Yet another "should I drop out?" thread...:sigh: Forum

[dixiecupdrinking]

That debt + those career interests = I'd stay. Concentrate on getting as much practical experience as possible and networking your ass off the next two years.

[Anonymous User]

Will do, should I decide to complete my JD, that is. Alas! how to decide when my heart says "stay" and my head says "go"?

[Agent]

+1

Drop out of law school.

[Anonymous User]

Interesting how the BigLaw-oriented posters (based on their post history) are straight-up telling me to drop out, whereas the PI folks seem more hopeful about my prospects, lol.

So very torn...still have 2+ months to figure out a BIG life decision.

[Anonymous User]

You seem to like LS. You booked a course so you've obviously got talent. Your debt will not be overwhelming. Your alternatives are not great. You have 2 years to pick up your grades. Stick with it.

Thanks. Realllllly hoping the A in Ks was not a fluke, lol. Excited to have the same prof this fall for an elective...his teaching style and exam format def. play to my strengths.

[Robespierre]

^ You have a lot of good plans to pick up your grades: repeating with the prof who gave you an A, taking a clinic with a generous curve, etc. Smart. I've got a good feeling about you. Stick with it.

And this from a person aiming for Biglaw, not PI.

[Anonymous User]

^I like you.

Any other perspectives? Even though I'm leaning towards staying, don't be afraid to rip my idealism to shreds, lol.

[synergy]

Not a new perspective, per se, as I already posted my thoughts here, but I just think people here are too focused on the economics of law school. Is shelling out an additional x amount of money for 2 more years to earn at best y salary a good investment compared to earning z right now by dropping out? Who the hell knows at this stage. Perhaps the best guesstimate math suggests no (I'd argue otherwise considering 80k is sizable debt but manageable, particularly with the upside of PAYE and PSLF). But no one here is really mentioning the unquantifiable. This guy WANTS to be a lawyer. You know, in theory the reason why we all went to law school in the first place? This thread is probably indicative of why there are so many lawyer burnouts who regret ever going to law school, even the "successful" ones. OP, if you came to law school to do public interest LAW, then you're not going to be able to do so unless you finish law school. All these people, particularly the ones who just say drop out without any kind of reasoning, are pessimistic about your future because THEY didn't/don't enjoy law school and can't understand that maybe you like it and/or maybe you want to do it for a career. If it's what you want to do, and the odds aren't overwhelmingly against you (at this stage I don't see any reason to believe that you're shut out of any chance to find public interest work), and the finances are manageable (lets say you make 40k a year for the rest of your career and you're single for 10 years. under paye/pslf, you're paying $2,300 a year for 10 years and it's all forgiven, probably tax-free), then why not give it a shot. I'm not surprised by the responses by the overwhelmingly biglaw-centric crowd at TLS, but I just think people are neglecting to consider that you actually want to do this and that grades in public interest hiring is significantly more random than traditional biglaw hiring.

[Anonymous User]

ETA: Poll! Tell me how to solve my quarter-life crisis...

[Anonymous User]

Damn, TLS--I am pleasantly surprised by the responses. Was totally expecting a "DROP OUT" echo chamber in here, lol.

[Nammertat]

Stay with it. I echo what has already been stated about the TLS biglaw groupthink. If you're honestly going to be happy outside of biglaw, then there is no reason you can't make things work. I think it needs to be said to anyone considering law school, but you have to think long and hard about what is going to make you happy... and then come up with a plan to get there. I also echo the sentiment about getting out there and networking as much as humanly possible, but that should be said to ANY law student these days regardless of grades.

Your grades will likely improve in 2L by 1) strategically choosing your classes, and 2) people with offers letting off the gas. It's also important to note that for PI you don't live and die by 1L grades.... Finding a spot during your 3L year is not unprecedented, and by that time your grades will likely be within range. EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT, you still have two years to meet people, make connections, and gain experience. These things combined can absolutely be enough to get someone to give you a chance, and after your first job nobody is going to care what your law school grades were.

Finally, 80k isn't something to sneeze at, but it is a HUGE difference from someone taking on 180k in terms of this decision. Seriously look into IBR, LRAP, and Loan Forgiveness before you make your decision.

[Anonymous User]

.

[Anonymous User]

Verdict: I'm staying! We'll see in 2 years whether it was the right call or the most foolhardy decision of my life.

[Eco]

If you haven't borrowed a shit ton of money yet, yes, drop out before it's too late. There are no jobs. Trust me, staying is the bad choice if you have bad grades. You will almost never get hired anywhere. Good luck finding a job post-grad. Get out while you still can..

[NYstate]

Verdict: I'm staying! We'll see in 2 years whether it was the right call or the most foolhardy decision of my life.

You know, you might have weighted the opinions of people who have been through OCI and those who are currently practicing more heavily than those who are invested in making the same bad decisions.

Even the idea that you see it as possibly foolhardy and life altering should give you pause.

If you insist on staying do everything you can do starting now to get a job practicing law. Get a part time job some place that might hire you. Maybe mass mail smaller firms and get to know people in government in your area.

[YYZ]

Plan to stay in law school. You're down in the dumps right now. It will pass.

[Anonymous User]

Verdict: I'm staying! We'll see in 2 years whether it was the right call or the most foolhardy decision of my life.

You know, you might have weighted the opinions of people who have been through OCI and those who are currently practicing more heavily than those who are invested in making the same bad decisions.

Even the idea that you see it as possibly foolhardy and life altering should give you pause.

If you insist on staying do everything you can do starting now to get a job practicing law. Get a part time job some place that might hire you. Maybe mass mail smaller firms and get to know people in government in your area.

I'm not even doing OCI...it's largely BigLaw, and even if I had BigLaw-caliber grades, I was never interested in that field to begin with.

[NYstate]

Verdict: I'm staying! We'll see in 2 years whether it was the right call or the most foolhardy decision of my life.

You know, you might have weighted the opinions of people who have been through OCI and those who are currently practicing more heavily than those who are invested in making the same bad decisions.

Even the idea that you see it as possibly foolhardy and life altering should give you pause.

If you insist on staying do everything you can do starting now to get a job practicing law. Get a part time job some place that might hire you. Maybe mass mail smaller firms and get to know people in government in your area.

I'm not even doing OCI...it's largely BigLaw, and even if I had BigLaw-caliber grades, I was never interested in that field to begin with.

What did your school say about the likelihood you will get a job? I mentioned OCI because it tends to be a reality check for many people, as they realize it isn't so easy to sail into biglaw even with grades. And then they see how competitive the market really is.

I wish you good luck.

[Anonymous User]

What did your school say about the likelihood you will get a job? I mentioned OCI because it tends to be a reality check for many people, as they realize it isn't so easy to sail into biglaw even with grades.

I wish you good luck.

Thanks.

Lol, I cannot really trust my school to assess the likelihood of my getting a job--they're just gonna pat my back and tell me I'll be fine. It's arguably in their best interests to encourage as many students as possible to stay (high attrition rate looks bad). What Career Services told me is that PI looks more for passion and a commitment to work, that clinics and internships (and recommendations from people who see you in these settings) are key, and that public defenders, district attorneys and legal services are not so grade conscious.

[Lacepiece23]

Dude just gun hard for a pd/da job. I know this has been said ITT already, but heres another perspective. 30 years ago it was common for ppl to go that route, get great connections with judges, great trial experience from day 1, then move other places including firms or starting your own firm. Now with the high rate of tuition being charged by law school the most comfortable path is to pay off your debt with biglaw work there for four or five years then lateral.

Now, think of it this way. If you get that pd/da job you will have trial experience. You will get to know tons of criminal defense lawyers. You will have a bigger network, and you will actually get to work with real clients from the jump. Us biglawers will have none of that until maybe year 5. Yes we will probably have a writing advantage. However, there are so few young attorneys these days that are actually trial attorneys. 5 years of doing that type of work IMO isn't time wasted. You just have to realistically be comfortable with not living the life ppl think lawyers are supposed to live, big house, driving german, expensive suits.

I do think you will be a lot happier then most of us if you can snag one of these jobs. Stick with it. Work on grades. Network, Network, Network. Your job isn't going to come from your resume. Its going to come from your ability to get ppl to like you. Part of criminal defense from what I've seen this summer working for a great private criminal defense attorney is that crim is more about how much people like you rather then actually knowing the law. So much of it is making deals with judges, DA's, and cops. I think you should stay with it if 1) you like law school, and 2) if your comfortable not making it rain for a while. Who knows ten years down the line you could be a great trial attorney in the private sector, or you could still be doing the PI thing because you fell in love with what you do every day. Doesn't sound like a bad life to me.

[Anonymous User]

If you haven't borrowed a shit ton of money yet, yes, drop out before it's too late. There are no jobs. Trust me, staying is the bad choice if you have bad grades. You will almost never get hired anywhere. Good luck finding a job post-grad. Get out while you still can..

OP already made up his/her mind...

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Made virtually same post on JD Underground--folks are wayyyy more pessimistic on there, haha.

--LinkRemoved--

[RodneyRuxin]

OP here. Made virtually same post on JD Underground--folks are wayyyy more pessimistic on there, haha.

--LinkRemoved--

Because TLS has many more starry-eyed 0Ls that want to believe there's a shot for them if they end up in your position.

[Anonymous User]

0Ls are not permitted to post in the Legal Employment forums (see the rules)

[rouser]

Part of me wants to say drop out unless you have a legit plan on how you might pay the 80k if/when you lose out on the law gamble. Then again, if it were me personally there's no way I would leave w/o paying some debt back first. If you absolutely strike out and are facing complete garbage, can you consider hanging your own shingle? I would probably try to market myself as a low-cost divorce guy or something. facing 80k and possibly as low as bottom 1/4, i think it depends on your personality in the decision of whether to quit. Shit grades at a T30 though might not be the end of the world if you can start your own practice. Other than that though, i'm not sure anyone would want to hire you ITE...it's just a shitty market overall filled with sad people from what i've seen. Keep in mind though that you have more knowledge on things like Gov't and non-profit so you might be able to find security in a position that offers some type of loan forgiveness.