Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Law Students Blogs -> BootStraps and Lawyers

Law Students

: BootStraps and Lawyers

Ya Know....Im just not sure...

By BootStraps

Recently the internet, along with major publications, specifically WSJ, have become ever more disdainful of American Law Schools. Not the elite of course, but pretty much anybody ranked lower than 30 (that is being generous).

The arguments basically say that American law schools do a poor job of fully disclosing job opportunities at the completion of law school. Salary and employement % are skewed to show their school more favorably. Now students are strapped with massive student loans but have a 40,000 a year starting salary.

I've seen this as well. From my friends experiences and my own.

Which leads me to this.

If I had known how hard it was going to be to do what I wanted to do from where I started, then Im not sure I would have gone to law school. Thankfully, being lucky...and I do mean LUCKY, saved me from a pretty bleak existence....Let me explain. Actually on second thought, Im not going to explain. It makes me sound way to arrogant, which is not my intention.

Perhaps you will understand my point of view better when you hear some advice.

Only go to law school if you want to be a LAWYER. Don't do it for the money or prestige.

"Ok bootstraps I want to be a lawyer now let me in!"
Hold it there. Are you sure...like really sure? Do you really know what a lawyer is outside of Law and Order or some fantasy view of what BIGLAW life is? If you see some 6 person insurance defense firm and you still want to be a lawyer, then I will believe you.

The truth is if you don't go to a top law school (and Im talking top 25 here), then you wont be a managing partner at some V100 firm. Anything is possible, but just not probable.

Many of you may be thinking, nah bootstraps I know people it will be fine...you are just an arrogant prick who forgot where he came from. This is not the case. I know where I came from and have seen both sides of it.

If you want money, prestige, power and don't get into a top 25 school (maybe a really good regional school), then don't go to law school; unless you really want to be a lawyer (in any capacity)

Getting back to my point, if I were at the beginning of my law school career and understood to the full of extent of how lucky I would have to be to do what I have done, Im not sure I would have gone.

I would have grab some job worked for two years and gone to some MBA school. (which is easier to do than getting into a good law school).

Thank God Im lucky.

Full post as published by BootStraps and Lawyers on January 30, 2008 (boomark / email).