| Topic Name: |
non-top 10 law schools |
| Message Name: |
Non top 10 law schools |
| Date Posted: |
03/20/2000 |
| In Reply To: |
While you should definitely go to law school if that is what you really want to do with your life, I would look beyond the top 25 if I were you. If you are in the 80s that would be below a 3.0 so UCLA is pretty much out of the question unless you totally ace the LSAT and even then...Try getting a clerk or legal assistant job and see if this is really what you want, it will also help your chances. Remeber there are hundreds of law schools. |
| Message: |
My advice to you is to stick with the tech positions. You'll be happier in the long run. I recently graduated from a non top ten law school in NYC. There are a few things I think you should know before making the leap into law school.
First, law school is definitely not a place to "find yourself" if you're not too sure what you want to do with your life. Although you may have been told that you can "do a lot" with your law degree, other than to practice law, this is not a reality. Unless you graduate from a top law school, most employers will not consider you for other positions unless you have significant work experience. Also, you should know that the lifestyle is god-awful, and the money (even at a top paying firm) is not all that much when you consider the number of hours you'll be working. I graduted and started a position at a well-respected firm in NYC at $40,000 and routinely worked a 12 hour day.
Secondly, unless you are a stellar student, and expect to make the law review, it is typically very difficult to land a job at a top law firm when you've graduated from a second tier school. I note that you are considering UCLA and USC, which, while not top 10 law schools, are extremely well repected. While you may stand a better chance of landing a job in California, it would be difficult to get a top job in NYC, considering the competition among the 10 or so schools already vying for positions in NYC.
The one pitfall will be your LSAT scores--Unless you score a 160 or higher, do not expect to get in to these schools with a GPA of less than 3.5. Often many schools will overlook your lower GPA if you score very high on the LSAT.
Thirdly, and most importantly, I have recently left the law firm in favor of a position in finance doing regulatory compliance. COnsidering the "new economy" and its emphasis on technology, you'd be better off pursuing a career in computers. Having recently searched for a job outside law, there are far more opportunities in technology than in the law. Furthermore, your skills are much more in need today--there are so many lawyers out there and not enough jobs. The same is not true for the technology field. In fact, the salaries for tech people are now well in excess of most legal positions. It is only because of legal markets such as California and New York, which skew the statistics for what most lawyers in the US earn, and make you think that all lawyers are rich.
There is one last thing you should note--most lawyers are nasty people. I think the person who suggested that you work as a legalassistant/clerk/ paralegal, had a good idea. I was not disillusioned when I started working, and fully expected that the other lawyers would be short tempered, hostile, impatient etc. What I found was that they made the wrokplace extremely unpleasant, and liked to make everyone operate on their level of hostility. I do not think this is a healthy way to work, and I think that you will get a good idea of how a law firm operates by working as a paralegal. If you don't mind the yelling, (although California lawyers are less likely to yell, and more likely to quietly "stick it to you" in the spine) then you should defintely go ahead with law school, because you have the right personality to deal with the people. Otherwise, get out while you can, save yourself $100,000 in tuition, and send your resume to priceline.com.
Good luck. I hope you find this brief treatise useful.
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