I want to go to law school, but I've been hearing some negative things?

nickidrea

Stephen knows what he is talking about- read his post. It's all true.

Just wanted to give advice on the LLM: Skip it. LLM's are useless unless you get them in Taxation. I was going to get mine in Trial Advocacy this year but every lawyer I know told me not to bother. It's just more debt and it won't necessarily open up any doors for you.

As for the job thing: yes, it's hard to get a job. I graduated with a very respectable rank and it took me 6 months to find a job. Now I'm an associate at a Philadelphia firm making $55,000 a year and I have a LOT of law school debt. Sometimes I worry about how I will ever afford to do anything such as moving out of my apartment or even affording my wedding. However, I do have a job. It was hard to find but I have it. And I'm getting great experience that will make me a candidate for a better job when I'm ready to leave here.

You don't have to be top 5 at Harvard to get a good job, but it helps.

My advice to everyone interested in law school: don't be one of the people that attends law school because they don't know what else to do with their life. You;d better love research, reading and writing or else you will hate law school and you probably won't do well in it. I loved a lot of law school but I don't think I could have gotten through it without my inherent love of the law and my lifelong dream to be a lawyer. Sometimes I just wanted to quit. When people who never wanted to be lawyers in the first place face the difficulties of law school, they drop out. So think long and hard before you decide to go to law school. It's not like college and being a lawyer is nothing like t.v. It's hard work and you get paid peanuts. You really have to be dedicated or you'll go nuts!

Allison P

It's always best to be at the top of your class in law school, but you can use high level internships to get better positions in law firms. The reason for the "pickiness" of law firms is that there are so many attorneys coming out of law school now. I would suggest that after law school, you should pursue an L.LM which is essentially specializing your law degree. You can do this is a number of subjects like Intellectual Property, Tax Law, Employment Law, etc. For every facet of law, there seems to be an L.LM to accomodate you. WIth your MBA, you could work in a business division at a corporation or work with a large defense firm.

There are many options for you, but don't expect to come out of law school wealthy as so many seem to do these days. It usally takes five to ten years to really start making the kind of money most expect. My fiancee who happens to be an attorney with an L.LM says that it took at least 6 years to pay off student loans and really get the contacts to make it. It's a great career and a noble one if you so choose. Good luck.

CatLaw

The American Bar Assoc did a survey and says that the average lawyer salary is around $40,000. Not poor, but not the six-figures that the top 5% of your class will get. If you are lucky enough to graduate in that top 5% you will be working 7 days a week and 18 hour days. Having a law degree and license allows you to get many different jobs besides attorney, so you will have more opportunities.

Law school is not fun, it is intense hard work for several years. If you have the calling to be a lawyer go for it.

jimmybond

plz join the Academy of Legal Experts.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: