Are you all 100% sure you want to be a lawyer? Forum

[Ferrisjso]

100% sure I want to be a lawyer. To be honest, the idea of being "boxed in" to just law and legal related professions is actually appealing to me. I've always been obsessed with law and politics and can't see myself in any other field. I've been sure about this for some time, there has never been a period in my life I considered another career. The one exception to this was when I was a little kid and wanted to be a dog walker.

[ek5dn]

I am applying to law school but not 100% sure that I would want to practice law for an extended period of time. Is it true that the law degree just isn't as flexible anymore? If I don't get a law degree, I have no idea what else to do with my career. I'm a 2015 grad currently working in media

Since you're just now applying to law school and have not had any exposure to different types of legal work, I would say it's okay to feel uncertain about pursuing a law degree.

That being said, I don't think "I don't know what else to do" is sufficient reason to invest the time+$ into law school. What I mean is, a lot of people starting law school have some skewed perception of what practicing law is like, but there is something about the profession that draws them - maybe they took moot court/debate, enjoyed it, and thought they might consider being a litigator; or they studied business and thought doing transactional work would fit their business knowledge and detail-oriented personalities, etc.

I personally am 100% sure I want to be a lawyer. What I am not 100% sure on is what type of law I want to be practicing. I recommend you take the time to talk to practicing lawyers, research on your own about different legal practices, and then come to a decision.
Asking TLS is a good first step though, imo

[zeglo]

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[Johann]

I am a financial analyst. I like business. I want to practice business law. Simple as that. T14 here I come.

youre going to be miserable. there is no such thing as business law.

[GreenEggs]

I am a financial analyst. I like business. I want to practice business law. Simple as that. T14 here I come.

youre going to be miserable. there is no such thing as business law.

I think he was kidding.... at least i hope he was

[RamTitan]

Since you're just now applying to law school and have not had any exposure to different types of legal work, I would say it's okay to feel uncertain about pursuing a law degree.

That being said, I don't think "I don't know what else to do" is sufficient reason to invest the time+$ into law school. What I mean is, a lot of people starting law school have some skewed perception of what practicing law is like, but there is something about the profession that draws them - maybe they took moot court/debate, enjoyed it, and thought they might consider being a litigator; or they studied business and thought doing transactional work would fit their business knowledge and detail-oriented personalities, etc.

I personally am 100% sure I want to be a lawyer. What I am not 100% sure on is what type of law I want to be practicing. I recommend you take the time to talk to practicing lawyers, research on your own about different legal practices, and then come to a decision.
Asking TLS is a good first step though, imo

This is exactly how I feel.

[zeglo]

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[oidsedidy]

I am a financial analyst. I like business. I want to practice business law. Simple as that. T14 here I come.

youre going to be miserable. there is no such thing as business law.

I think he was kidding.... at least i hope he was

What are you talking about? Business law is literally any law relating to private organizations...no?

Business law sounds weird- corporate law somehow sounds less weird, and I'm sure is what you meant. You'll be fine.

[hubbathehut]

A friend once told me, 'it's never 100%.'

[theconsigliere]

95% sure it's what I want. 4% is one of my LOR writer's voice in my head telling me that I'm going to hate it and I should go for a math PhD, and you always gotta throw in 1% for random error

[hammocklv06]

I thrive on an excessive workload consisting of mundane, unnecessarily complex tasks and also on being miserable in general so I think I'm all set.

[oidsedidy]

95% sure it's what I want. 4% is one of my LOR writer's voice in my head telling me that I'm going to hate it and I should go for a math PhD, and you always gotta throw in 1% for random error

But if you get to be Tom Hagen then it immediately becomes 100%