Law Students

Criteria for Choosing Law School

By Casebook Sherpa

This post at Brazen Careerist purported to offer readers “criteria” for evaluating whether to go to law school. It’s a nice read, but it doesn’t offer a single criterion, really. And since there are record numbers of people taking the LSAT, I figured it was worth trying to find some criteria on which to base a sensible decision about attending law school.

The most useful line is: The question I am face (sic) with, which anyone who is introspective and applying to law school is faced with is: is this the best use of my talents?

That’s certainly helpful to consider when faced with any career or life decision. But, in this context, I think a better (though perhaps just as generally unuseful) question is: what do I truly love to do?

Obviously, we need to be more specific. So, if you were giving advice to an undergrad, or someone pondering a second career, who was considering whether law school is the right move, what do you tell them?

Here are a few of my thoughts (criteria?). I’m no career counselor. Heck, I’m not even a lawyer yet. So take them with a grain of salt and add your own in the comments.

#1.

What is your default setting?

This is your presumption entering the process of choosing what’s next. If the presumption is not disproven, you act on the presumption. If that is law school, then law school is your “default setting.” It shouldn’t be. At the very least, the increasing numbers of people entering law school, its cost, and the industry’s slow (but sure?) march toward more sensible salary structures should at least make you skeptical of considering law school a default option.

If you have always wanted to be a lawyer and this desire has persisted after your interactions with lawyers you know, law school is likely a good choice for you. If you are unsure or think law school allows you to “do anything I want” – move to #2.

(NOTE: this is not to say “always wanting” = “any clue about what lawyers really do.” We encourage anyone in the “always wanted” column to gather as much information as possible about what a lawyer really does.)

#2.

You are not sure if you want be a lawyer but are attracted to law school; it’s not a default, but more of a given perhaps. Why do you think that is?

This is where I was.

If you’re just looking to go to graduate school, but don’t have strong feelings about it, I’m not sure law school is right for you. Law school is a significant investment that pays a return in a specific set of skills, making you uniquely qualified to be a lawyer.

Other graduate credentials — MBA, MPP, or MPA just to name a few — are slightly easier to obtain, and complement a liberal arts education quite nicely for most any career. This is not to say you shouldn’t go to law school. All I’m saying is that the availability of other options should cause a shift in your fundamental assumption that law school is the best default option.

If you’re like me and attracted to law school because you have: an interest in public service, a respect for the work lawyers do, a goal of developing a rigorous and analytical approach to problems, a tolerance for minutiae and semantics… then law school might be right for you. These aren’t qualities unique to law school, but seem to be more prevalent in a law school setting than say, for example, business school.

#3.

Can you be a paper-pusher?

The Brazen Careerist post is right in one important regard: no matter what lofty ambitions you might hold about advancing justice, don’t forget that many lawyers push a heck of a lot of paper for a living. And while they may be more likely to contribute to socially worthwhile causes (in fact, they are strongly encouraged to do so on at least a pro bono basis), they are just as likely to sit at their desk sifting through piles of paper and computer files all day. Indeed, these things often go hand in hand as a lawyer.

#4.

What is your douche-tolerance quotient?

You’ll meet all kinds of folks in law school. Many are genuinely nice and quite brilliant. Many are a nice mix of the two. Many are nearly intolerable in both their arrogance and inflated sense of their own importance. They say and do obnoxious things to get ahead. The atmosphere at some schools dampens the influence of such people, but they are everywhere in the law. If you’re able to take these folks in stride and not take yourself too seriously in the process, you might be ready for law school.

#5.

Can you accept that you may not make the big bucks?

Sure, it’s reasonable to assume future income prospects improve by going to law school. No, it is not reasonable to assume that a $150K+ job is waiting for you upon graduation. Despite what your impression is or what your career office might say, law school is not a guarantee of the big bucks. Becoming a lawyer is most likely a ticket to a stable and relatively lucrative career path. And while there a bunch of attorneys who make serious bank, there are also plenty of lawyers who make salaries comparable to those in finance, lobbying, management, engineering, software development, and other worthwhile professions (several of which make and produce things for a living, which might be something to consider as well).

#6.

What’s really important to you?

Large paychecks, power, titles, big cases? Sufficient paychecks, influence, significance, results? Family, faith, community? You know the right answers to these question – but is it true for you? Do you know what I mean? There’s the answer you know intellectually is correct, but you might not really believe it. Or you might think you can have it both ways – selling out to get the former, while trying to balance the latter too. Will it become more or less true in a rigorous, results-oriented law school environment? There will be a constant pull away from the good and true toward the result-oriented ends law school directs you toward. It’s important to hold fast to the good. If you think you can do that or have people who can help you along the way, you might be ready for law school.

#7.

It all comes back to: What do you truly love to do?

If you have (1) given yourself the freedom to choose other graduate school options; (2) identified what your real motivations are; (3) wrestled with what the day-to-day life as a lawyer might look like; (4) considered whether you can put up with difficult people; (5) accepted that you can live with less than the big bucks; and (6) identified what’s truly important, perhaps you’re ready for law school.

Ultimately I’d bet that what you love to do is what you’ll work hardest at. Law certainly rewards hard work and merit (law firm politics and BS notwithstanding). But just as with any other profession, if you give a damn about your work and others, use common sense, treat people fairly, and tell the truth, you’ll do just fine whatever you choose to do.

Full post as published by Fight The Hypo on November 25, 2009 (boomark / email).