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I've recently graduated and got started as a research analyst in a litigation consulting firm earning around 60K/year. Considering the time cost and tuition, does it worth going to law school? I have been doing a lot of doc review at work and have found out that I am really good at it (my manager told me that) and enjoy doing it.

does it look like you have a reasonable chance of making 100k at this job in the next three to five years? If so its probably not worth it to go to law school.

Well, do you want to be a lawyer?

This is a question that I have been constantly thinking about. I want to become an attorney because I like what they do, and because of the respect they get. On the other hand, I feel like I’m doing similar/related things at work (reading depos, reviewing docs, damage model calculations, etc). So I want to know if it really makes a difference by going to law school. Yes, for sure, people respect lawyers a lot more than some random folks working for a litigation consulting firm. But I will have to invest a lot of time and money in order to get there. Will it pay off?

r536 wrote:But I will have to invest a lot of time and money in order to get there. Will it pay off?

This is the $150k question...only you can answer

r536 wrote:This is a question that I have been constantly thinking about. I want to become an attorney because I like what they do, and because of the respect they get. On the other hand, I feel like I’m doing similar/related things at work (reading depos, reviewing docs, damage model calculations, etc). So I want to know if it really makes a difference by going to law school. Yes, for sure, people respect lawyers a lot more than some random folks working for a litigation consulting firm. But I will have to invest a lot of time and money in order to get there. Will it pay off?

IMO depends on your gpa/lsat. since you are presumably a young person, if you can study at a good quality JD program, you should suck it up and do it. the opportunity cost will be well worth it.

it is probably not, however, a good idea to go to a TTT. so stats please

it sounds like the latitude offered by a law career appeals to you. Does your current position offer that or will you be doing the same task in 5 years?

Thanks to everyone who responded. 1 year has passed and...

1. I've taken the LSAT (165).
2. I've been admitted to UC Hastings (no $$ so far), and a couple other T2 schools in CA with $$.
3. I've also been admitted to a law school in Asia (which is where I'm from).

Ideally I'd like to practice US law in Asia, but I don't know anything about the demand of US lawyers in Asia. Another concern is that I'm ESL (this is my 6th year in the U.S.) and I have a slight accent. I don't know if I can manage to survive law school with decent grades.

Going to law school in my hometown is an option. I won't have to go into debt, but I will earn a lot less as a local hire after I graduate. However, local law schools are not very prestigious and I will be hired as a trainee solicitor for 2 years (basically a paralegal) before I can become an attorney.

Regarding my job, there's not a lot of upward mobility unless I go for a CPA/CFA, which is absolutely not something that I would want.

P.S. I decided to study for the LSAT partly because of you guys', seriously!! Now that I've been admitted to law school, I'm still confused...

wat firm bro

1. I've taken the LSAT (165).
2. I've been admitted to UC Hastings (no $$ so far), and a couple other T2 schools in CA with $$.
3. I've also been admitted to a law school in Asia (which is where I'm from).

Ideally I'd like to practice US law in Asia, but I don't know anything about the demand of US lawyers in Asia. Another concern is that I'm ESL (this is my 6th year in the U.S.) and I have a slight accent. I don't know if I can manage to survive law school with decent grades.

Retake the LSAT or don't go. There are a tiny handful of US trained lawyers working for US firms in Asia, but almost all are from top schools. Getting average grades at Hastings would likely lead to a job paying exactly what you are making now - plus six figures of debt.

Solution: Keep your current job and go to law school part time with full tuition with your 165.