Considering law school but...

[absolut_blonde]

I have major concerns about work/life balance and raising a family. This has been an ongoing debate for me (as in I''ve agonized over it for so long that I could''ve been DONE law school by now).

I''m not challenged in my current field- which pertains to law indirectly- and honestly can''t seem to find any positions or alternative paths that appeal to me beyond law. With that said, I don''t think I have an idealized vision of law & what it would be like... if anything, just the opposite, which is what is holding me back.

My therapist said that she thinks that I am very intelligent and SHOULD seek something more challenging, such as law. I see her point, but I''m scared to go in that direction, invest a significant amount of time & money, and then regret it. I also really want kids in the not-too-far future and I''ve no idea how to fit that in. I know you don''t have to go the big firm route, but is it really much better practicing in other environments? I have no problem working hard (fortunately I tend to be a fast worker) but, I do value flexibility and autonomy as well.

I don''t even know what the point of my post is or what I am asking... Maybe someone could provide a few words of wisdom or share their own experiences?

 

[rainwood]

If you''re this conflicted about going into law, my guess is that it''s not the right move for you. But that''s being pretty glib about what is an important decision. The practice of law is not very family friendly, but there are some jobs that can be more so (in-house, government) because they may have more predictable hours and some (big firm practice) that can be less so because of the time commitment and unpredictable hours. But women have been successful lawyers and mothers in all the different career paths so it can be done. There are also lots of women lawyers who found law and motherhood to be incompatible and left the profession. And there are the women who do both and continue to do both, but don''t think they are as good as they could or should be at either.

However, there are always more lawyers being produced than there is demand so the job market is always competitive. Right now, there are way more lawyers than needed so the job market is insanely bad. Law school is a big time commitment and a big money commitment, both in tuition and in lost income for those 3 years. I doubt I''d recommend anyone go to law school right now unless they have a burning passion to be a lawyer. The people who are least happy about being lawyers are the ones who went to law school because they weren''t sure what else to do with their lives. If that''s you, don''t make the same mistake.

 

[Octavia]

absolut_blonde, I really wish I'd had your foresight before I decided to go to law school, because those are exactly the reasons I'm not sure I want to practice law when I'm done. I wish I'd gone into a counseling field, and if I don't end up working in food & agriculture law, I'll probably end up going back to school for that. I don't really have any words of wisdom, but I will say that I've really liked law school for the most part. The intellectual parts are great but the career-centric atmosphere kind of sucks, so if you don't want law as a career, it's going to be hard going (from my experience).

 

[absolut_blonde]

rainwood - I live in Alberta so the job situation/economy is somewhat different. While things are still suffering a little bit, the situation is not nearly as bad as it is elsewhere. Also, Canada has far fewer law schools than the US (I think even when controlled for the population) so I do not believe our market it as oversaturated.

Plus I think I would want to work within government-- I have relvant government experience that would probably give me a leg up. Government seems like it might be a good compromise between stimulating work and work/life balance.... albeit at the price of your paycheque compared to private practice (something''s gotta give).
Octavia - Are you leaning more towards more schooling, or trying to find a job in food & ag law? I suspect I would also enjoy law school, I am just iffy about the traditional practice of it.

Mostly, I just want a STIMULATING job. One where I don''t feel so... underutilized. My jobs thus far out of undergrad have been great objectively speaking - all required degrees, all paid fairly well, good work environment, good people, etc. But I have found everything to be way. too. easy. And then I just end up bored. I could do a week''s worth of work within a day, you know?

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 7/7/2009 2:25:51 PM
Author: absolut_blonde

rainwood - I live in Alberta so the job situation/economy is somewhat different. While things are still suffering a little bit, the situation is not nearly as bad as it is elsewhere. Also, Canada has far fewer law schools than the US (I think even when controlled for the population) so I do not believe our market it as oversaturated.

Plus I think I would want to work within government-- I have relvant government experience that would probably give me a leg up. Government seems like it might be a good compromise between stimulating work and work/life balance.... albeit at the price of your paycheque compared to private practice (something''s gotta give).

Octavia - Are you leaning more towards more schooling, or trying to find a job in food & ag law? I suspect I would also enjoy law school, I am just iffy about the traditional practice of it.

Mostly, I just want a STIMULATING job. One where I don''t feel so... underutilized. My jobs thus far out of undergrad have been great objectively speaking - all required degrees, all paid fairly well, good work environment, good people, etc. But I have found everything to be way. too. easy. And then I just end up bored. I could do a week''s worth of work within a day, you know?

Hey, I just wanted to warn you that the actual practice of law is not always a stimulating, challenging experience. A lot of being an attorney is reviewing documents, filling out forms, creating the same basic contract/memo/letter over and over again, etc. So I would just caution you against thinking that being a lawyer is really that different from any other job. Especially as a junior attorney, I would suspect you''re going to get bored and feel under utilized quite often but that''s just been my experience.

 

[absolut_blonde]

Date: 7/7/2009 3:08:37 PM
Author: lucyandroger

Date: 7/7/2009 2:25:51 PM
Author: absolut_blonde


rainwood - I live in Alberta so the job situation/economy is somewhat different. While things are still suffering a little bit, the situation is not nearly as bad as it is elsewhere. Also, Canada has far fewer law schools than the US (I think even when controlled for the population) so I do not believe our market it as oversaturated.

Plus I think I would want to work within government-- I have relvant government experience that would probably give me a leg up. Government seems like it might be a good compromise between stimulating work and work/life balance.... albeit at the price of your paycheque compared to private practice (something''s gotta give).


Octavia - Are you leaning more towards more schooling, or trying to find a job in food & ag law? I suspect I would also enjoy law school, I am just iffy about the traditional practice of it.

Mostly, I just want a STIMULATING job. One where I don''t feel so... underutilized. My jobs thus far out of undergrad have been great objectively speaking - all required degrees, all paid fairly well, good work environment, good people, etc. But I have found everything to be way. too. easy. And then I just end up bored. I could do a week''s worth of work within a day, you know?

Hey, I just wanted to warn you that the actual practice of law is not always a stimulating, challenging experience. A lot of being an attorney is reviewing documents, filling out forms, creating the same basic contract/memo/letter over and over again, etc. So I would just caution you against thinking that being a lawyer is really that different from any other job. Especially as a junior attorney, I would suspect you''re going to get bored and feel under utilized quite often but that''s just been my experience.

Eee, thanks for the warning. I guess that shouldn''t come as a huge shock to me, seems like some of that comes with the territory of office jobs in general.

I think I am going to see if I can grab one of the lawyers I work with for coffee and pick his brain a bit... I was a little wary, as I''m afraid of word getting around (not that I think he''d blab, but you know), but it may be one of the only ways to get a feel for what it would be like within gov''t.

 

[Indylady]

Any chance you might be able to take a tour of a law school and sit in on a class to see how you like it?

 

[Liane]

Well, nonstop trial practice (i.e., working as a prosecutor or public defender in a big city) is certainly "stimulating," but it''s also stresstastic, emotionally scarring, and requires a rock-hard ability to compartmentalize so that you can close the door on Work Stuff and go home and try to be a normal person for a few hours.

Anything other than litigation is not dramatically different from any other office job.

If you''re just bored, I''d take up a challenging hobby. Then you can have fun stimulation instead of the kind where all your hair falls out and you live on an alternating cycle of caffeine and sleeping pills.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 7/7/2009 3:08:37 PM
Author: lucyandroger

Date: 7/7/2009 2:25:51 PM

Author: absolut_blonde


rainwood - I live in Alberta so the job situation/economy is somewhat different. While things are still suffering a little bit, the situation is not nearly as bad as it is elsewhere. Also, Canada has far fewer law schools than the US (I think even when controlled for the population) so I do not believe our market it as oversaturated.


Plus I think I would want to work within government-- I have relvant government experience that would probably give me a leg up. Government seems like it might be a good compromise between stimulating work and work/life balance.... albeit at the price of your paycheque compared to private practice (something's gotta give).


Octavia - Are you leaning more towards more schooling, or trying to find a job in food & ag law? I suspect I would also enjoy law school, I am just iffy about the traditional practice of it.


Mostly, I just want a STIMULATING job. One where I don't feel so... underutilized. My jobs thus far out of undergrad have been great objectively speaking - all required degrees, all paid fairly well, good work environment, good people, etc. But I have found everything to be way. too. easy. And then I just end up bored. I could do a week's worth of work within a day, you know?

Hey, I just wanted to warn you that the actual practice of law is not always a stimulating, challenging experience. A lot of being an attorney is reviewing documents, filling out forms, creating the same basic contract/memo/letter over and over again, etc. So I would just caution you against thinking that being a lawyer is really that different from any other job. Especially as a junior attorney, I would suspect you're going to get bored and feel under utilized quite often but that's just been my experience.

I was going to say the same, actually. When you become more senior, you get to do more interesting things...mostly because by that point, you actually know how to do things and can be trusted with clients (as opposed to being a first year straight out of law school). This necessitates that you stay at the firm for awhile though, which isn't easy when you also want to have a family.

Public interest might be a better option, but those jobs are not, for the most part, high-paying...which means that things such as scholarships and debt play a much bigger role in choosing a law school (it's easier to go into 6-figure debt if you're going to get a 6-figure salary, versus getting a much lower-paying public interest job that will make it difficult to pay off debt). And public interest organizations can be just as school-snobby as large prestigious firms....

A better option, hours-wise, in law is to go into academia. Much more regular hours, great pay...the downside being, it's VERY competitive, and you need to really excel in law school (and often go to a great school, or be in the top 5% at another school), clerk, etc. to have a chance of becoming a professor.

And finally, in this economy, application rates for pretty much ALL programs, including law, are up. It's definitely seen as a refuge from people who have been laid off, or are going to be, or aren't happy in their jobs. It'll make it more difficult to get into a great school, and depending on how things go in the next couple years, I don't know how the legal market is going to be affected. As someone else said, there are a ton of laid off lawyers right now....current summer classes at firms are being deferred (firm will pay a stipend for them NOT to work for a year, because they already have too many attorneys and not enough work), next year's summer classes will most likely be way smaller, etc. So it might not be an ideal time to pursue a very expensive calling like law.

ETA: I didn't want this to sound as negative as it came out! If you feel that you really want to pursue this, don't let any of this dissuade you. Just make sure it's something you really want and that you know the (often grim) realities going in, before making such a big decision. I'm obviously in law school now, and I'm really happy I went - I knew since late high school that I wanted to be in law, and despite the stress and difficulties of trying to get a job, and the stress that I'll be under when I'm actually working full-time, I can't imagine doing anything else (and I want to be a litigator). Ok, well, maybe I'd like to eventually open up my own jewelry store too

And a lot of other people feel the same way (about law, not the jewelry store!)

 

[Octavia]

Date: 7/7/2009 2:25:51 PM
Author: absolut_blonde
rainwood - I live in Alberta so the job situation/economy is somewhat different. While things are still suffering a little bit, the situation is not nearly as bad as it is elsewhere. Also, Canada has far fewer law schools than the US (I think even when controlled for the population) so I do not believe our market it as oversaturated.


Plus I think I would want to work within government-- I have relvant government experience that would probably give me a leg up. Government seems like it might be a good compromise between stimulating work and work/life balance.... albeit at the price of your paycheque compared to private practice (something''s gotta give).

Octavia - Are you leaning more towards more schooling, or trying to find a job in food & ag law? I suspect I would also enjoy law school, I am just iffy about the traditional practice of it.


Mostly, I just want a STIMULATING job. One where I don''t feel so... underutilized. My jobs thus far out of undergrad have been great objectively speaking - all required degrees, all paid fairly well, good work environment, good people, etc. But I have found everything to be way. too. easy. And then I just end up bored. I could do a week''s worth of work within a day, you know?

I completely understand how you feel, and it''s exactly how I felt at the job I had before I went to law school. But there are many other stimulating professions out there -- what exactly about law appeals to you? Do you want to work with people, or do you prefer to work on your own? Do you like research? The law (as a big ethereal concept) is really interesting, but some of the work can still be mind-numbingly boring.

To answer your question, ideally I''d find a job in food & ag law and eventually get a master''s in Food Policy so I can go into consulting at some point. If not, and I have to work in some other kind of practice, I''ll probably do it for a few years to get my loans paid off and some money in the bank, and then go back to school for counseling when we decide to have kids. If I choose that route, I''ll probably do family and couples counseling. I''m really lucky that my loans are minimal, but I do want to get them taken care of ASAP before I start adding more debt...sigh.