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Hi guys,

I am thinking of applying this upcoming cycle to law school. However, my friends and family have literally roasted me when I ask what they think of this. I graduated in May from State Uni--I studied pre-medicine. I finished with a cumulative GPA of 3.83 and high 3.7 science. I took the MCAT in December of 2014 and did well enough for mid tier MD's. But I decided not to apply cause I wasn't fully sold on it despite my extensive shadowing. So I got a job in level I trauma hospital doing clinical research and have been doing this for my gap year. Now working this job has all but assured me this is not what I want to do. So now I think of other options. My mother suggested dentistry as it is more laid back atmosphere and less insane stuff happening--I shadowed some and it just seems boring and plus patients seem to just think they are getting ripped off/ no one is happy to see dentist. I view it as equivalent of going to see mechanic--people think they're getting taken for a ride. At least with medicine or at least in ER I am at people are mostly happy to see docs cause 90% aren't paying anything as they don't have insurance and are broke.

Another career I always pondered with was police officer in bigger city--eventually get detective. I feel it would be stimulating, rewarding, challenging etc. But with the public perception of cops now the career is going to the dogs, not to mention the new trend of people just walking up to cops and ambushing them etc. I don't want to get killed for $50k a year. So this kind of leads me to law--I like the idea of helping people who are down on their luck, I love reading factual text i.e. long time subscriber to economist and Times, and how if you're litigation attorney there is competition i.e. a winner and a loser. I realize very few lawyer litigate often and vast majority are buried in doc review never seeing a court room. I am from the north east and would target schools in this area. With my GPA (my ec's are very good I feel--I have done research at an ivy in NE with solid LOR) what score should I shoot to get me into T14? Also if my score isn't T14 worthy I would likely try to go to strong regional school such as BU or BC.

Okay, before I get flamed--what do you guys think of personal injury law? I know some in my area and they seem to kill it, but their commercials / billboards are so tacky and it just makes you think "ambulance chaser." But one I know is making huge $$ in my area, he seems to spend a ton on advertising, but as I said the income seems great. Now this guy went to suffolk in Boston which is a weak school TBH, and several other PI lawyers I notice that are successful didn't necessarily go to strong programs. Is there anyway to be elegant in PI, i.e. avoid the cheesy ads and still be successful? I like the idea of PI because you are helping someone who is down on their luck, someone who got hurt/ setback because of anothers negligence. Also I don't feel bad suing someones insurance since I view the insurance companies in this country as blood sucking vampires. Screw it, in my view get people all you can from these leeches. Also the idea of contingency seems like it could be good cause if you hit a few big cases you're bringing home a third every time. Also you must field more calls and more case opportunities working for contingency since people don't pay unless you win. This as opposed to going into defense and people having to scoff up $200 per hour or more. So do you think I am insane for flirting with law school, and do you think litigation and in particular PI is still alive and well even with the tort reform over recent years?

Thank you for any and all input,

BM

If you're not into a job where people who hire you think they are being taken for a ride/is boring/you're viewed as a parasite then I'm not sure you want to be a lawyer

Basically I think you might be overselling the downsides of those other jobs while simultaneously idealizing what lawyers do

Have you shadowed any lawyers yet?

BigZuck wrote:If you're not into a job where people who hire you think they are being taken for a ride/is boring/you're viewed as a parasite then I'm not sure you want to be a lawyer

Basically I think you might be overselling the downsides of those other jobs while simultaneously idealizing what lawyers do

Have you shadowed any lawyers yet?

Thank for input. To your points--no, I have never shadowed a lawyer. I have heard that it is a field in which shadowing gives very little insight into the job. I.e. shadow a doctor or dentist you get to see what they do; these are procedure based fields. Shadow a lawyer and what would I do, sit across the desk and watch him read documents? Or at least this is what I have been told why it isn't worth shadowing them. But maybe this input is a farce. With PI I think people would be contacting the lawyer for help? And I don't know if it has the same leech feeling as other areas because aren't people calling you and getting representation free of charge unless you can get them a settlement/ victory in trial? Basically oftentimes people who couldn't otherwise afford a lawyer, or get adequate if any money for an accident are able to get both thanks to PI lawyers. Yes, maybe if they get a settlement it hurts to give 33% of it to lawyer, but maybe they wouldn't have gotten anything if not for PI lawyer taking their case on contingency? Or maybe they would have gotten the shaft if they just settled on their own with insurance company without consulting PI lawyer. I just feel like many PI lawyers help and represent people who likely couldn't afford representation if not for the contingency setup. So in my mind I view this as opposite of being taken for a ride--I view it as a service. Maybe I am wrong or narrow in my view though.

I don't know much about PI but my general sense from lawyers who do criminal defense and "smaller stakes" civil litigation is that clients oftentimes don't want to deal with you because they are in a bad place and you're a part of this whole bad situation they find themselves in (even if you are trying to help them). They often will lie to their lawyers and not want to pay them, or begrudge having to pay them.

I think you're definitely idealizing PI lawyers to some degree. A lot of the billboard type guys you see are running a volume business. Churn through as many clients as possible, get a bunch of smaller settlements and make money that way. Rarely do they go to trial- they just want to get their 1-2K out of client A so that they can move on to client B and C.

I don't know, someone will correct me if I'm wrong, hopefully someone more experienced comes along. That's just the sense I get. I'm not trying to say that PI or whatever is inherently evil or wrong or that it wouldn't be a great fit for you, it very well could. I just think you should do more research from people working in the field because some of the things you don't like from other fields could very easily be present in law.

BigZuck wrote:I don't know much about PI but my general sense from lawyers who do criminal defense and "smaller stakes" civil litigation is that clients oftentimes don't want to deal with you because they are in a bad place and you're a part of this whole bad situation they find themselves in (even if you are trying to help them). They often will lie to their lawyers and not want to pay them, or begrudge having to pay them.

I think you're definitely idealizing PI lawyers to some degree. A lot of the billboard type guys you see are running a volume business. Churn through as many clients as possible, get a bunch of smaller settlements and make money that way. Rarely do they go to trial- they just want to get their 1-2K out of client A so that they can move on to client B and C.

I don't know, someone will correct me if I'm wrong, hopefully someone more experienced comes along. That's just the sense I get. I'm not trying to say that PI or whatever is inherently evil or wrong or that it wouldn't be a great fit for you, it very well could. I just think you should do more research from people working in the field because some of the things you don't like from other fields could very easily be present in law.

Yeah, I appreciate your input again on this. I am green with all of this. The idea of a volume practice and repping people who have "soft tissue BS" from rear end is not appealing to me. I would of course rather deal with things more significant than this. But perhaps to do catastrophic injury one needs a war chest to be able to try the cases as I am sure they're extremely expensive. I read though about how many PI lawyers don't even want to go to trial and the goal is to settle with the smaller cases. I am realistic though and can see how this helps to keep lights on, and for bigger cases settlements / trial could run months or even years before you see a check. If I could have it my way I would rather work a few larger cases. But perhaps beggars can't be choosers with this line of work. Should I just cold call a PI lawyer and ask about the market / thought of job in future, and how people view them? Haha or I could ask a guy I met briefly this past summer who does PI work, but would be kinda random to call up I feel..? Or maybe I just shouldn't give a shit and go for it. Thanks again.

There are many types of doctors. I wouldn't give up on medicine.

blake_alexander wrote:Should I just cold call a PI lawyer and ask about the market / thought of job in future, and how people view them? Haha or I could ask a guy I met briefly this past summer who does PI work, but would be kinda random to call up I feel..?

Yes, call him up and invite him to lunch. When at lunch tell him about what you're looking into, and ask him what his practice is like.

From anecdotes i've heard, it's a ton of negotiating with insurance companies, a ton of filling out and submitting forms, and a ton of skeevy clients trying to do and say anything to get a quick buck.

Or maybe I just shouldn't give a shit and go for it. Thanks again.

Yeah, don't do that. (I know you're just kidding, but still)

The reason for cheesy ads is your audience which is generally uneducated and like to be entertained.

For example, think of an attorney who handles marijuana possession cases with an ad saying something like hire me because with me you have the highest chance of success (this is why I'm not a marketer). To more educated people that'd seem a silly ad strategy, but it might be catchy to the clientele.

Another example is attorneys who represent bikers with websites showing the attorney on a bike like any other biker. You'd think that seems silly, but to clients some of which may be very anti establishment, they may think hey that guy knows what it's like to be me, I'll hire him.

If you're not sure about medicine, I wouldn't go to med school either - that's a shitload of debt and another 8 years before you even have a real job....that said, it doesn't mean you'll like law school either. A lot of it is just boring paperwork.

Maybe you should try working as a cop or just getting a real job before deciding what grad school you want to pursue. Neither medicine nor law is a good idea unless you are sure....it's too much debt and medicine especially is too much time (your entire youth wasted on studying). Just my two cents.

I definitely recommend shadowing several attorneys and reading the day to day thread in the legal employment forum. My day is nothing like someone in a different attorney job.

My father is a personal injury lawyer. Has done very well for himself. Doesn't advertise much. Gets a lot of his clients from referrals and word of mouth but he also has a reputation and spent years networking. The ones that advertise a lot are often ones that focus on settlements and refer out cases to trial lawyers. If you want to be a trial lawyer, you won't have to do that much advertising. You will have to deal with paying referral fees. However, becoming a trial lawyer isn't easy and you'll definitely need to do your time with established people and find a job where you can get trial experience.

That's if you go to law school. Personal injury law has its pros and cons. But it's definitely a lucrative area of the law if you're good at it. But it's also very risky and you don't know what you'll make each year (a lot of uncertainty).