1L asking if law school is worth it. Forum

tinyapplicant · Post by **tinyapplicant** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 8:40 pm

I'm a 1L taking summer classes at MVPB. (I'm almost sure this will out which school I attend, but so be it.)

After a month, I'm starting to think the law is boring. Really, really boring. I knew this was not going to be the most adventure-filled of experiences, but I didn't expect it to be quite this dull. I thought I could tolerate law and how uninteresting I might find it -- after all, I would have a stable career and could spend my free time doing the things I actually loved.

Here's the but: I don't know if I can actually tolerate how boring this is. I'm going to be 200k in debt and am completely uninterested in public interest anyway. Big law is reportedly long hours and unfun times. Is cutting my losses and taking a leave of absence to reevaluate after this semester a good idea? Would I be wasting an opportunity to get a JD from a T-14 school?

Advice from current big law associates and MVPB graduates especially appreciated. Thanks, interwebz!

rpupkin · Post by **rpupkin** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 8:46 pm

Studying law in school isn't like practicing law in the real world.

I found law school mostly interesting, but I find practice mostly boring. I have friends who feel the opposite.

In any event, you should drop out because you're taking on $200K of debt, not because you're bored by the study of law.

nerd1 · Post by **nerd1** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 8:51 pm

rpupkin wrote: I found law school mostly interesting, but I find practice mostly boring.

Agreed. I am only a summer associate but I find work often mind-numbingly boring. I would rather do law school exams.

Big Dog · Post by **Big Dog** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 8:59 pm

I thought....after all, I would have a stable career

You thought wrong. The US produces 2x as many lawyers at it needs -- every year. For most, it is not a "stable career."

chuckbass · Post by **chuckbass** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 9:22 pm

tinyapplicant wrote:I'm a 1L taking summer classes at MVPB. (I'm almost sure this will out which school I attend, but so be it.)

Just maybe

Lacepiece23 · Post by **Lacepiece23** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 7:37 pm

tinyapplicant wrote:I'm a 1L taking summer classes at MVPB. (I'm almost sure this will out which school I attend, but so be it.)

After a month, I'm starting to think the law is boring. Really, really boring. I knew this was not going to be the most adventure-filled of experiences, but I didn't expect it to be quite this dull. I thought I could tolerate law and how uninteresting I might find it -- after all, I would have a stable career and could spend my free time doing the things I actually loved.

Here's the but: I don't know if I can actually tolerate how boring this is. I'm going to be 200k in debt and am completely uninterested in public interest anyway. Big law is reportedly long hours and unfun times. Is cutting my losses and taking a leave of absence to reevaluate after this semester a good idea? Would I be wasting an opportunity to get a JD from a T-14 school?

Advice from current big law associates and MVPB graduates especially appreciated. Thanks, interwebz!

Depends what you want to do. I like reading, writing, arguing, and making presentations. I get to do both those things in my early years a biglaw associate. Not so much the latter two. But I feel like it is a good fit for me right now. Well relatively. If you really like the other two things arguing and making presentations, then maybe pd/ada is for you. But you have to not like making money. So there is a trade off. Although most people that go down this route--from what I've heard--are pretty happy. If you want a better mix maybe think about smaller firms.

And if none of those things interest you maybe corporate will. But the hours are long and unpredictable so its not really something I would recommend. But I know that people out there really find securiteis, and capital markets interesting. I personally don't. HTH in some way.

UpandDown97 · Post by **UpandDown97** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 7:53 pm

tinyapplicant wrote:I'm a 1L taking summer classes at MVPB. (I'm almost sure this will out which school I attend, but so be it.)

After a month, I'm starting to think the law is boring. Really, really boring. I knew this was not going to be the most adventure-filled of experiences, but I didn't expect it to be quite this dull. I thought I could tolerate law and how uninteresting I might find it -- after all, I would have a stable career and could spend my free time doing the things I actually loved.

Here's the but: I don't know if I can actually tolerate how boring this is. I'm going to be 200k in debt and am completely uninterested in public interest anyway. Big law is reportedly long hours and unfun times. Is cutting my losses and taking a leave of absence to reevaluate after this semester a good idea? Would I be wasting an opportunity to get a JD from a T-14 school?

Advice from current big law associates and MVPB graduates especially appreciated. Thanks, interwebz!

I'd have to imagine that a leave of absense would look disasterous for a future employer. Just stick it out. It will pay off.

Perhaps you can use your JD from an elite school to get into an in-house/business job right away- A JD advantage position or something like that.

hartfordhockaloogies · Post by **hartfordhockaloogies** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 8:26 pm

Law school is different than practice - but keep in mind, biglaw practice will mainly consist of research and writing things about the LAW. If you think law itself is boring and you're only interested in a stable career, I'd recommend you save yourself a fifth of a million dollars. If you stay in law, you'll either want BigFed or small boutique lit or maybe biglaw corporate stuff.

Anyways, I don't know why you even applied to law school

TTTooKewl · Post by **TTTooKewl** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 12:12 am

tinyapplicant wrote:I would have a stable career and could spend my free time doing the things I actually loved.

Don't count on this being true. 60 hours a week is 9-5 M-F and 9-7 on each of Saturday and Sunday, and at least in biglaw, you should expect these hours and worse. Read through this site some, there are many unhappy, overworked biglaw associates. With that said, many of the associates I have met in real life are relatively happy, although for them enjoying hobbies outside of work is something of a treat.

Also- I am exaggerating the weekend hours to make a point. You will more likely, in biglaw, be working a lot more hours during the week and fewer on the weekend.

rinkrat19 · Post by **rinkrat19** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 3:11 am

I hated most of my 1L classes, but have enjoyed all the real-world work I've done along the way (both summers + clinic). I can understand dropping out if you definitely know you don't want to be a lawyer, but you haven't experienced anything even remotely like legal practice yet.

How do you know you aren't interested in any public interest? It's not all Legal Aid and public defenders working for a pittance. There are lots of different types, and not all of them pay badly (state/local gov can actually pay halfway decently in some places and has a better work/life balance than biglaw). With halfway decent grades from a good school, you'd be in a position to pursue most of them.

What are your employment options if you do drop out?

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