I failed out of law school last year and I'm still sad Forum

[macnut2012]

Last year sucked. I was a 1L. Worked my ass off to get there only to fail out because I failed to get a 2.3 average. I was very close, but not close enough to continue. When I heard, I had mixed emotions. I literally hated law school because I didn't really get along with anyone there and I just hated the subject matter. So this all happend last June. A while ago right? Well you'd think I'd be over it. Shit I was even happy to be done with it. But now, I feel really lost! When I hear the other law students talk about law school, I just feel left out and stupid in comparison. Also I just don't know what to do next. I got a job to pay my bills ... loans. But I don't like that job and I just don't know what to do. Law school to me was profession training. I went there with the goal of being a lawyer. I wasn't a slacker. I worked hard and tried to stay afloat. But it never worked out. After all this went down I applied to a law school that was not ABA accredited but much more affordable. I decided against going though. The reason was because I would have to retake every clasee and this school is not respected like my other school was.

Logically, I know this all a blessing in disguise. I hated law school, I thought my teachers were ass hats, and I didn't care for my fellow students. I hated all things law school related ... I really didn't belong there. But I feel really lost ... like WTF next. You know. It is tough when you put all of your energy into 1 thing for a whole year only to fall on your ass. I am relieved not to be in law school anymore, but I just feel so aimless right now.

[09042014]

Being a lawyer is probably going to suck pretty bad bro. Go find a better career.

[fl0w]

are you young? If so, learn a language. Take classes for a year in the language while you are working you have to pay bills first. Then go to that country and do immersion.

This is just a suggestion I'm making because I'm currently studying law for a semester in china and at least here, if you are an expat with great language skills (you could even be illiterate, just able to speak and understand) then you can make serious bank. And this is just doing random odd jobs. Promoters, english teachers etc. And you can have a blast.

There's a lot to experience out there in the world buddy. Not going to law school has given you 3 years of your live back (minus however long you were enrolled). Take that as a gift. Life is a story, never defined entirely by what happens on a single page.

[macnut2012]

are you young? If so, learn a language. Take classes for a year in the language while you are working you have to pay bills first. Then go to that country and do immersion.

This is just a suggestion I'm making because I'm currently studying law for a semester in china and at least here, if you are an expat with great language skills (you could even be illiterate, just able to speak and understand) then you can make serious bank. And this is just doing random odd jobs. Promoters, english teachers etc. And you can have a blast.

There's a lot to experience out there in the world buddy. Not going to law school has given you 3 years of your live back (minus however long you were enrolled). Take that as a gift. Life is a story, never defined entirely by what happens on a single page.

I'm going to be 30 next week. So I'm not that young.

[dingbat]

are you young? If so, learn a language. Take classes for a year in the language while you are working you have to pay bills first. Then go to that country and do immersion.

This is just a suggestion I'm making because I'm currently studying law for a semester in china and at least here, if you are an expat with great language skills (you could even be illiterate, just able to speak and understand) then you can make serious bank. And this is just doing random odd jobs. Promoters, english teachers etc. And you can have a blast.

There's a lot to experience out there in the world buddy. Not going to law school has given you 3 years of your live back (minus however long you were enrolled). Take that as a gift. Life is a story, never defined entirely by what happens on a single page.

I'm going to be 30 next week. So I'm not that young.

Suck it up, buttercup.

That being said, there's plenty of opportunity in the world. why did you want to be a lawyer?

[DCDuck]

You need to move on from the law. Law school isn't exactly like practicing law, but the people in law school are the people that practice. If you hated them, you hated reading cases, you hated everything about it, you wouldn't be any happier being a lawyer. Count it as a blessing, don't look back--unless it's to calculate how much money you saved by not attending the last two years of law school.

[macnut2012]

are you young? If so, learn a language. Take classes for a year in the language while you are working you have to pay bills first. Then go to that country and do immersion.

This is just a suggestion I'm making because I'm currently studying law for a semester in china and at least here, if you are an expat with great language skills (you could even be illiterate, just able to speak and understand) then you can make serious bank. And this is just doing random odd jobs. Promoters, english teachers etc. And you can have a blast.

There's a lot to experience out there in the world buddy. Not going to law school has given you 3 years of your live back (minus however long you were enrolled). Take that as a gift. Life is a story, never defined entirely by what happens on a single page.

I'm going to be 30 next week. So I'm not that young.

Suck it up, buttercup.

That being said, there's plenty of opportunity in the world. why did you want to be a lawyer?

Sucked the butter all out of the cup and doing fine. Just a little confused as what to do next.

[macnut2012]

You need to move on from the law. Law school isn't exactly like practicing law, but the people in law school are the people that practice. If you hated them, you hated reading cases, you hated everything about it, you wouldn't be any happier being a lawyer. Count it as a blessing, don't look back--unless it's to calculate how much money you saved by not attending the last two years of law school.

Ya defenitly not meant to be a lawyer. Although apparently still have identity confusion. Posting about not being a lawyer on top-law-schools. LOL

[Lasers]

what school did you go to?

[nmcdgt]

It sounds like it may have been a lucky break for you, as you'd must likely be miserable and the job market is awful anyway.

However, if you really think you want to be a lawyer, I would take a few years and work and maybe try again at law school down the road. From what I've been told, after 5 years your grades are no longer valid and you can re-enroll as 1L. I know a lot of older students who are doing law school, and the work experience will likely help you get into a good law school and/or find a job afterward, not to mention pay down the debt you have now and save up some money.

That being said, the job market sucks, you don't sound like you'd enjoy being a lawyer, and it costs a ton of money. If you really want to go back to grad school, maybe try something different like getting an MBA (once you have sufficient work experience) and looking at consulting. Best of luck.

[fl0w]

are you young? If so, learn a language. Take classes for a year in the language while you are working you have to pay bills first. Then go to that country and do immersion.

This is just a suggestion I'm making because I'm currently studying law for a semester in china and at least here, if you are an expat with great language skills (you could even be illiterate, just able to speak and understand) then you can make serious bank. And this is just doing random odd jobs. Promoters, english teachers etc. And you can have a blast.

There's a lot to experience out there in the world buddy. Not going to law school has given you 3 years of your live back (minus however long you were enrolled). Take that as a gift. Life is a story, never defined entirely by what happens on a single page.

I'm going to be 30 next week. So I'm not that young.

30 is still young. I also happen to be turning 30 in January. And here I am living in China. I spent the last year learning Chinese (during law school) and decided to go for it. The only thing stoping you from doing anything is yourself. Well... and here sometimes the Chinese Government. But that's another story.

[alex.feuerman]

[quote="macnut2012"] It is tough when you put all of your energy into 1 thing for a whole year only to fall on your ass. quote]

I have been preparing to get into law school for 6 years. (4 law internships in college) (2 yrs prepping for LSAT + working in law firms after college)

Unless u wanna count Mock trial in High School.

Move on.

[Myself]

Move on. If you went to a school that gives it's students 2.3s and fails them out, it's probably not a very good school. And if you were struggling to get a 2.3 at a not-very-good school, then your career prospects would have been even more dismal than they are now. Consider it a blessing that you did bad enough early on so that you were weeded out and you didn't have to take on the extra debt and waste two more years pursuing a dead end. I would go to CC, pick up some practical or technical skills, and try to build a career from there. You're 30, so I'm guessing you worked before going to law school; maybe you can pursue whatever you did before. Just leave anything with the consecutive letters of l, a, and w.

[dingbat]

Move on. If you went to a school that gives it's students 2.3s and fails them out, it's probably not a very good school.

At most schools it's possible to get a 2.3; to my knowledge, most schools will not kick someone out just for that, which I guess might be what you're getting at

[Doorkeeper]

The father of a friend of mine got his MD at 42. Trust me, you still have time to figure out what you want to do.

[nebula666]

I didn't think you could actually fail out of law school. Can you honestly say you worked hard? What is "working hard" to you?

[I.P. Daly]

A friend at a TTT is a student on an "academic dismissal committee." If a student at the school falls below a 2.0 after the completion of their second semester, they are automatically dismissed. However, the dismissed student may appeal the dismissal to a committee of professors, administrators and students. Basically, what the committee looks for is whether it's possible for the appellee to be successful in law school and on the bar exam.

[84651846190]

Even if you "make it" in law, you'll probably die a lot sooner and sadder than most engineers, teachers, government workers, etc. It's a taxing profession and, contrary to popular belief, money doesn't make you happy when you have no time to spend it and you're constantly stressing about your career.

[Drake014]

I didn't think you could actually fail out of law school. Can you honestly say you worked hard? What is "working hard" to you?

This is not the credited response.

[mr.hands]

Even if you did "make the cut" and avoid dismissal, you still wouldn't have been able to find a job. Over 50% of law school grads can't get jobs. Those in the bottom 10% of their classes at TT, TTT, and TTTT don't even stand a chance.

Getting kicked out literally saved you tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands. (That isn't supposed to sound cruel, it's the honest truth). This is a blessing in disguise

[typ3]

Even if you did "make the cut" and avoid dismissal, you still wouldn't have been able to find a job. Over 50% of law school grads can't get jobs. Those in the bottom 10% of their classes at TT, TTT, and TTTT don't even stand a chance.

Getting kicked out literally saved you tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands. (That isn't supposed to sound cruel, it's the honest truth). This is a blessing in disguise

False. Those at the bottom 10% without connections don't stand a chance. Those with connections go onto work at V10 firms or cushy in-house positions. True story. Friend of mine is graduating bottom 10% at a T30 school. She has offers over HYS grads because her family started a now publicly traded bank with a few billion in assets. Her family still sits on the board and her father is the CEO. Biglaw is fighting over getting her because it means a huge book of business and connections. The average person doesn't stand a chance. Welcome to America.

[mr.hands]

Even if you did "make the cut" and avoid dismissal, you still wouldn't have been able to find a job. Over 50% of law school grads can't get jobs. Those in the bottom 10% of their classes at TT, TTT, and TTTT don't even stand a chance.

Getting kicked out literally saved you tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands. (That isn't supposed to sound cruel, it's the honest truth). This is a blessing in disguise

False. Those at the bottom 10% without connections don't stand a chance. Those with connections go onto work at V10 firms or cushy in-house positions. True story. Friend of mine is graduating bottom 10% at a T30 school. She has offers over HYS grads because her family started a now publicly traded bank with a few billion in assets. Her family still sits on the board and her father is the CEO. Biglaw is fighting over getting her because it means a huge book of business and connections. The average person doesn't stand a chance. Welcome to America.

Really? Are you serious? This is about playing the odds. Your story is entirely unhelpful and unrepresentative of what 99% of people can expect.

Ok i'll amend what i said: Aside from some guy you know who has a job because his family started a bank with a "few billion in assets", people in the bottom 10% don't stand a chance

[prezidentv8]

It sounds like it may have been a lucky break for you, as you'd must likely be miserable and the job market is awful anyway. . . . Best of luck.

[typ3]

You don't need a few billion. A few million or hundred million will give you preference even if you're at the bottom of your class over someone who is ranked #1. Law firms are always looking for people to bring them work. If you are a graduate with former management experience at a large regional corp. you'll get priority over order of the coif 99% of the time assuming you maintain your business connections and good terms with your former employer. Connections and who you know >>>> what you know or how hard you work.

[macnut2012]

It sounds like it may have been a lucky break for you, as you'd must likely be miserable and the job market is awful anyway.

However, if you really think you want to be a lawyer, I would take a few years and work and maybe try again at law school down the road. From what I've been told, after 5 years your grades are no longer valid and you can re-enroll as 1L. I know a lot of older students who are doing law school, and the work experience will likely help you get into a good law school and/or find a job afterward, not to mention pay down the debt you have now and save up some money.

That being said, the job market sucks, you don't sound like you'd enjoy being a lawyer, and it costs a ton of money. If you really want to go back to grad school, maybe try something different like getting an MBA (once you have sufficient work experience) and looking at consulting. Best of luck.

I completely agree! I do have alot of work expierence. I've worked in almost every field, be it education, customer service, and even construction. I was wondering about the MBA ... it might be a good fit. I wonder though if the MBA has a job shortage much like law.