Reddit reviews Tomorrow's Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future

I thought I wanted to be a lawyer too, but now I'm totally jaded. There's no money in law anymore, there's little justice in law, and the average lawyer isn't 'my people'--ie: they are often conceited, selfish, self-absorbed, substance addicted, insincere, etc.. Being a lawyer isn't what you see on TV- its paperwork mostly, there's not very much litigating, and its a lot of transactional headache and long hours for little pay. Public interest attorneys often make as much as elementary school teachers. I'm going nearly 100k in debt and will likely end up in non-profit management or something where a law degree is irrelevant. I'd just suggest you think critically about your career goals versus a career. Think about what makes you happy and how you can make that a career. The average lawyer isn't happy I would also think about the relevancy of becoming a lawyer in the next decade or two and whether or not they will be obsolete (read this book)

That's my completely unsolicited advice and I don't want to kill your dream- but if it could save you a few hundred grand, a bunch of stress, and three years of your life- it was worth it! Good luck either way! :)

I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but now I'm totally jaded. There's no money in law anymore, there's little justice in law, and the average lawyer isn't 'my people'--ie: they are often conceited, selfish, self-absorbed, substance addicted, insincere, etc.. Being a lawyer isn't what you see on TV- its paperwork mostly, there's not very much litigating, its a lot of transactional headache, and long hours for little pay. Public interest attorneys often make as much as elementary school teachers. Jobs in big law are rare these days. Many big law firms are glorified 'good ole boy' clubs and my girlfriends who have worked in those settings were slated in secretarial roles despite their law degrees. I'm going nearly 100k in debt and will likely end up in non-profit management or something where a law degree is irrelevant. I'd just suggest you think critically about your career goals versus a career. Think about what makes you happy and how you can make that a career. The average lawyer isn't happy I would also think about the relevancy of becoming a lawyer in the next decade or two and whether or not they will be obsolete...read this book

I just encourage you to think about if you have to be a lawyer to effectuate change in whatever field of law you are interested in! Wanting to make a difference was my drive for going to law school and now I realize I've dug myself in a big hole that has set me back in actually making a difference. A lot of lawyers get caught up in the system without being able to actually change anything. They don't have the leisure to make any changes because they risk losing their job and in this market- that is a very real risk. These lawyers just become the government's bitch in the same way that environmental lawyers do (that's the field I'm interested in). Personally, I know I'm not meant to be a pencil pusher and most of what lawyering is is filling out forms, filing motions, and apologizing to people that you can't help because your hands are bureaucratically tied- all of which sound miserable for me to do for the next 40 years. I just think that lawyers are over-worked, under-paid, and keep an unfair institution running for no reason other than that they have loans to pay off. Law schools take the best and brightest out of society and stick them in jobs where they aren't truly going to make a difference. It is a shame, and I am not going to let that happen to me!
All I'm saying is that maybe your talents are better invested in the public school system, the policy making movement, public health administration, or even elected office! There are so many ways you can effectuate real and direct change in the lives of others that don't require a law degree. Just some food for thought!
I don't want to kill your dream- but if it could save you a few hundred grand, a bunch of stress, and three years of your life- it was worth it! All I'm saying is that if you have any doubts about going or if you are getting pressure from others to go -- don't go. Take a year off, work as a paralegal, go do the peace corps, just please don't go straight to law school.