Value of a Law Degree - Don't Say No One Told You
Thought you guys would appreciate this excellent article by the President of the California Bar.
A few highlights of his advice to law school applicants -- things to think about before enrolling (quoted from California Bar Journal article):
1. If you have any doubts about whether you want to be a lawyer, don’t go to law school before you find out for yourself what lawyers do every day.
2. Keep your professional expectations in line with what you will actually do when you get out of school. . . . The mediators most in demand are usually former judges. Going to law school isn’t necessarily going to get you a job as a mediator — or as a judge. Likewise appellate lawyers are specialists who must prove their skills in writing and oral argument before they can practice appellate law full time. And if you are now in law school, you won’t be arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court anytime soon.
3. When you are applying to law school, and you don’t get into one of the Top 50, don’t count on landing a six-figure job when you graduate. . . . Before you go to law school, ask yourself whether you want to graduate and earn a five-figure salary that you could be making in business, teaching or some other vocation.
4. Before you go to law school, look at your future like a banker: what is the likely return on the tens of thousands of dollars of debt you are about to accrue and when will the asset called you-as-a-law-school-graduate become profitable? . . . For the vast majority of law school applicants these days, it isn’t worth it.
Full Article here: http://www.calbarjournal.com/February2011/Opinion/FromthePresident.aspx





Great article! Very good
Great article! Very good advice for you pre-law folks out there.
They could sum that whole
They could sum that whole page into:
"Don't be a moron."
Which I would think would be a good prerequisite for attorneys anyways.
legallyblonde wrote:4.
4. Before you go to law school, look at your future like a banker: what is the likely return on the tens of thousands of dollars of debt you are about to accrue and when will the asset called you-as-a-law-school-graduate become profitable? . . . For the vast majority of law school applicants these days, it isn’t worth it.
I would take the banker analogy a step further. Most decent MBA programs generally don't accept people who haven't worked an average of 2 to 5 years in junior roles. This helps weed out people who really don't want to do it or aren't very good, and people very actively use business school to expand their professional networking options. The common understanding is that the first few years out of business school are going to be VERY intense, especially in banking. Not everyone goes to Wall Street after getting an MBA, but those that do have no illusions of the amount of work ahead of them.
Meanwhile, I see a disturbing amount of law students who don't have any any clear idea of what they're going to do after school, and don't seem to care, OR think that they will get a 'big' case. Many law students seem to think that good grades are the only thing that matters, that having the degree entitles them to employment, that the first few years after school will be 40 hour work weeks, and for some reason they are exempt from the reality that you have to pay back those loans as well as your bills. Law school actually opens up a much broader set of options than an MBA, but that doesn't guarantee anything, and I think it's very important for law students to keep this in mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaYR5lwzomE
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Being the excellent lawyer
Being the excellent lawyer that I am, I have found the loophole to the "non-dischargeable" debt. I was declared "permanently disabled" by my doctor and can no longer practice law and my $100k in law student loans is being discharged. Of course the downside is that I no longer make $200k a year, but at least I'm not federal disability AND trying to pay off my student loans.
It was an excellent article. If nothing else, spend the day with a lawyer friend and see how truly boring and tedious most of being a lawyer is. I blame shows like LA Law and Ally McBeal (showing my age, I know) that lured me in. But I did work in a courtroom for a number of years. I will admit, though, that all the lawyers told me I was crazy to quit my job and go to law school. I do miss being a court clerk. Nothing sweeter than having all the lawyers kissing your ass!
mlljd wrote:Being the
Being the excellent lawyer that I am, I have found the loophole to the "non-dischargeable" debt. I was declared "permanently disabled" by my doctor and can no longer practice law and my $100k in law student loans is being discharged. Of course the downside is that I no longer make $200k a year, but at least I'm not federal disability AND trying to pay off my student loans.
ooooo... I thought the only way I could get away from Sallie was faking my own death... :P
I agree with the article.. I have come to regret studying law over mixology :/
mlljd wrote:Being the
Being the excellent lawyer that I am, I have found the loophole to the "non-dischargeable" debt. I was declared "permanently disabled" by my doctor and can no longer practice law and my $100k in law student loans is being discharged. Of course the downside is that I no longer make $200k a year, but at least I'm not federal disability AND trying to pay off my student loans.
you forgot about Boston Legal!
It was an excellent article. If nothing else, spend the day with a lawyer friend and see how truly boring and tedious most of being a lawyer is. I blame shows like LA Law and Ally McBeal (showing my age, I know) that lured me in. But I did work in a courtroom for a number of years. I will admit, though, that all the lawyers told me I was crazy to quit my job and go to law school. I do miss being a court clerk. Nothing sweeter than having all the lawyers kissing your ass!
That's amazingly
That's amazingly straightforward advice from the President of the Bar no less. Wow, glad I didn't go to law school...
I don't understand how
I don't understand how ANYBODY goes to law school without being at least 90% sure that that is where they want to be. There is so much information from some of the smartest legal minds in the country about why you SHOULDN'T go to law school that it just blows my mind knowing people that don't plan on using the degree are going to spend a couple hundred grand on it.
All of this advice is good
All of this advice is good and well, but it assumes all of a legal professional's success is based on how he or she starts out; which is just not true in any profession. Beyond the initial qualifications, most of career development comes down to spotting and taking advantage of opportunities, as well of course as meeting new people and developing a professional network.
Your 4th point however is important -- it just doesn't make sense to rack up a ton of debt and spend the next 10 years of your life paying it back.
Making a difference in the established legislation will always be difficult without young blood entering the industry to challenge attitudes no longer deemed relevant to society. It's vital that universities provide opportunities for a graduate diploma in law such as those offered by kaplan-law-school.kaplan.co.uk/GDL/Pages/default.aspx to allow new barristers, solicitors and other legal professionals a chance to make a difference.
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