Should you go to law school? 18

So - you wanna be a lawyer?  Here is the "catch all" answer I give to those who ask me:

    Have you always known you want to go to law school?  Has it been your dream to be a lawyer since you were 6?  When the other kids were playing with Barbie and He-Man action figures, were you playing with Lawyer Barbie and Lawyer He-Man action figures?  When all of your friends had posters of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and their favorite sports or rock stars on their wall, did you have picture of the Justices of the Supreme Court?  While your friends were wondering who to ask to the prom, were you obsessing over the latest decisions from the Supreme Court?  Did you go out on a date in high school and bore your date to death discussing the intricacies of conflict of laws?

    If the answer to the above is "yes," then go to law school.  Your destiny awaits.

    If the answer to the above is "no," then become a paralegal (takes about 6 months) and work for a law firm or in some legal field for two years.  You will gain knowledge which will serve you well in law school and put you ahead of other students.  You will make some $$$.  And, MOST IMPORTANT, you will really know if the field of law is for you.

 

Should you go to law school? 17

OK - we are close to wrapping this up.

     Over these series of posts I have tried to demonstrate to anyone thinking of going to law school the following:

1.    Becoming a lawyer requires a lot of work
2.    Being a lawyer requires a lot of work
3.    It is not something you should decide to do because "I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life - might as well go to law school" or "what the hell, I'll take the LSAT for fun"
4.     Being a lawyer will change you and the way you think
5.     Law schools and TV shows lie to you about the reality of being a lawyer

and

5.      If you do it right, law can be an incredibly rewarding career

     I guess the overall theme of this thread is something you learn to do as a lawyer - think before you act and analyze the situation.

     I will close this thread out tomorrow with the general advice I give to everyone thinking about becoming a lawyer.

 

Interludes - Fraud in the Middle Ages

Fraud is as old as time - as this interesting article points out.

We will get back to the law school thread in the next post.

http://www.medievalists.net/2014/02/26/defraud-lord-medieval-manor/

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

 

Should you go to law school? 16

One final question as we move forward to wrap this up.

     What is it about being a lawyer that attracts you?  I'm certain its not the long hours, working in an office environment or spending a great deal of time in front of a computer.  A lot of jobs have the above requirements and you certainly do not have to be a lawyer to be engage in the above.

     Take a few minutes and really think, think, about what it is that attracts you to the profession of law.  There must be something which stands out.  Something above and beyond the rudimentary descriptions of what it is to be a lawyer must attract you. 

     Once you can answer this question, you are well on your way to having a good reason for going ot law school and entering the field of law.

 

Should you go to law school? 15

OK - a few more posts until we wrap this up.

     We have discussed both why and why not you should go to law school.  Let's ask a very basic question here: if you want to go to law school, ask yourself how did you first get interested in the law? 

     Every lawyer I spoke with always has some story of what first "inspired" them to be a lawyer.  It can be many things:

1.     TV shows or movies (let's face it, this is how most of us first explore the idea of being a lawyer)

2.     Family member or friend who is a lawyer

3.     An encounter with the law (hopefully not a negative encounter)

4.     A career day in high school or college

5.     Reading a novel which features a lawyer as a hero (YEAH!) or villain (yeah, it happens)

6.     A class which turned out to be a prelaw class in high school or college

7.     Working with lawyers

     It is important to examine first how you came to be interested in the law as a career to really find out if a career in law is for you.

 

Should you go to law school? 14

OK - here is another self-examination question.

     Do you like working with people?  Specifically, do you like to meet with and interact with new people all the time?

     Law is a human activity - laws are not made, nor are they enforced, in a vacuum.  Even if you are a lawyer who never sets foot in a courtroom, you will always be, to one extent or another, interacting with people.  Even if you are a patent lawyer (a lawyer that must have a background in engineering or science to get licensed), you will need to constantly meet with and interact with people. 

     It is not a job for those who dislike people or who have some innate fear of constantly seeing new faces.

     Once again, this is a question you need to answer yourself.  No one can do it for you and certainly no law school recruiter or "cheerleader" for the lawyer profession will advise you otherwise.  Even if you spend all of your time doing nothing other than legal research, you will have to spend time speaking with your clients (who will be other lawyers). 

      Think carefully on this.  I have known law school graduates who passed the bar and found the practice of law very uncomfortable because of the above.  Before you invest the time and money into law school, make certain you know this bit of information about yourself.

 

Should you go to law school? 13

OK - here is a basic question for you - can you write?  Do you like to write?

      No matter what you choose to do in law, you will have to write.  You will have to write well.  You will have to learn to write as a lawyer (which you may learn in law school but you will certainly learn by the time you practice for a few years).  You will have to write continuously.

     I look back sometimes at a time when I was 16 and taking an Honors level English class in high school.  I was assigned a 10 page term paper (not including footnotes)!  At the time, it seemed like I was writing War and Peace.  I remember the effort and the sense of accomplishment I felt when it was over. 

    I write on average 10 pages a day with little or no effort.  When I really push myself, I can do 30.  Sometimes more. 

    I am not boasting, but I am reflecting on how expectations change. 

    So - can you write?  Do you like to write?