Need advice - is law school the right move? Forum

[madams99]

I'm going through a bit of a (quarter?) life crisis. I'm 31 years old and wouldn't be able to enroll in law school until 2017..that'd put me at 33 years old. I originally wanted to go to law school after undergrad, but never did. I ended up going the medical route and attended medical school right after undergrad. I finished my residency in emergency medicine a couple of years ago and have been working in a busy trauma center since.

I enjoy what I do, I make alright money, but there's so much BS in medicine these days, I find myself often questioning what the other side of the fence is like. Granted, my understanding of the current legal landscape is a bit lacking and I've gotten conflicting advice from family/friends. Ideally, I'd like to pursue a law degree, and continue practicing medicine in a limited fashion, maybe 3-4 weekend shifts a month for the foreseeable future.

Hoping some of you who are more in tune with things can give me a little advice. What is employment like for recent grads from t14 schools? What kind of salary can I expect to make? Any insight into the world of patent law? From my understanding my technical background would allow me to sit for the patent bar. For what it's worth I have a 3.9 ugpa and ranging 167-170 on practice LSATs; I think my chances at a top school are pretty solid.

Any help from someone more informed than myself would be amazing. Thanks much.

[jzoffer456]

Don't go to law school unless you are CERTAIN through work experience in the legal sector that you want to be a lawyer or have NO other good alternative career choice (like most arts majors).

[Johann]

Don't go to law school unless you are CERTAIN through work experience in the legal sector that you want to be a lawyer or have NO other good alternative career choice (like most arts majors).

[Leonardo DiCaprio]

please dont go to law school. it's a waste of your life.

[Mr. Archer]

If your decision really is based on a "quarter life crisis", then you should really think about what you're giving up to attend law school. You could potentially be wasting 3 years of your life. With a background allowing you to do patent work, you could potentially get a lucrative job one day. However, there are no guarantees. You might not even want to do that work anyway. A T14 would help you get work but it's still a tough market right now.

I'm not sure if you meant you would keep working in medicine while in law school, but you shouldn't plan on that. Law school is time intensive.

Before going too far down the admissions path, I would suggest finding a doctor who then transitioned into law and talking to that person. I'm sure some people stop practicing all together to attend great schools. But, I've also seen profiles of attorneys from med mal firms who attended law school part time. It all depends on your ultimate goals.

[Big Red]

For what it's worth, my MD actually did the opposite and got a JD before the MD, and strongly prefers medicine. Obviously it depends on the person; I would think long and hard before doing something like this

I really don't think balancing medical practice and law school, or legal practice, could ever be a thing. Have you thought about changing your specialty? Three more years and the uncertainty of legal hiring might not be the solution