Top Law Schools

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Daytukrjabs wrote:This thread is for those that decided to go to law school because...

1) Upon graduating college with a liberal arts degree, law school was a back up plan until something happened. Well, that something never happened and now you're going to law school. (Almost all of you?)

2) Cuz your self-esteem is bankrupt and your identity doesn't exist outside flaunting prestigious degree to people who don't care. (My will-be classmates?)

3) Other personal, valid reasons (For those lying pricks)

#1 applies to many of us. It's actually not a horrible reason . . . as long as you understand what the law degree actually is, and what it will mean for your actual life. This is where law students get very, very sad.

#2. is also not rare . . . the danger is that for anyone unprepared emotionally, law school is even more damaging than it is to those unprepared academically (which is nearly everyone).

#3 . . . we all have our reasons--most of them, in retrospect, pretty silly. Again the key is to know that once the silliness wears thin, there's an actual degree with an actual job (or not) and an actual and very real mountain of debt. With the right attitude and outlook and smart (note; not just "a lot of") preparation, the law can be a blast. That should be everyone's goal, no matter where you're headed (or from).

There's a book with perhaps the best section I've read on this topic. It's The Slacker's Guide to Law School. Some serious lessons in that book . . . and a few useful tips that will pay off, big time (even for those who aren't slackers).

Here's to the knowing why.

Thane.

--
Thane Messinger
Author of:
Law School: Getting In, Getting Good, Getting the Gold
The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book: A Survival Guide

In all honesty, it's all three for me.

1. A low gpa in a humanities is a death curse ITE.

2. I need to prove to myself and others that I'm actually capable of putting in some hard work.

3. Varied and hard to describe, but reasons are there.

flyingpanda wrote:In all honesty, it's all three for me.

1. A low gpa in a humanities is a death curse ITE.

2. I need to prove to myself and others that I'm actually capable of putting in some hard work.

3. Varied and hard to describe, but reasons are there.

The "hard work" part is important, and a good reason. Trouble comes when extremely intelligent students--who've mostly coasted through all of their academic years--more or less assume that they can continue to do so.

So, just about any reason plus the understanding that law is not a career in which one coasts is likely to be fine.

Also, on the other side, it's easy to take "hard work" to a bad extreme. Success in law school is only indirectly related to the quantity of "work" done. This, plus the lack of meaningful feedback plus lots of all-too-often nasty trickery leads to a bad, bad world. Avoid all that. Do well because YOU do well.

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Daytukrjabs wrote:This thread is for those that decided to go to law school because...

1) Upon graduating college with a liberal arts degree, law school was a back up plan until something happened. Well, that something never happened and now you're going to law school. (Almost all of you?)

2) Cuz your self-esteem is bankrupt and your identity doesn't exist outside flaunting prestigious degree to people who don't care. (My will-be classmates?)

3) Other personal, valid reasons (For those lying pricks)

If you're going for the $$$, which option do you select? If I select 3, I'm a liar, but if I don't select 3, I'm a liar.

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FeuerFrei wrote:

flyingpanda wrote: 1. A degree in a humanities is a death curse ITE.

fixed

Point taken

You know, I don't really get why so many people act like becoming a lawyer for the money or other superficial reasons makes that person morally corrupt or something. Pursuing a career because it offers a high salary is actually logical if you know you don't want to live pay check to pay check. Honestly, I am going to law school because I know I want to go to graduate school no matter what, since just a bachelor's degree alone doesn't really mean that much anymore, and I want a professional degree, like law or medicine, rather than just a master's in business or something because I really don't want to go into business. And while having a law degree definitely is not a guarantee to a job and lawyers do not have the best job security or anything, I don't think people are comparing it enough to other jobs. I would think being a lawyer and having a professional degree at least presents a little more security than doing something in business with no specialized degree to back you up. My point is, not everyone has to have a passion for law and a dream to save the world one case at a time in order to have a good reason for being a lawyer. I made the decision logically, I wanted to go to grad school, wanted a professional degree, and then decided to go to law school rather than medical school because I do find the legal system very interesting and challenging, and I like intellectual challenges. So yes I'm going to law school because I want to make good money, and I definitely don't expect being a lawyer to be glamorous or easy at all, it's going to be long hours and lots of hard work but that's life right..? Most people aren't lucky enough to have a strong passion that they can turn into a good career, a job is a job, and I don't think I'm going to be jumping for joy everyday no matter which career I choose, but I do find law interesting and I think I will be sufficiently content with my career, so it might as well be something that gets me a respected degree and a comfortable lifestyle, but that's just my opinion.

I'm going to law school because I want to practice law and I think I'll be good at it.

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Daytukrjabs wrote:This thread is for those that decided to go to law school because...

1) Upon graduating college with a liberal arts degree, law school was a back up plan until something happened. Well, that something never happened and now you're going to law school. (Almost all of you?)

2) Cuz your self-esteem is bankrupt and your identity doesn't exist outside flaunting prestigious degree to people who don't care. (My will-be classmates?)

3) Other personal, valid reasons (For those lying pricks)

1.) nope, i picked my liberal arts major (english) simply because it interests me and i figure i'd get the best grades for law school doing it.

2.) very little prestige for me, and i'm learning towards going to LSU for law school.

3.) really want to be a lawyer. maybe a public defender, even. i believe in the system.

3: very interested in a specific field and the places it may take me

csheridan wrote:You know, I don't really get why so many people act like becoming a lawyer for the money or other superficial reasons makes that person morally corrupt or something. Pursuing a career because it offers a high salary is actually logical if you know you don't want to live pay check to pay check. Honestly, I am going to law school because I know I want to go to graduate school no matter what, since just a bachelor's degree alone doesn't really mean that much anymore, and I want a professional degree, like law or medicine, rather than just a master's in business or something because I really don't want to go into business. And while having a law degree definitely is not a guarantee to a job and lawyers do not have the best job security or anything, I don't think people are comparing it enough to other jobs. I would think being a lawyer and having a professional degree at least presents a little more security than doing something in business with no specialized degree to back you up. My point is, not everyone has to have a passion for law and a dream to save the world one case at a time in order to have a good reason for being a lawyer. I made the decision logically, I wanted to go to grad school, wanted a professional degree, and then decided to go to law school rather than medical school because I do find the legal system very interesting and challenging, and I like intellectual challenges. So yes I'm going to law school because I want to make good money, and I definitely don't expect being a lawyer to be glamorous or easy at all, it's going to be long hours and lots of hard work but that's life right..? Most people aren't lucky enough to have a strong passion that they can turn into a good career, a job is a job, and I don't think I'm going to be jumping for joy everyday no matter which career I choose, but I do find law interesting and I think I will be sufficiently content with my career, so it might as well be something that gets me a respected degree and a comfortable lifestyle, but that's just my opinion.