do lawyers let you shadow them? how do i find a good lawyer? Forum

[nikkiduke]

ok i am senior in high school (just 2 weeks left). than college in fall =]

not really sure what i want to do.... have always been interested in law, but i come from a family of doctors. so i really don't know much about lawyers, law schools, etc.

(1) does lawyers let you shadow them? you know like follow them around for a day. see what they do, etc. i think things in court are public and i could sit in on them, not 100% sure on that. maybe they don't let you shadow because some of it is private data.

(2) how do i find a really good lawyer? i live in a decent size city (500k population). i've googled "best lawyers" and things along the lines, but all the lists are like different, and none of the names overlap. is there a reliable source to get lawyers ratings, etc.? would love to see how some of the better ones work, what they do, how they do it, etc

thanks,
nikki

[dkt4]

the ones you see listed on lists like 'best lawyers' are often kind of busy and you'd probably need some sort of connection to them to get a response. i guess you could always email a bunch and see what happens. however, what i would suggest is to find an attorney who you have some connection to -- this can be pretty easy, often somebody you know from HS has a parent who is a lawyer -- and ask them some questions, maybe they'll offer to let you shadow them.

[aliarrow]

Good thinking, and I admire your desire to figure out what exactly lawyers do (something many law school applicants don't even know).

The best advice is to just go to college and major in something you enjoy or could see yourself doing as a fallback. I don't think shadowing is common in law (as it is in medicine), so your best bet is to try to intern over summer with a law office if possible, or if not, get some experience as a legal assistant or paralegal for a year or two after you graduate from college.

For now just relax, enjoy yourself, explore other interests, and focus on getting as good of grades as possible. Despite what some admissions books/counselors may say, you really don't have to do anything during college to show a dedication to law (unlike medicine), so it won't hurt you if you do other things. If you're still interested in law as a college senior, get some legal work experience and go from there.

Good luck.

[ran12]

Depending on where you go to school, law offices will advertise for internships or jobs for undergrads and taking one of those would be good for you to learn about law. If you're just starting college, it's a bad idea to try to shadow a lawyer now. Better to wait at least a year, maybe two. You can be a lawyer with any major. I would personally pick something I like but also worth something such as econ or business. That's just me though and it's better to get as high a GPA as possible without taking classes that are just obviously cake.

[jd1969a]

I don't remember the details, but there was a program that my high school was trying to get students involved in where we shadowed local lawyers. I forget what it was called. It was affiliated with the Boy Scouts, but you definitely didn't have to be a Boy Scout to do it since my all-girls high school was involved. Pretty sure it was a national program.

[PKSebben]

Some lawyers will let you shadow them -- in fact, I just had a high-school shadow. Although I think they rethought law school after they saw what entry level big firm associates do on a day-to-day basis.

http://www.martindale.com/ has a review system for lawyers -- perhaps just try to find one with an AV rating.

[cinephile]

My university's pre-law office helped set up one-week shadowing experiences. You might be better off waiting until you get to college and seeing what their career services or pre-law office can help you find.

[Renzo]

I'd call a government office; it'll be more interesting. See if you can shadow a local DA, US Attorney, etc.