Once again, continuing with the theme of "proving by a negative," I will be discussing reasons why you should not go to law school before we move to reasons why you should go to law school.
If your underlying reason to become a lawyer is because you want to "help people," then you need to take a step back. I am not criticizing the desire to help your fellow human beings (once again, check out my Facebook ravings), but there are many ways to help people without becoming a lawyer.
When we talk about "helping people" when it comes to law, we are usually talking about working at legal centers for low income people. These legal centers offer assistance to individuals and families who otherwise would not be able to afford an attorney and are usually non-profit organizations. These legal centers and organizations rely on donations of both time and money from sponsors to keep working. And, of course, such organizations cannot really pay their staff and lawyers a great deal of money.
Review the post on the law school experience. Review the debt that you will accumulate. After going through three years of law school and (for most people) massive debt, when you get out of law school you may not be in a position to work in a low-paying non-profit. I am not kidding when I say that these organizations offer low pay; I have seen lawyers working for these organizations make less money than managers at McDonald's.
Further, even if you are in a position to work for these organizations, remember the earlier post about finding a job - jobs for lawyers are scarce and these non-profit positions, which in years past sometimes went begging for someone to fill them now have a waiting list of lawyers wanting to get jobs with them.
So - if you are looking to become an attorney because you want to help people, then ask yourself if it is only by becoming a lawyer that you can help people.
If your underlying reason to become a lawyer is because you want to "help people," then you need to take a step back. I am not criticizing the desire to help your fellow human beings (once again, check out my Facebook ravings), but there are many ways to help people without becoming a lawyer.
When we talk about "helping people" when it comes to law, we are usually talking about working at legal centers for low income people. These legal centers offer assistance to individuals and families who otherwise would not be able to afford an attorney and are usually non-profit organizations. These legal centers and organizations rely on donations of both time and money from sponsors to keep working. And, of course, such organizations cannot really pay their staff and lawyers a great deal of money.
Review the post on the law school experience. Review the debt that you will accumulate. After going through three years of law school and (for most people) massive debt, when you get out of law school you may not be in a position to work in a low-paying non-profit. I am not kidding when I say that these organizations offer low pay; I have seen lawyers working for these organizations make less money than managers at McDonald's.
Further, even if you are in a position to work for these organizations, remember the earlier post about finding a job - jobs for lawyers are scarce and these non-profit positions, which in years past sometimes went begging for someone to fill them now have a waiting list of lawyers wanting to get jobs with them.
So - if you are looking to become an attorney because you want to help people, then ask yourself if it is only by becoming a lawyer that you can help people.
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