Whose starting law school in the fall?

[mosta]

[ QUOTE ]
...
The main problem with practicing law is that lawyers work by the hour and are therefore limited by their own output. The more hours you work, the more money you earn (either for yourself or your partners), so there is ever-increasing pressure to work more more more hours. The partners at the big firms make great money, sure--but they have to keep billing billing billing to keep the money flowing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is no one here plaintiff's side? I cringe at the thought of chasing billable hours (even though I get that if you're in a decent position you won't lack for work to do). give me a case and we'll take a shot and count the money at the end. yeah it still involves a lot of hours. but at least it has an entrepreneurial edge to it.

my friend sent me a link to this firm in Texas I wish I could find. not very big, almost all from Texas schools and not even UT--mostly SMU. and the cases and settlements they listed were incredible.

[DrewDevil]

Who is going to finance your cases for you?

[mosta]

hell I don't know. maybe you can start small. you know, like in A Civil Action. or you work for a plaintiff firm. then I guess your situation is no different as an associate, or is it?

on a side note, I found the firm. Nix, Patterson. it wasn't SMU they all went to, it was Baylor. and not many of them even have cum laude. though they do have moot court awards often. how the hell do these second tier lawyers in small town Texas have all these huge cases? often as lead counsel? why aren't big school graduates moving in? (would they not play well in local courts?)

http://www.nixlawfirm.com/index_html

and judging by the 9-figure settlements I see in there, these guys must be taking home a LOT of cake. to hell with cravath and the like...

[beset]

I think people should listen to DrewDevil because he is sentiment is so common among junior associates.

I, however, hated law school and love life at an A-list big firm. I also enjoy working lots of hours, lots of pressure and working around smart, driven, aggressive people. Interesting to me that so many of the people who loved law school hate practicing law. I could not stand law school from the gate.

For me, I think a huge factor was I spent time around lawyers before law school and decided that I wanted to practice law. It sounds simple but it has really made all the difference.

[miajag]

[ QUOTE ]
hell I don't know. maybe you can start small. you know, like in A Civil Action. or you work for a plaintiff firm. then I guess your situation is no different as an associate, or is it?

on a side note, I found the firm. Nix, Patterson. it wasn't SMU they all went to, it was Baylor. and not many of them even have cum laude. though they do have moot court awards often. how the hell do these second tier lawyers in small town Texas have all these huge cases? often as lead counsel? why aren't big school graduates moving in? (would they not play well in local courts?)

http://www.nixlawfirm.com/index_html

and judging by the 9-figure settlements I see in there, these guys must be taking home a LOT of cake. to hell with cravath and the like...

[/ QUOTE ]

The skills that allow you to make it to the top of your law school class aren't necessarily the same skills that allow you to be a great litigator who wins huge judgments/settlements.

[Lazy Meatball]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So you're a 2L and you think you know what you're talking about?

[/ QUOTE ]

Add another lawyer to DrewDevil's position. Practicing law sucks. I'm already disillusioned by it, and haven't been out long. I won't be practicing much longer.

Also, 2L's don't know anything about anything, but like to pretend they do. Count on this when you're a 1L.

[ QUOTE ]
So the gist of this thread is that business school>>>law school?

[/ QUOTE ]

If I could do it over again, my choices would have been:

1) Vet School
2) Med School
3) B-School
...
1,263,441,561,981) Crackhead
1,263,441,561,982) Law School

[/ QUOTE ]


Vet School in not a money making enterprise until you open your own practice. Very competitive to get into. Long exhausting hours once you get into it (I'd assume moreso than law school, but not overly familiar with law school.)
Very expensive. And once you graduate, if you want a really competitive job you have to do 1-3 years of residency or internship (which are not high paying, and very demanding of your time.)

If it's your dream to be a vet and all that encompasses, it can be worth it. If you like puppies and want people to call you Dr., reconsider.


ps. I'm not a vet student, but i work at a vet school and interact with many vet students who find the experience very fulfilling and devote themselves to it.

[chadplusplus]

I went to a borderline Tier 2/3 school.

For the first 2-3 weeks of the first semester, I busted my ass reading for hours and hours each night. Eventually, reading cases clicked for me and I became much more efficient in my studying. I also discovered commercial outlines (despite being discouraged by professors, these things are the bomb). The first year of law school ended up being a ton of fun - lots of boozing, chasing women, and other debauchery. Then, the money I had saved ran out and I had to get jobs during my first summer. For the remainder of law school, I worked at least 2 jobs in addition to taking class (one with a law office, one menial job). That sucked, but I got through it and graduated just outside of the top 10%.

I had always intended on being a big firm guy, but I ended up in a small (3.5 lawyers) rural law office (which actually makes it the largest law office in the county). Between the instant performance requirements and depressing-ness of the situations with which I was dealing, it was overwhelming at first. But now that I have figured out how to delegate tasks, manage my own time better, and disassociate myself from my clients' problems, I thoroughly enjoy my job. I work in a rural area so the cost of living is very low, so I can manage to put in 30-40 hours/week on average and still make relatively good money. I was golfing 3 times a week for a while. However, the nature of being in a plaintiff's firm means that one week you may have nothing to do and can golf all 5 days and then the next week, you'll suddenly get 5 new clients and have to work 60 hours to get all of their pleadings ready and filed.

Edit: Oh, I also wanted to agree on what has been said about buckling down the week of finals. I slacked off all semester (first year due to booze/fun, second and third because of my work schedule), but during finals, I would take time off from my other obligations and study at least 12 hours/day. Fortunately, I always had a studious girlfriend around the time of finals, so she would have all the good outlines and study materials. Coincidence?

[entertainme]

Goofus and Gallant Guide to Law School

(I didn't read the thread, so sorry if this has already been posted.)

[DanS]

This thread is somewhat disconcerting for someone considering going the J.D. route. Do you guys have any ideas on how to avoid initial burnout? Non-profit, DA/Public Defender office, private practice "part time" (which I realize would still be 40-60 hours a week)? I'd really like to go the law route and find a way to not let it drive me nuts... hopefully online poker is still around to subsidize my law earn in 5-7 years.

Thanks

[HDPM]

Public defender is a good way to go to burnout quickly unless you have the right attitude/outlook. DA is better if you are in a decent office. That can be a big if though. In those jobs you won't have much control over hours/vacations, etc... Part time private practice is kind of hard, if it is possible. If you don't care much I suppose you can keep your overhead very low and do some thngs that aren't horrible. But the problem with your idea is that you underestimate the responsibility of being a lawyer. Your clients' problems become your problems to some extent. Yes, you can intellectualize it and compartmentalize it some to remain sane, but you can't avoid it. And if you go half assed, the stress on you is worse if you have any sense. The best way to avoid burnout is to like being a lawyer and like the particular work. Sounds trite, but law isn't all that fun if you don't like it. If you like what you do it is still hard, but doable and it won't burn you out quickly.