Arkady Renko Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Apologies for those who hate off-topic posts. So I graduated from college last year and after hesitating last spring, I am thinking I may go through with law school this fall. I know there are a few people here who have gone to law school have been to law school and some who are now lawyers. If there are any folks who took a non-traditional career after law school I would be interested in hearing about them too. Basically, I am curious about advice about knowing whether law school is the right thing to do and advice about the field in general. Also any advice about the law school experience itself. Anyway, looking forward to hearing from some of you folks. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunTheBall Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 I think being a lawyer is a great career idea, you'll always have job security. You can sue anyone for anything in this country. If you suck, you can either become a politician and protect your lawyer buddies by blocking any meaningful tort reform or hang a shingle and sue doctors. There's nothing like the satisfaction of making your living off someone else's back. Just ask John Edwards, he made millions and got to run for Vice President. RunTheBall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted December 23, 2004 Author Share Posted December 23, 2004 I think being a lawyer is a great career idea, you'll always have job security. You can sue anyone for anything in this country. If you suck, you can either become a politician and protect your lawyer buddies by blocking any meaningful tort reform or hang a shingle and sue doctors. There's nothing like the satisfaction of making your living off someone else's back. Just ask John Edwards, he made millions and got to run for Vice President. RunTheBall 175587[/snapback] Yeah, see that's the thing. I don't see myself as the trial lawyer suing everyone type. That's my concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Apologies for those who hate off-topic posts. So I graduated from college last year and after hesitating last spring, I am thinking I may go through with law school this fall. I know there are a few people here who have gone to law school have been to law school and some who are now lawyers. If there are any folks who took a non-traditional career after law school I would be interested in hearing about them too. Basically, I am curious about advice about knowing whether law school is the right thing to do and advice about the field in general. Also any advice about the law school experience itself. Anyway, looking forward to hearing from some of you folks. Thanks. 175535[/snapback] If it interests you and is something you'd like to do every day for the next 40 years...do it. If it's just the money part of it...don't. There's alot more to life than money. The choice you make today may be the regret of your life one day. Choose wisely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted December 23, 2004 Author Share Posted December 23, 2004 If it interests you and is something you'd like to do every day for the next 40 years...do it. If it's just the money part of it...don't. There's alot more to life than money. The choice you make today may be the regret of your life one day. Choose wisely. 175605[/snapback] Yeah I don't want to do it for the money either. Money is nice, but it isn't worth it if you hate what you are doing every day when you wake up. Do you enjoy what you do? Whatever that is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRH Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Well if there's one thing we lawyers like to do it's yap about ourselves, so get ready for a LAMP-filled thread. I certainly didn't like a lot of things about law school, particularly most of the other students. And the strange thing is that even though people will tell you that you can do a LOT of things with a law degree, the better you do in law school, the fewer options you'll have. That's because if you do well, you'll inevitably get sucked into the track of interviewing for jobs with big law firms, since that's where the money is. I did well in law school (he said, humbly) and spent my first four years after law school working for those large firms; I almost felt it was my duty to do so since I got married right after I took the bar and we started a family right away. But if you like spending time with your wife and kids, as I do, the big-firm track isn't the place to be. So now I work in legal publishing. I make a lot less money but the job is 9-5 and I rarely if ever take work home (either mentally or physically). I don't think I've figured out yet what I want to do when I "grow up," though. Ideally I'd like to be in-house for an educational institution (school law being my area of expertise); failing that, I wouldn't mind doing something entirely non-law-related. I spent three years after college working in government/politics because I wasn't sure if law school was right for me. I have seen many people who went straight to law school out of college and regretted it because it turned out not to be what they expected and (as I said above) it limited, rather than expanded, their career options. (Remember that once you get licensed in a particular state, you're stuck there for at least five years unless you want to take another bar exam, and I would rather set myself on fire than take another bar exam.) If you're going to law school because you can't think of anything better to do, I think you're going to be wasting a lot of money and creating a lot of unnecessary stress for yourself. You can PM me if you want to hear more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gantrules Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 I got my BS in Finance 4 years ago. Considered going on...but found a great job in my field. Great company, great co-workers, challeging work, been here four years oh, and the pay is good too. I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunTheBall Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 On a serious note, there are some areas of law that require some brain cells. My father-in-law is a patent lawyer for example. He has a chemical engineering degree and spends a lot of time learning the nuances of different products. He needs to understand how specific things work in extreme detail to determine if there are patent violations. He finds it interesting and he doesn't spend all his energy suing people. RunTheBall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckeyemike Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Yeah I don't want to do it for the money either. Money is nice, but it isn't worth it if you hate what you are doing every day when you wake up. Do you enjoy what you do? Whatever that is? 175617[/snapback] Generally, I enjoy the work I do. I'm not rich, after 10 years, but I make a good enough living. Since I'm a sole practitioner who shares space with five other attorneys, my expenses are fairly low and I get to set my own hours. If you want to get in the profession to help people, by all means, do so. As you said, don't do it for the $$$. Not many attorneys really make the big bucks that a lot of people think they do...in Ohio, it's getting harder and harder to do things on a contingency basis, especially for a sole practitioner...my belief is that the larger firms are trying to corner the market on this type of work, and have buddies in the state legislature and insurance lobby assisting them on this. I firmly believe the insurance lobby in Ohio is one of the most powerful in America. But enough about that. I do mostly criminal, Social Security, and bankruptcy. I still do Guardian ad Litem work (helping out kids in juvenile court and custody situations), and I hope to do some more in the future. That work is most rewarding. You put up with some crap as an attorney, but it's that way in every job. I hope my thoughts help you somewhat. PM me if you have any questions. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothrop Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Apologies for those who hate off-topic posts. So I graduated from college last year and after hesitating last spring, I am thinking I may go through with law school this fall. I know there are a few people here who have gone to law school have been to law school and some who are now lawyers. If there are any folks who took a non-traditional career after law school I would be interested in hearing about them too. Basically, I am curious about advice about knowing whether law school is the right thing to do and advice about the field in general. Also any advice about the law school experience itself. Anyway, looking forward to hearing from some of you folks. Thanks. 175535[/snapback] I did not practice law after law school. Rather, I was motivated by my conscience and politics to do community organizing for three years. I figured that if I did not do it then, I could not go back and do it again. I took the Bar Exam three years removed from law school (I do not advise you to do that) and am now practicing. BEcause of my choice not to practice law and the experiences I accumulated as a grassroots activist I can relate to people outside the legal community, build relationships, and extend the meaning of my practice beyond traditional bounds. You will find that the legal community is insular. Lawyers have a difficult time interating with nonlawyers. Any experience you can accumulate that brings perspective and meaning to your practice of law makes you that much better of a lawyer. Also, I may not practice law for the rest of my life (in fact it is likely that I won't) but law school teaches you skills that can cross-over into almost any profession. It may be the only post-graduate degree that is this flexible. By the way, as oppossed to a prior post, let me assure you that law school sucks! LOL! Imagine high-school and multiply that by 1000. I hated the people in law school and the catty politics of lawschool. But it was only three years -three dreadful years. I did very well and hated every second of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRH Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Lawyers have a difficult time interating with nonlawyers. 175639[/snapback] And, I would submit, with other lawyers as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckeyemike Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 I would rather set myself on fire than take another bar exam 175623[/snapback] I hear ya loud and clear. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Yeah I don't want to do it for the money either. Money is nice, but it isn't worth it if you hate what you are doing every day when you wake up. Do you enjoy what you do? Whatever that is? 175617[/snapback] It depends on the day. I enjoy the people I work with and when things go well, I get alot of satisfaction. There are other things I'd rather be doing but my career track was somewhat determined by my decision to join the military out of high school. A decision I made because I didn't want to spend another 4 years listening to academics blather at me about things that aren't very important in the grand scheme of things. If I hated my job I would quit and do something else because it's a luxury I have at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothrop Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 And, I would submit, with other lawyers as well. 175651[/snapback] Very true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gantrules Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 A decision I made because I didn't want to spend another 4 years listening to academics blather at me about things that aren't very important in the grand scheme of things. 175654[/snapback] I guess that depends on where you go and what you go for. I found my college education extremely useful. I use more core classes every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJPearl2 Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Johnny: where did you graduate from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted December 23, 2004 Author Share Posted December 23, 2004 It depends on the day. I enjoy the people I work with and when things go well, I get alot of satisfaction. There are other things I'd rather be doing but my career track was somewhat determined by my decision to join the military out of high school. A decision I made because I didn't want to spend another 4 years listening to academics blather at me about things that aren't very important in the grand scheme of things. If I hated my job I would quit and do something else because it's a luxury I have at this point. 175654[/snapback] What do you do, if you don't mind me asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 I guess that depends on where you go and what you go for. I found my college education extremely useful. I use more core classes every day. 175661[/snapback] I was VERY fortunate to go to an excellent high school that had core classes that were equivalent to what most college students get today. From what I have seen since, that is not the norm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted December 23, 2004 Author Share Posted December 23, 2004 I guess that depends on where you go and what you go for. I found my college education extremely useful. I use more core classes every day. 175661[/snapback] Cornell this May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 What do you do, if you don't mind me asking. 175678[/snapback] Project/Program Management. Mostly IT related stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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