Least miserable legal career? Forum

[guano]

He didn't say he thought that was realistic, just that it would be ideal.

True, but I think getting a feel for what criminal defense attorneys may refocus OP's interests as far as what OP would like to start doing. For example, depending on the reasons why OP is interested in more high profile work, would make OP interested in white collar defense or another area of law entirely.

It's not the high-profile nature of it that I want. It's the fact that they would pay out the ass for relatively little representation and services rendered. A DUI case for Lindsay Lohan doesn't cost the same as it does for a parent household defending their 20-year-old. I'd want that kind of work not because it's cool representing rich douchebags, but because the income from it would allow me to do what I believe in without having to worry about money. It would be effectively akin to how artists in the Renaissance got sponsored by their patrons to do cool stuff that wouldn't have actually paid a dime otherwise. I'd get to do public defense work on a private attorney's salary and without the crushing caseload that risks making me ineffective.

and at the end of every evening you wake up back to reality and deal with your real life

[Borhas]

Tenured law prof. at a school next to an elitecoastal big city with nice weather.

FTFY. Apparently a school like Cordozo is more desired by top law professor candidates and professors looking to lateral than Michigan or Cornell; working at UCLA can trump working Yale.

I struggle to believe this is true as a general matter; while idiosyncrasies can certainly lead individual academics to make the sorts of choices proposed, I can't imagine that the average person serious enough to enter legal academia and become a "top law professor candidate" is going to take the lesser professional prospects of Cardozo just for the better living standards of New York (especially when a professor can spend the majority of their year in virtually any city in the country).

yeah academics are prestige whores

[Tanicius]

There was a tier 1 law professor on TLS a year or so back who was taking questions and better explained what I'm talking about. As an example, I remember specifically that he said Brooklyn LS receives more attention from top professors than T-25s in the midwest.

[Borhas]

There was a tier 1 law professor on TLS a year or so bad who was taking questions and better explained what I'm talking about. As an example, I remember specifically that he said Brooklyn LS receives more attention from top professors than T-25s in the midwest.

I remember that thread, and that post

but while there's definite perceived value in working in a prestigious city/region, there's also a world of difference in perceived value and prestige between OSU and Yale

aint a law douche in the country that's turning down Yale to go to USF, USD, or CU-Boulder even though they are in better parts of the country

[Hipster but Athletic]

I'm not sure law professor should be regarded as a legal career

[Tanicius]

There was a tier 1 law professor on TLS a year or so bad who was taking questions and better explained what I'm talking about. As an example, I remember specifically that he said Brooklyn LS receives more attention from top professors than T-25s in the midwest.

I remember that thread, and that post

but while there's definite perceived value in working in a prestigious city/region, there's also a world of difference in perceived value and prestige between OSU and Yale

aint a law douche in the country that's turning down Yale to go to USF, USD, or CU-Boulder even though they are in better parts of the country

I honestly don't know about that. Sometimes they really actually do hate the cold weather that much, or it's just easier for family reasons to stay where they are. Why would Dressler stay at OSU? Why would Mauet stay at UAZ?

[androstan]

Bestselling legal dramatic fiction author.

[Tanicius]

Bestselling legal dramatic fiction author.

Fuck, forgot about that perfect marriage of professions. I'd kill to take Grisham or Connelly's place.

[Anonymous User]

Believe it or not, many well-credentialed professors use Cardozo as a jumping off point to get tenure and go to another school. It's hard to get positions at the top top schools but Cardozo has a consistent track record of young professors who leave for better schools later in their career.

[Liam]

There was a tier 1 law professor on TLS a year or so bad who was taking questions and better explained what I'm talking about. As an example, I remember specifically that he said Brooklyn LS receives more attention from top professors than T-25s in the midwest.

I remember that thread, and that post

but while there's definite perceived value in working in a prestigious city/region, there's also a world of difference in perceived value and prestige between OSU and Yale

aint a law douche in the country that's turning down Yale to go to USF, USD, or CU-Boulder even though they are in better parts of the country

I honestly don't know about that. Sometimes they really actually do hate the cold weather that much, or it's just easier for family reasons to stay where they are. Why would Dressler stay at OSU? Why would Mauet stay at UAZ?

Keyword bolded.

As I said, certain professors might have idiosyncratic personal reasons for preferencing location over prestige (which gets easier as you become more prominent, since part of the pull of Yale or Harvard is the cachet it gives you in trying to publish and network), but that's a completely different proposition than "coastal big city with nice weather" is what professors look for.

[Borhas]

There was a tier 1 law professor on TLS a year or so bad who was taking questions and better explained what I'm talking about. As an example, I remember specifically that he said Brooklyn LS receives more attention from top professors than T-25s in the midwest.

I remember that thread, and that post

but while there's definite perceived value in working in a prestigious city/region, there's also a world of difference in perceived value and prestige between OSU and Yale

aint a law douche in the country that's turning down Yale to go to USF, USD, or CU-Boulder even though they are in better parts of the country

I honestly don't know about that. Sometimes they really actually do hate the cold weather that much, or it's just easier for family reasons to stay where they are. Why would Dressler stay at OSU? Why would Mauet stay at UAZ?

maybe you are right, I honestly don't care enough about legal academia (or respect it for that matter) to intelligently weigh the prestige of one professor over another

[Anonymous User]

After several years of misery, I feel like I've reached the promised land. I work for a government agency on cases involving fascinating and important constitutional issues. Several federal Article III judges know me by name, because I appear before them so often. My salary is pretty good: I get paid a premium because I was recruited to leave private practice. I have ridiculous government vacation time. More vacation time than I can even imagine using up. Next Monday I'm not working... because it's Columbus Day. I'm in charge of my own cases and am generally left to my own discretion on how to handle them.

Life is good over here. The downside? There is none, if you can get in, and that's just it: it's harder than hell to get a job here, and I got mine because I was a scrappy litigator for several years and have always been friendly with my fellow lawyers in town, including opposing counsel. Maybe the downside is that I suffered in billable hour hell for years before earning my way into this.

[drmguy]

Judge Judy

$47 million salary last year

[keg411]

Bestselling legal dramatic fiction author.

Fuck, forgot about that perfect marriage of professions. I'd kill to take Grisham or Connelly's place.

Or along the same lines:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_E._Kelley