A Break After LS? Forum

[otto wood]

So I just got into my dream school and I'm incredibly excited. My only reservation (which is clearly not that significant but still lingers in my mind) is the fact that these next couple months may be my last for exploring the world/trying new things for a very long time.

Here's my question: when I graduate from law school, how will employers view me if I take a few months off to travel and do something interesting? What if I were to just got surfing for a few months? Even if I don't end up doing it, I'm just curious as to whether it's possible (and world cup 2014 is in Brazil...).

[bk1]

iirc most firm jobs don't start until the fall or late in the year. That'll be maybe 1 or 2 months after the bar? Just relating what I've heard but hopefully somebody more knowledgeable can step in.

[ran12]

Yea most firms the starting date is after the summer and lately I've been reading that there's an uptick in deferring new associates for months.

[random5483]

You will not have time to do much over summers once law school starts. The only potential time off will be the summer after your 3L year, and this is only if you have a job lined up by then (some do, many do not in this economy). Other than that you can take the occasional trip during winter or spring break; however, in an ideal world you would be attending networking events during these breaks (or working on 1L summer apps during your first winter break).

Law School is not as busy as some people make it out to be. Think of it as a 40-60 hours a week commitment (first month of each term is likely more like a 30 hour commitment). Basically, it is a full-time job. So you can have a life while in law school, but traveling a lot is unlikely. Plus, unless you are independently wealthy, chances are you will be too broke to afford any travel.

To recap, you might be able to travel the summer after you graduate. I just want to reiterate the might because you might be too broke to travel or too desperate looking for jobs to be able to travel. If traveling soon is important to you I would highly recommend you find out if you school will let you defer admission by one year. Some schools might consider it for non-emergency reasons.