The Definitive "Should I go to Law School?" guide
"IT DEPENDS"
I am frequently asked if someone should go to law school.
Being a lawyer, my go to response to anything that is indefinite usually includes a phrase or two I use when in court when I don’t know what is going on:
“It depends”
“That is the extent of what I believe I have seen”
Ok just it depends.
WHAT DOES IT DEPEND ON?!?
1. Do you want to be a lawyer?
This is usually the first question I ask because it cuts to the chase. Do you want to be a lawyer or are you bored?
I went to law school to be a lawyer but also because I was a liberal arts major who did not think everything through. I liked reading, writing, and talking, so it made sense.
Do you like reading, writing, and talking? Because that’s about 20% of being a trial attorney.
The other 80% is answering emails, doing in-court paperwork, and both parties pretending they watched the seventeen hours of officers walking around talking about nothing body cam.
There are a zillion types of law - what kind of law do you want to practice?
Do you want to do criminal? Civil? Do you want to be behind a desk researching, or chasing ambulances and making hokey but probably effective ads?
2. Have you looked into what a lawyer does?
Goes with #1 - what do you think a lawyer does? Do you want to do something specific? Most people do not pass this question. I get answers that sound like someone watched SVU a few times and thought yeah, that’s it.
I had no idea what a county prosecutor did when I started. I was amazed and horrified.
My first day I opened my top desk drawer and saw a spoon covered in yogurt stuck to the bottom.
“Guess I missed a spot” said my supervisor, a twenty year prosecutor.
The fact that she was the one in charge of cleaning the desk for the new hire was my first clue this was going to be interesting.
If BowTiedAlpaca were still here, he could tell you about the pros and cons of big law. What does big law do?
-Works like an IB, makes like a younger IB, income usually capped at a point because law is words and bankers change the digits on the screen. I think, it depends, etc.
You work for the largest corporations in the world. Do you want to defend Pfizer in court? Is that different from being a defense lawyer who supports a rapist, but makes less?
There are plusses and minuses everywhere, just actually look into them.
3. Going to law school is different than ten, fifteen years ago.
I went to law school prior to pronoun police. Now I make comments condemning the students at the law school when they post as my alma mater trashing Republicans and promoting our first trans 1Ls.
Life comes at you fast. My law school has been taken over and I occasionally fire some shots on LinkedIn, but that’s a waste of time.
My class was generally younger people.
Are you ready to spend day and night with woke 25 year olds? Because that’s what it looks like.
I wanted to vomit writing that sentence, but as a lawyer I must speak TRUTH TO POWER.
Law is sliding downhill like everything else. The only good thing is eventually you have to have some facts to justify your conclusions, and “gender experts” are not a thing.
Yet.
Generally speaking meet lawyers, see what kind of law you want to practice, then apply and check every minority/gay box you can.
Happy to answer any other questions, but TL:DL -
Only go to law school if you have a reason.
NAMASTE,
KONG