Law School

Has anyone done or considered it? I'd like to hear from you.

 

I considered it for several years after graduating.

I knew a guy who went to law school after getting his undergrad. I met up with him a few years later, and he wasn't working as a lawyer.

Through the course of our conversation, I told him that I was seriously considering law school and this is what he said to me:

You can throw a stone on the streets of Chicago and hit a lawyer and unless you graduate in the top 10% of your class, you can forget about getting a job at a law firm (his wife also went to law school and she was working as a lawyer because she graduated higher than him). You either don't become a lawyer, or you "hang up a shingle" and hope for the best.

Needless to say, after I heard this, I shelved the idea.

 

It seems like he was making excuses for his inability to find a foothold in a law firm. And what would prevent you from graduating in the upper percentile?

 

I considered law school before getting a masters in accountancy and to be honest I didn't like giving up 90 to 100 hours of my work week during my 20s. Sometimes I regret it but I'm quickly reminded by people I know who went to law school how much you give up for a job that is financially beneficial but lacks in so many other places. Now its a lot harder to be a lawyer unless you either graduate at the top of your class like Bookie said or you graduate from a top notch program like Yale Harvard or U Chicago.
But if you want to do it I say go for it, I just hope its for other reasons than just a high salary because it might be awhile before you see that if at all.

 

Are you a CPA?

 

No not yet I bounced around a lot at the beginning of my career and recently just back into the financial sector in financial planning so I haven't done enough hours under a CPA yet to take my test but that and a CMA are credentials I hope to add to my resume within the coming years.

 

Yep, a CPA and maybe becoming an enrolled agent (IRS) will set you up nicely.

I'm south of forty but am looking to shift careers to test the waters and for greater financial security into the next thirty years. The good thing is, like myself, you've cleared the hurdle of your undergraduate education and have options for the future. Get after it or someone else will.

 

Amen. I've actually really considered fraud investigation possibly becoming a forensic accountant and going after scum that swindle people especially in digital space. I'll keep looking towards any opportunities that come my way.
A smart guy like yourself might want to consider being an actuary or something in computer science or if you have the patience medical school. The law is great for the chosen few but from what I've observed unless you're in a big firm lowly accountants like myself are making 50% more than you.

 

Don't go to Law School. I am a MD for a Financial Consulting firm and work a lot with attorneys. The job market for lawyers is horrendous, and that's putting it mildly; there are several articles on this all over the web that you can read up on (NYT, WSJ). The cost of law school is not worth the debt as it stands, and even if you graduate from a top law school, you'll have a hard time landing a job ( a lot of this also has to do with the shifting paradigm within law where there is less of a need for lower level lawyers).

 

Hey DK hit me up if you want...i've worked in all of the areas you mentioned and can help you out.

 

I did my JD/MBA in the late '90's, the job market today is challenging for new lawyers. That being said, you can always hang out your own shingle, that's what I did. I love the law and having a deep understanding of it can benefit you in many, many ways. Costs are not cheap so that is an important factor to consider. According to the BLS job growth for lawyers will increase 10% over the next 8-10 years, http://bls.gov/ooh/Legal/Lawyers.htm#tab-6. In my experience, a good tax lawyer never has a problem finding work.

Law school is a tough, but life changing experience, good luck with your decision.

 

True on all counts; and plenty of the lawyers i know work more because they love law and want to help, than to make money. If you want stability, the two areas within law, as Loki mentioned would be Tax Law, and Patent Law.

 

I've been toying with the idea of tax law but five years of part Tim!e law school seems daunting. I'd probably be better off getting a PhD

 

Thanks fam any help is greatly appreciated. Is your field getting more software heavy?

 

Yes, all fields are- read up on "Big Data."

 

I've got two more semesters of my JD left after this one and I'm enjoying the classes in the areas in which I did my grad work and professional work. I think you can enjoy it if you go into law school with a clear idea of what you want to accomplish with it. If you can get out in the top 10-20% and are prepared to put in the 80 hrs/week, you have a great future at a large firm. But that can be very demanding on your work, private life and emotional health, and I'm not sure I would recommend that to anyone. There are a lot of other ways for it to pay off for you. That could be in terms of financial services (I've had two asset manager clients who were both attorneys, yet focused on the finance side of the ledger and had great results), public relations, upper-level governmental posts, planning, developers, real estate, etc. Despite the challenges for the legal field narrowly defined, law is one of those rare fields that has managed to restrict access to it while enhancing its graduates and practitioners' access to other fields.

That being said, I had no illusions about becoming Perry Mason or landing a plum spot at a major firm. I have 20 years of lobbying and legislative affairs work in my past that I'm hoping this degree will help me build upon focusing on environmental law as well as beefing up my lobbying practice. I'm doing it (as stupid as it sounds) for personal satisfaction more than for monetary reward. I don't think I'll even make as much as I did at the peak of my lobbying practice necessarily, but I do think that having another arrow in my quiver will help me smooth out some of the peaks and valleys.

I guess that is my long-winded way of saying "Don't go into it blindly, but if you have a plan that you think can make it work for you, go for it."

Clear as mud?

And I have to credit this guy with some great wisdom in many of his posts, be it on law or politics generally. Your insights on the law are greatly appreciated.

 

If you're looking for a high ROI, I wouldn't look at law school. By the end of it, you could be 6 figures in debt and from my understanding, if you got a job in a law firm (and you're definitely smart enough to graduate high in your class), you wouldn't really be making a lot of money for several years.

I would consider something in the business field, like TDK suggested. The degree is faster, cheaper, and you'd likely see a much quicker ROI, plus your company may cover the cost of your schooling or maybe a portion of it. :smt023

 

Hmm, UCLA has a joint MBA/JD program. If I were to choose law, I'd be inclined to go into estate planning and tax litigation. Easier to hang your shingle on those.

 

One of my best friends did that program and loved it. If you ever want me to link you two together for a chat let me know.
She found a great job after graduation, but she also graduated Yale undergrad so I don't if they helped at all.

 

.......In addition to Loki's imput, this is in my opinion, a truly a substantive and consise advisory for all folks considering a career in law.....that said, Satyr and Bookworm are cut from the brand and would be so naturally suited as practicing attorneys that they would probably be successful......