen in law school. In law school, it’s not about being smart, it’s about being disciplined. Law school is not hard. Anyone can comprehend what is being taught in law classes. But, you can be the smartest person in the world and if you don’t lack the discipline required to DO THE WORK, you will be in the bottom half of the class. Every time. Be committed to the work and the rest will come easy.
• When the notices come around regarding law review/law journal, moot court, and mock trial, try out for these activities! The write-on competition for law review is no joke, but if you are lucky enough to make law review or journal, your life will be a lot easier! Take a look at attorney bios on law firm websites. You’ll see that the few law school-related activities that are mentioned is law review/journal and/or moot court/mock trial. These activities provide you with the practical skills that legal employers are seeking in a candidate. They are important. Participate if you can.
• At some point during your law school career, consider a judicial internship. A judicial internship is basically an opportunity to work under the supervision of a judge and a judicial law clerk. Depending on the court, you could get a ton of research and writing experience. No matter the court (or the judge for the matter) you will get an opportunity to say that you have first-hand knowledge of the judicial process, which will make you more marketable to legal employers.
Friday, January 25, 2008
A Law Degree ain't What it's Cracked Up to Be...
So, as most of you know, I am an attorney. I went to one of the best law schools in the country. Suffered through three years of law school coursework, tortured myself for 10 weeks in Summer 2004 studying for the bar exam, passed the exam, got sworn in as an officer of the Court later that year, and then decided that I didn’t want to practice law.
Well, things didn’t exactly happen in that order.
I went to law school knowing that I wasn’t interested in a traditional law practice. I was one of those poor souls that got caught up in the myth that getting a law degree opens SO MANY doors. I was under the impression that – with a law degree – you could do anything and everything under the sun. Maybe, at some point in history, that was true. But these days… not so much.
What I found is that getting a law degree actually pigeonholes you. Once I passed the bar exam, I decided that it was time for me to find a job. Not another job as an attorney, but perhaps some “law-related” job that I would find more interesting than the job I had been working. But, here’s what happened: every time I’d go to an interview, someone would say, “But, you’re a lawyer. You don’t really want this job… do you??” Um… yes. Otherwise, I would not be sitting here having this conversation with you, moron! Clearly I am not just interviewing for my health!
So, what I found was that people would take me out of the running for a job just because I had gone to law school. It got to the point where people started suggesting that I take my law degree off my resume. No, no way, uh uh, forget it! I am still paying for that degree and will be for the next 30 or so years. No way am I gonna take it off my resume!!
Needless to say that I was dejected and bummed about my situation. I would never go as far as to say that I regret going to law school. I absolutely do NOT. If nothing else, my law degree is a conversation piece. People always want to know what it was like to attend law school, and people LOVE to ask me for legal advice. Newsflash folks: lawyers get paid for their knowledge and time! Why would I give you FREE time and information when I could be getting paid ridiculously to do so?
I often decline to give legal advice anyway. I usually refer people to a practicing attorney that specializes in that particular area for assistance. It’s been four years since I graduated from law school. Most of what I’ve learned has already evaporated from memory so, truth be told, I’m probably not the best resource when it comes to legal analysis.
I guess I’m saying all this to say that law school isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Don’t get duped into thinking that doors will magically open just because you have a Juris Doctor on your resume. Before you assume the HUGE financial responsibility of three years of law school, consider whether you can do whatever your dream job is WITHOUT the degree.
One day, when I have the time and the energy, I will create a post that will focus on everything I wish I knew before I went to law school. There is a lot of ground to cover on that one. Maybe I’ll work on it this weekend…
Well, things didn’t exactly happen in that order.
I went to law school knowing that I wasn’t interested in a traditional law practice. I was one of those poor souls that got caught up in the myth that getting a law degree opens SO MANY doors. I was under the impression that – with a law degree – you could do anything and everything under the sun. Maybe, at some point in history, that was true. But these days… not so much.
What I found is that getting a law degree actually pigeonholes you. Once I passed the bar exam, I decided that it was time for me to find a job. Not another job as an attorney, but perhaps some “law-related” job that I would find more interesting than the job I had been working. But, here’s what happened: every time I’d go to an interview, someone would say, “But, you’re a lawyer. You don’t really want this job… do you??” Um… yes. Otherwise, I would not be sitting here having this conversation with you, moron! Clearly I am not just interviewing for my health!
So, what I found was that people would take me out of the running for a job just because I had gone to law school. It got to the point where people started suggesting that I take my law degree off my resume. No, no way, uh uh, forget it! I am still paying for that degree and will be for the next 30 or so years. No way am I gonna take it off my resume!!
Needless to say that I was dejected and bummed about my situation. I would never go as far as to say that I regret going to law school. I absolutely do NOT. If nothing else, my law degree is a conversation piece. People always want to know what it was like to attend law school, and people LOVE to ask me for legal advice. Newsflash folks: lawyers get paid for their knowledge and time! Why would I give you FREE time and information when I could be getting paid ridiculously to do so?
I often decline to give legal advice anyway. I usually refer people to a practicing attorney that specializes in that particular area for assistance. It’s been four years since I graduated from law school. Most of what I’ve learned has already evaporated from memory so, truth be told, I’m probably not the best resource when it comes to legal analysis.
I guess I’m saying all this to say that law school isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Don’t get duped into thinking that doors will magically open just because you have a Juris Doctor on your resume. Before you assume the HUGE financial responsibility of three years of law school, consider whether you can do whatever your dream job is WITHOUT the degree.
One day, when I have the time and the energy, I will create a post that will focus on everything I wish I knew before I went to law school. There is a lot of ground to cover on that one. Maybe I’ll work on it this weekend…
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