Second Thoughts about LS? Forum

[jazzluvr]

Well said. I am a 0L, so you can take what I say with a grain of salt. But, my friends that are currently graduating from law school have jobs because they networked their asses off and tapped into the alumni network rather than just blindly sending their resumes out. When I visited schools, just about everyone I talked to had summer work or a job waiting for them after graduation. Some were jobs they received through OCI, but it seemed most of them had received their opportunities through networking. As an older student, I think you'll be at an advantage. You most likely have more connections and are more experienced with networking.

Edit: well said refers to JazzOne.

Thanks, and good information. Well-said 2u2.

[Billy Batts]

Not just second thoughts. Serious-meltdown-type stuff. I'm moving to a new city 12 hours drive away and wrenching (is that a word?) my four cats (one of whom is elderly) away from the only home they've ever known; selling my house in the Bay Area, where I've lived for 25 years and where there is perfect weather; giving up my (meager) business here; and moving to a town (Portland) where it rains 8 months out of the year. Yikes! Although I've already given my seat deposit, I vacillate from one day to the next on whether or not to pull the trigger.

Once I buy and sell, with the housing price differential I've have enough to buy a house free and clear, pay my tuition in full, and have enough cash to invest and live off of modestly (at least for awhile - I will need to make SOME money as a lawyer, not much).

The kicker is that I'm one year away from turning 61. I look (I've been told). and feel, more like I'm 45 (which I know is bad enough in this market). (The wonders of working out, good genes, and hair dye...) Someone wrote a book based on recent research in neuroscience which apparently shows that brains get better at pattern matching and logical thinking between the ages of 40 and 65 (what gets worse is short-term memory). But I'm not counting on employers to realize that. The plan is to start my own practice. But at age 65? What am I THINKING?

Of course, friends tell me I should go for it, pursue my "dream," etc. But it all starts to seem crazy in the middle of the night and I'm in a panic.

This is pretty much the best post I've ever read, on any board, ever!

All you need is a cape and you're a superhero.

Hell yea.

[gwuorbust]

Seriously, I believe the vast majority of those complaints are from people that do not know how to find a job period. They would be having a similar problem regardless of which field they are in.

Consider this. Say you are applying to paid legal internships at corporations (eg assistant to in-house council). Many will email you back saying: we do not have a program like that, sorry. This is where 99.98% of people will end. And that is your opportunity. Think about it. Ask them why they don't have such as program. Get a meeting, not an interview. During the meeting stress how important such a program could be. Talk up your legal and management experience.

Next day you email them saying you want to create such a program. 4/5 of the time they may be like 'sorry, we are too busy right now.' But I assure you there will be some that see you taking initiative, taking the lead and will be like 'lets give this a try.' Now, not only do you have a legal internship but you created and lead other interns in a legal internship program. Pretty ballin on your resume and looks great for that 2L biglaw interview. When life gives your lemons chop those motherfuckers up and make some lemonade!

[JazzOne]

Seriously, I believe the vast majority of those complaints are from people that do not know how to find a job period. They would be having a similar problem regardless of which field they are in.

Consider this. Say you are applying to paid legal internships at corporations (eg assistant to in-house council). Many will email you back saying: we do not have a program like that, sorry. This is where 99.98% of people will end. And that is your opportunity. Think about it. Ask them why they don't have such as program. Get a meeting, not an interview. During the meeting stress how important such a program could be. Talk up your legal and management experience.

Next day you email them saying you want to create such a program. 4/5 of the time they may be like 'sorry, we are too busy right now.' But I assure you there will be some that see you taking initiative, taking the lead and will be like 'lets give this a try.' Now, not only do you have a legal internship but you created and lead other interns in a legal internship program. Pretty ballin on your resume and looks great for that 2L biglaw interview. When life gives your lemons chop those motherfuckers up and make some lemonade!

The way I ended up getting my job is that I sent a second round of resumes to the firms that already rejected me. It turned out that one of them hadn't rejected me; they just hadn't gotten back to anyone yet, and I overlooked it. They liked the new awards on my resume, and what was shaping up to be a tough summer is now looking pretty tight. I had to get away from TLS so I could make that happen though.

[pamcasso]

something that made me feel a little better: i talked to a friend of mine who is a 1L at a non-T14 (or even T-30) law school in a large city oversaturated with lawyers, and she got a good summer job in said city without even having to interview for it. so i think that even though things will be tough, there is still hope

[jazzluvr]

something that made me feel a little better: i talked to a friend of mine who is a 1L at a non-T14 (or even T-30) law school in a large city oversaturated with lawyers, and she got a good summer job in said city without even having to interview for it. so i think that even though things will be tough, there is still hope

Can I guess - is the city perchance Portland? (That's where I'm going.)

[pamcasso]

something that made me feel a little better: i talked to a friend of mine who is a 1L at a non-T14 (or even T-30) law school in a large city oversaturated with lawyers, and she got a good summer job in said city without even having to interview for it. so i think that even though things will be tough, there is still hope

Can I guess - is the city perchance Portland? (That's where I'm going.)

haha no. but im sure theres hope there too

[orko60]

I, too, am scared to death right now. Just put in my deposit at a T2 school here in SoCal, and I can't help but think that I am doing the absolutely wrong thing with my life. There are threads where they speak of 35k/year jobs for graduating lawyers as all there is out there. Could that really be it? I am sure that I have what it takes to be a lawyer, but that is almost poverty line money these days. The posts in this thread are helping to assuage my fears a bit, but not much. Ugh.

[Dr. Review]

Here's my take on all the bitchy JDs out there:
An English lit professor I had addressed a question relating to the prevalence of depressed literature, specifically poetry. "If you're depressed, you go write about it. You have nothing better to do than revel in your misery and you want everyone else to feel what you're feeling. If you're happy, you go out and live life. If things are going great, you don't jot it down in a notebook for someone else to read."

Sure, the economy blows. Sure, finding a job isn't easy, and it only gets harder as you get further from the T14. That does NOT, however, mean that you have to get down on yourself and take this anecdotal evidence from depressed and unemployed as representative of the legal population.

So when you worry about whether you'll find a job, remember this phrase, follow its directions, and you'll be one step closer to a job:

DO WORK, SON

[Lawyerwannabe18]

something that made me feel a little better: i talked to a friend of mine who is a 1L at a non-T14 (or even T-30) law school in a large city oversaturated with lawyers, and she got a good summer job in said city without even having to interview for it. so i think that even though things will be tough, there is still hope

Can I guess - is the city perchance Portland? (That's where I'm going.)

Portland is a great city!

Not sure how the legal job market looks now, but I'm hoping it looks decent in 2015

[ughOSU]

Already have a Ph.D. and I have the funds to do law school. Everyone is having second thoughts. Just wondering about the job market. But thanks for the advice about doing bus stat (why aren't you doing it?!!)

I make decisions the opposite of what is the best way.

[AllBusiness]

After going through the whole LSAT/application process, my girlfriend decided not to enroll this year. If she decides to reapply, her GPA will be higher than it was at the beginning of this academic year, and she is considering retaking the LSAT in the hope of raising her score by a few points. Or else, she might apply to MPH or MPP programs. These degrees would also allow her to do a lot of the things she is interested in doing. The reason she did not enroll right now is that she was very, very uncomfortable with taking out $180,000 in loans. I think she made the right decision. Law school will always be there.

[cheesus]

Here's my take on all the bitchy JDs out there:
An English lit professor I had addressed a question relating to the prevalence of depressed literature, specifically poetry. "If you're depressed, you go write about it. You have nothing better to do than revel in your misery and you want everyone else to feel what you're feeling. If you're happy, you go out and live life. If things are going great, you don't jot it down in a notebook for someone else to read."

Sure, the economy blows. Sure, finding a job isn't easy, and it only gets harder as you get further from the T14. That does NOT, however, mean that you have to get down on yourself and take this anecdotal evidence from depressed and unemployed as representative of the legal population.

So when you worry about whether you'll find a job, remember this phrase, follow its directions, and you'll be one step closer to a job:

DO WORK, SON

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