raeq63 wrote:Sorry to revive this post, but I'm also thinking about dropping out after my first year. I really feel like I'm doing this just for the prestige and money, no real passion for law. In fact, I think I would hate the practice of law (at least my perception of it: long hours, tedious detailed work, constant stress). First semester was alright. I enjoyed substantive classes some days. But I absolutely hate and continue to hate my legal writing course.
I have good (top 25%) grades at a top 20 school, so this makes a decision to leave harder. I'm having a lot of difficulty finding any summer internship, which I want just to see if I would like doing something in law. If I drop out I would likely have a job at commercial real estate company (I have a business related degree). I could also take up to a 1 year leave of absence and keep my scholarship, but not sure how that looks to future legal employers. I just don't feel like I have the stones to drop out even though I hate 85% of law school and am pretty sure I won't like being a lawyer either.
Listen, I have family who are attorneys. The general consensus is "I hated law school, but I do not hate practicing law." It is one thing to hate Civ Pro and K. Like you, I enjoyed those classes and hated legal writing. Unfortunately, the legal profession requires a lot of legal writing. You need to be honest with yourself. You seem like I was, your mind is all over the place. You are searching threads about dropping out, talking about maybe taking a leave of absence, or possibly working in real estate. You need to take a step back and determine what is really important to you.
We live in a society where people our age (assuming you are a recent college grad) have been taught 'follow your passion.' I agree with that to a point. Work is called 'work' for a reason. The jobs I am working now do not pay a lot but I do really enjoy going to them everyday. There are good days and bad days, but this is true for any profession. Like I said in a previous post in this thread, I did not have a plan when I left. My family and friends were shocked I actually quit. It worked out. I hold my head high when I tell people I left.
All I can tell you, though, is that the first morning after I left was the first day I did not wake up miserable. My mind was calm. Good luck!
*On the other side of the coin...you are top 25% at a T20... bump that to top 10-15% and maybe you will like the law more given the larger amount of opportunities that may be available to you.