Is a law career for me?

Ever since I took criminal and civil law classes in high school, I knew instantly that I am interested in law. I didn't think about law school back then, I just knew that I want to know more about law and I always question if something is legal or not.

Then in college, I majored in political science and took as many law related classes as I can. I found reading court cases to be difficult but interesting; as I reached my Junior year, I was contemplating about going to law school.

As a matter of fact, law school scares the **** out of me. I heard that they use the Socrates teaching method. It'll be hard for me because I'm so used to learning by memorizing information. And I heard that you have to read and write write excessively and these are certainly not my strong points.

I have more of a creative mind and love music and art.

I can't think of myself becoming a full time teacher/professor or a musician or an artist because ....

well I guess because of low salaries.

I am competitive if I know I have the ability to succeed (never in science or math though) and I am very driven by high salary.

Is law school for me if I really interested in law? What are the requirements to succeed in law school?

Qwyrx

More importantly than law school--you don't sound like you're cut out to be a lawyer. The vast majority of what lawyers do is reading and writing. Some lawyers never see the inside of a court room. Of those who do, the vast majority spend dozens of times more hours in preparation (again, reading and writing) then they do in court.

Now, that being said, if you can make it through law school, that doesn't mean you ahve to be a lawyer. Somewhere around 50% of people with law degrees aren't lawyers within 5 years of graduating. Law school opens up all sorts of opportunities. But, yes, you will be expected to read hundreds of pages daily. You will have to argue and defend your points both out loud and in writing. Your grades will be based mostly upon one test or paper at the end of class, where you not only have to show all of the knowledge you've gained, but apply that knowledge creatively to new situations in extended writing. Papers tend to range in the 10-30 page range.

Talk to someone who went to law school, and talk to a lawyer. Have them tell you what it was like.

Jennifer B

Law firms are laying off big time right now. Law firms themselves are typically not for creative people. There is major butt kissing and long hours required to succeed. Make sure this is something you really really want to do.

stephen t

Lawyers are a dime a dozen, go medical. Heck, there is a shortage of pharmacists and their median wage is $98,000K well above lawyers. Dentists 180,000K median and there is a shortage, and of course a shortage of MDs.

From US News, Poor careers for 2006
Attorney. If starting over, 75 percent of lawyers would choose to do something else. A similar percentage would advise their children not to become lawyers. The work is often contentious, and there's pressure to be unethical. And despite the drama portrayed on TV, real lawyers spend much of their time on painstakingly detailed research. In addition, those fat-salaried law jobs go to only the top few percent of an already high-powered lot.

Many people go to law school hoping to do so-called public-interest law. (In fact, much work not officially labeled as such does serve the public interest.) What they don't teach in law school is that the competition for those jobs is intense. I know one graduate of a Top Three law school, for instance, who also edited a law journal. She applied for a low-paying job at the National Abortion Rights Action League and, despite interviewing very well, didn't get the job.

From the Associated Press, MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A lawmaker who persuaded the Assembly to eliminate all state funding for the University of Wisconsin law school says his reasoning is simple: There's too many lawyers in Wisconsin.

From an ABA study about malpractice claims, More Sole Practicioners: There appears to be an increasing trend toward sole practicioners, due partly to a lack of jobs for new lawyers, but also due to increasing dissatisfaction among experienced lawyers with traditional firms; leading to some claims which could have been avoided with better mentoring.

New Lawyers: Most insurers have noticed that many young lawyers cannot find jobs with established firms, and so are starting their own practices without supervision or mentoring. This is likely to cause an increase in malpractice claims, although the claims may be relatively small in size due to the limited nature of a new lawyers

â€œIn a survey conducted back in 1972 by the American Bar Association, seventy percent of Americans not only didnâ€™t have a lawyer, they didnâ€™t know how to find one. Thatâ€™s right, thirty years ago the vast majority of people didnâ€™t have a clue on how to find a lawyer. Now itâ€™s almost impossible not to see lawyers everywhere you turn."

Growth of Legal Sector
Lags Broader Economy; Law Schools Proliferate
For graduates of elite law schools, prospects have never been better. Big law firms this year boosted their starting salaries to as high as $160,000. But the majority of law-school graduates are suffering from a supply-and-demand imbalance that's suppressing pay and job growth. The result: Graduates who don't score at the top of their class are struggling to find well-paying jobs to make payments on law-school debts that can exceed $100,000. Some are taking temporary contract work, reviewing documents for as little as $20 an hour, without benefits. And many are blaming their law schools for failing to warn them about the dark side of the job market.

The law degree that Scott Bullock gained in 2005 from Seton Hall University -- where he says he ranked in the top third of his class -- is a "waste," he says. Some former high-school friends are earning considerably more as plumbers and electricians than the $50,000-a-year Mr. Bullock is making as a personal-injury attorney in Manhattan. To boot, he is paying off $118,000 in law-school debt.

A slack in demand appears to be part of the problem. The legal sector, after more than tripling in inflation-adjusted growth between 1970 and 1987, has grown at an average annual inflation-adjusted rate of 1.2% since 1988, or less than half as fast as the broader economy, according to Commerce Department data.

On the supply end, more lawyers are entering the work force, thanks

mailaccount63

No, it doesn't sound like it.

Jobs in the field of Law are drying up FAST!! This is NOT a good field to invest in. We simply have WAY TOO MANY Attorneys - we have a GLUT of Lawyers!

Suggestion: IF you want a job when you are done with your studies, consider and look into the field of HEALTHCARE! <This is where the jobs are! and scholarships!

Good luck.

cheeseface

no, because you are a girl.

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