How do you figure it out? Forum

[313D313]

I am an 0L and will be starting law school this fall. I currently work as a paralegal at a very successful personal injury firm. I am the head paralegal in the litigation department and responsible for Discovery. Also, because the majority of the clientele speak arabic only and our attorneys speak english, i attend arbitrations, facilitations, depositions, motions in court, etc. The firm is very busy and the workload is huge. I work six days a week otherwise i will fall behind big time.

I do not "love" my work but i do not hate it either. However, i know how demanding being a lawyer is and if i end up in a practice field i find boring i will not be able to do it. The problem is, you do not know the nit and grit of the work a practice field requires unless you actually do it. This has me really worried about the type of law i will eventually practice.

Anything i can do now so i can maybe explore what is out there? How do you explore when you are in law school? Is it only through your summer jobs or...?

[313D313]

Bump

Any thoughts....?

[CanadianWolf]

Often, money is a great motivator---as are bills such as student loans. If you get bored, then let your creditors rekindle the passion for your profession.

[313D313]

Often, money is a great motivator---as are bills such as student loans. If you get bored, then let your creditors rekindle the passion for your profession.

Agree with you. But if i can be in a better position than why not. There is nothing wrong with trying to find an area in the law that i actually enjoy practicing.

[313D313]

Anybody??

[timbs4339]

I am an 0L and will be starting law school this fall. I currently work as a paralegal at a very successful personal injury firm. I am the head paralegal in the litigation department and responsible for Discovery. Also, because the majority of the clientele speak arabic only and our attorneys speak english, i attend arbitrations, facilitations, depositions, motions in court, etc. The firm is very busy and the workload is huge. I work six days a week otherwise i will fall behind big time.

I do not "love" my work but i do not hate it either. However, i know how demanding being a lawyer is and if i end up in a practice field i find boring i will not be able to do it. The problem is, you do not know the nit and grit of the work a practice field requires unless you actually do it. This has me really worried about the type of law i will eventually practice.

Anything i can do now so i can maybe explore what is out there? How do you explore when you are in law school? Is it only through your summer jobs or...?

Do internships and clinics during law school. Work part time for firms like the one you are working for now. If your school does not have a PT program or you don't want to do it, take classes early in the morning or at night so you can work during the day or take jobs where you can work from home. Unfortunately, there are not very many transactional or corporate type internships during the school year. You can get a good variety of litigation and PI work, and a lot of representing clients in front of administrative bodies. However, your only experiences with big firm work will come during 2L summer if you are lucky.

[313D313]

I am an 0L and will be starting law school this fall. I currently work as a paralegal at a very successful personal injury firm. I am the head paralegal in the litigation department and responsible for Discovery. Also, because the majority of the clientele speak arabic only and our attorneys speak english, i attend arbitrations, facilitations, depositions, motions in court, etc. The firm is very busy and the workload is huge. I work six days a week otherwise i will fall behind big time.

I do not "love" my work but i do not hate it either. However, i know how demanding being a lawyer is and if i end up in a practice field i find boring i will not be able to do it. The problem is, you do not know the nit and grit of the work a practice field requires unless you actually do it. This has me really worried about the type of law i will eventually practice.

Anything i can do now so i can maybe explore what is out there? How do you explore when you are in law school? Is it only through your summer jobs or...?

Do internships and clinics during law school. Work part time for firms like the one you are working for now. If your school does not have a PT program or you don't want to do it, take classes early in the morning or at night so you can work during the day or take jobs where you can work from home. Unfortunately, there are not very many transactional or corporate type internships during the school year. You can get a good variety of litigation and PI work, and a lot of representing clients in front of administrative bodies. However, your only experiences with big firm work will come during 2L summer if you are lucky.

Thanks, Solid advice.

Do you guys think it is feasible to work one or two days a week at a law firm during 1L? I do not mean working for pay, maybe helping out half a day a week or two just to explore a certain field of law?

[Holly Golightly]

Do you guys think it is feasible to work one or two days a week at a law firm during 1L? I do not mean working for pay, maybe helping out half a day a week or two just to explore a certain field of law?

It may or may not be possible depending on your schedule (since you will likely not have any control whatsoever over your class schedule during 1L), but in my opinion it's not really worth it to work during 1L if you're going to school full-time. I worked full-time all through college and thought about working part-time during law school, but in the end I am very glad I didn't. Between not really being able to predict what weeks you will be busier than others, etc. and all of the things other than schoolwork that arise (networking opportunities, bar review, random events at school that you may find interesting), I just really would not recommend working during your first year. After that, go for it, but I doubt many people would tell you that working during 1L is a good idea.

[313D313]

Do you guys think it is feasible to work one or two days a week at a law firm during 1L? I do not mean working for pay, maybe helping out half a day a week or two just to explore a certain field of law?

It may or may not be possible depending on your schedule (since you will likely not have any control whatsoever over your class schedule during 1L), but in my opinion it's not really worth it to work during 1L if you're going to school full-time. I worked full-time all through college and thought about working part-time during law school, but in the end I am very glad I didn't. Between not really being able to predict what weeks you will be busier than others, etc. and all of the things other than schoolwork that arise (networking opportunities, bar review, random events at school that you may find interesting), I just really would not recommend working during your first year. After that, go for it, but I doubt many people would tell you that working during 1L is a good idea.

Thank you.

Any other thoughts on how to figure out what practice area interests me?

[bceagles182]

Do you guys think it is feasible to work one or two days a week at a law firm during 1L? I do not mean working for pay, maybe helping out half a day a week or two just to explore a certain field of law?

It may or may not be possible depending on your schedule (since you will likely not have any control whatsoever over your class schedule during 1L), but in my opinion it's not really worth it to work during 1L if you're going to school full-time. I worked full-time all through college and thought about working part-time during law school, but in the end I am very glad I didn't. Between not really being able to predict what weeks you will be busier than others, etc. and all of the things other than schoolwork that arise (networking opportunities, bar review, random events at school that you may find interesting), I just really would not recommend working during your first year. After that, go for it, but I doubt many people would tell you that working during 1L is a good idea.

Thank you.

Any other thoughts on how to figure out what practice area interests me?

It's also against ABA rules to work while a full time 1L. I would strongly advise against it. You'll have enough on your plate.

[313D313]

Do you guys think it is feasible to work one or two days a week at a law firm during 1L? I do not mean working for pay, maybe helping out half a day a week or two just to explore a certain field of law?

It may or may not be possible depending on your schedule (since you will likely not have any control whatsoever over your class schedule during 1L), but in my opinion it's not really worth it to work during 1L if you're going to school full-time. I worked full-time all through college and thought about working part-time during law school, but in the end I am very glad I didn't. Between not really being able to predict what weeks you will be busier than others, etc. and all of the things other than schoolwork that arise (networking opportunities, bar review, random events at school that you may find interesting), I just really would not recommend working during your first year. After that, go for it, but I doubt many people would tell you that working during 1L is a good idea.

Thank you.

Any other thoughts on how to figure out what practice area interests me?

It's also against ABA rules to work while a full time 1L. I would strongly advise against it. You'll have enough on your plate.

Thanks, i did not know that.

[NotMyRealName09]

It may or may not be possible depending on your schedule (since you will likely not have any control whatsoever over your class schedule during 1L), but in my opinion it's not really worth it to work during 1L if you're going to school full-time. I worked full-time all through college and thought about working part-time during law school, but in the end I am very glad I didn't. Between not really being able to predict what weeks you will be busier than others, etc. and all of the things other than schoolwork that arise (networking opportunities, bar review, random events at school that you may find interesting), I just really would not recommend working during your first year. After that, go for it, but I doubt many people would tell you that working during 1L is a good idea.

Thank you.

Any other thoughts on how to figure out what practice area interests me?

It's also against ABA rules to work while a full time 1L. I would strongly advise against it. You'll have enough on your plate.

Thanks, i did not know that.

Please tell me, bceagles182, that you did not turn down paid employment during lawschool because you thought that was correct. Attention to detail, you're going to be a lawyer, and people will trust what you say. Please don't be blatantly wrong when discouraging someone from doing something, especially something perfectly acceptable.

You can work up to 20 hours a week as a full time 1L, according to the ABA rules. See ABA Standard 304(f).

[bceagles182]

First off, no I didn't turn down paid employment because of the rule. I turned down paid employment because it is a stupid idea to work during 1L. And I finished in the top 7% of my class, so blow me.

Secondly, find me a legal employer that is interested in hiring a 1L for paid work during the school year. Please. OP is talking about using his experience to evaluate his career goals in law. In other words, nothing non-legal would be useful

Acceptable? Perhaps. Frowned upon? Yes. Incredibly stupid? Absolutely.