So, about the immigration stuff: you're absolutely right that someone else helping in the context you describe could be very valuable. But for the kind of thing you're describing, you don't actually need a law degree (and in fact, there are lots of non-lawyers who help new immigrants negotiate paperwork, etc). You could probably find venues for this kind of volunteering right now. (As for the legal side of it, immigration law is actually incredibly complex and there's an unfortunate number of attorneys who either do it badly or take people's money to help them with an application that's never going to succeed. There are of course good immigration attorneys and they are the salt of the earth and worth their weight in gold, but if you want to help out with basically straightforward stuff, you don't need to be one.) You mention supervision, and that's obviously also a thing, but a lot of PI organizations are stretched thin and while on the one hand, that means they might appreciate a volunteer, on the other, they don't necessarily have time to train someone who knows nothing. (I also think there are different incentives for working with law student volunteers, who also know nothing, and working with volunteers who have a JD.)thebroteinshake wrote: ↑Wed Nov 24, 2021 2:54 pm2. (a) For a VERY FEW simple legal processes, getting a degree and working part-time may be enough, but (b) it isn't worth the investment: (a) is the question that I was actually asking, so thanks to the folks for answering me. As for concluding that it isn't worth my investment (b), thanks for the advice - they are well-taken, and I totally see your point of view. I do disagree about the impact of even small legal exercises can do in the community, however. I came over the to States with my mom and my sister 20 years ago, and I remember we would struggle with the most basic immigration processes: applying for an F-2, an H-1B, and then a Green Card. In retrospect, we were a pretty straight forward case, but as immigrants who had just moved with poor English skills, the process was daunting. Having someone in our community who could help us navigate this would've given us a tremendous peace of mind, even if they could only help us with very small, basic legal processes. Yes, the full-time attorneys who practice immigration will know much more and do a much better job, but they were never available to my family. For some specific, simple legal processes, I figured that having one more person to help would be better than having none at all. I also imagined there could be some supervision in these non-profit organizations so that I stay within the guardrails. In sum, I believed significance of service doesn't always linearly move with complexity.
Now to address the cost side of this investment, I imagine a lot of folks also think 0Ls just don't know how difficult and costly law school is. I don't think that's the 0L's fault - how can anyone know how tough those 3 years are until they get through them? But in my defense, I probably did more diligence about what going to law school would mean than 99% of 0Ls. For the first three years of my career, I worked at a consulting firm that provides economic expert testimonies used in support high stakes commercial litigation. I have sat in on 4 different 1L class lectures and have read parts of the textbooks that were used. I have crafted various financial projections with Excel sheets on what law school would cost me, with variations baked in for my monthly spending and unforeseen life events (I have an analytics background). In addition to talking to practicing associates in my network, I've cold called law firm partners in the fields I am interested in (white collar, international arbitration, IP) to chat about their experiences and how I should think about my legal career. I also have another thread here where I ask folks how one could learn what BL litigation would be like before going law school (viewtopic.php?f=23&t=311290).
I think I have as realistic expectations about what going to law school and practicing law would mean as any 0L could. I welcome folks disagreeing with me about the alternative service opportunities being superior to community, etc., but also know that my disagreement with you isn't coming from me not researching the cost and the rigor of law school. Like someone else said, I don't need and am not looking for anyone's approval in these discussion, but I also don't want anyone to treat me as if I haven't done my diligence.
As for the rest of it: if you're interested in white collar, international arbitration, IP and/or BL litigation, what volunteering do you imagine doing that's relevant to those fields? If that's what you intend to do when you transition into law full time, having gone to law school and then not worked full-time as a lawyer for years (? it sounds like), or in those fields, is going to make you a very very strange candidate for any of those jobs. If you get a law degree then continue to work in tech for a number of years while doing some pro bono on the side, then after some years want to transition to full-time legal practice, people aren't going to understand that career path and aren't going to want to hire you. You won't look like a new/entry-level attorney, you'll look like a however-many-years attorney who doesn't have any experience. Doing minimal pro bono in a completely different field will not keep you relevant as a candidate. (My only caveat is that your tech job sounds relatively prestigious so may help you out - I don't know enough to say - but I still think it won't go far enough.)
So again, if your ultimate goal is to practice law full time, then go to law school when you're ready to practice law full time.
Or to put it a different way: if your goal is ultimately to practice law full time, what is the benefit to going to law school now and volunteering for a while? What do you imagine this offering you that a more traditional path wouldn't?
