Is law school worth it? Forum

[kj954]

Hello,

I currently work as a family nurse practitioner and make 95k annually with the potential to make 110k. I want to go to law school for the autonomy, after some experiences I had with the hospital general counsel. However my concern is whether or not law school is worth it in terms of income..will I potentially make more than my previous career? I'm aiming for T-14 atleast top 20.



Any feedback would be appreciated

[silenttimer]

If you're looking to go into law school solely to make more money, then it is not worth it in your situation. Only go to law school if you want to become a lawyer.

You're foregoing 3 years of good and certain income for a possibility to make slightly more and not knowing whether you will like it.

[lymenheimer]

Hello,

I currently work as a family nurse practitioner and make 95k annually with the potential to make 110k. I want to go to law school for the autonomy, after some experiences I had with the hospital general counsel. However my concern is whether or not law school is worth it in terms of income..will I potentially make more than my previous career? I'm aiming for T-14 atleast top 20.



Any feedback would be appreciated

You should search your title basically verbatim.

[SemperLegal]

It's not for a few reasons.

1. There's very, very little autonomy as a lawyer (at least one that makes money) for at least 5 years. The hospital counsel probably did 3-5 years as a lackey in a firm, then another half decade reporting to an overbearing and ocd General counsel before getting the big seat. Even then, he still gets a like of pushback from HR people, CFO, CMO, etc.

2. You would be forgoing 100k a year for negative 50k for three years, and a shot at 160k for 3-8 years, followed by a lower salary (big law jobs have a huge attrition rate, and unlike residency, they are followed by a pay decrease).

3. Honestly, I find it hard to believe that someone has the passion and drive to be an APRN and also a lawyer. Very different jobs.

4. Advice: maybe change states to one that allows you to practice the full scope of your training. There's a lot of jurisdictions where an NP is, essentially, as autoNomous as can be

[kj954]

It's not for a few reasons.

1. There's very, very little autonomy as a lawyer (at least one that makes money) for at least 5 years. The hospital counsel probably did 3-5 years as a lackey in a firm, then another half decade reporting to an overbearing and ocd General counsel before getting the big seat. Even then, he still gets a like of pushback from HR people, CFO, CMO, etc.

2. You would be forgoing 100k a year for negative 50k for three years, and a shot at 160k for 3-8 years, followed by a lower salary (big law jobs have a huge attrition rate, and unlike residency, they are followed by a pay decrease).

3. Honestly, I find it hard to believe that someone has the passion and drive to be an APRN and also a lawyer. Very different jobs.

4. Advice: maybe change states to one that allows you to practice the full scope of your training. There's a lot of jurisdictions where an NP is, essentially, as autoNomous as can be

Don't get me wrong I do have a passion for law due to expierencea gained after a few malpractice cases due to medical negligence that came up at the hospital. I spoke to a few healthcare attorneys and they suggest either going to law school for an JD advantage position. Most of the attorneys I talked to went to a t14 law school and make 160k starting, money is not the motive but it cannot be dismissed, I truly want to be a true patients advocate...what better way than law school

[BigZuck]

I could be wrong but I'd imagine that anyone working in a hospital GC position would be the hospital's advocate, not the patient's advocate. In fact, a lot of patient advocacy would likely be in direct opposition to what they are trying to accomplish as the GC for the hospital.

Are you saying that you want to be a plaintiff's lawyer and sue doctors/hospitals/nurses for medical malpractice? I wouldn't advise passing on a 100K job to try and do that, that would be tough sledding I think.

[SemperLegal]

You really have three drives it seems for law school.

1. Autonomy
2. Money
3. Patient advocacy.

The problem is that 2 is at the expense of 1 and 3. Your friends with 160k jobs are at firms where oversight is high and patient advocacy isn't practiced. Maybe, after leaving big law and big money, I suspect you could be an amazing patient advocate (although, IMHO, most patients need social workers, with a little incidental legal assistance, rather than the reverse).

Finally, healthcare attorney is pretty broad and not everyone's experience will be at all relevant. "Healthcare attorney" can mean:

1. Defending or advising insurers
2. med mal, on either side
3. Doing acquisitions/contracts/compliance for hospitals
4. Being appointed guardian for minors/incapacitated
5. ERISA litigation (denied claims for employee provided health insurance)


But, I suspect what lights your fire is providing legal services to patients such as advocacy, land Lord tenant, debtor law, Americans with Disability claims. and light end of life planning.

All of those career paths are different. Most don't involve 160 k firms

[silenttimer]

You really have three drives it seems for law school.

1. Autonomy
2. Money
3. Patient advocacy.

The problem is that 2 is at the expense of 1 and 3. Your friends with 160k jobs are at firms where oversight is high and patient advocacy isn't practiced. Maybe, after leaving big law and big money, I suspect you could be an amazing patient advocate (although, IMHO, most patients need social workers, with a little incidental legal assistance, rather than the reverse).

Finally, healthcare attorney is pretty broad and not everyone's experience will be at all relevant. "Healthcare attorney" can mean:

1. Defending or advising insurers
2. med mal, on either side
3. Doing acquisitions/contracts/compliance for hospitals
4. Being appointed guardian for minors/incapacitated
5. ERISA litigation (denied claims for employee provided health insurance)


But, I suspect what lights your fire is providing legal services to patients such as advocacy, land Lord tenant, debtor law, Americans with Disability claims. and light end of life planning.

All of those career paths are different. Most don't involve 160 k firms

This 100 percent. But I suspect that you've already made up your mind, so good luck with law school.

[kj954]

I see where both of u are coming from and value your inputs...at this point nothing is official, just a few thoughts on attending law school.

What would the 160k healthcare attorneys focus on? As in what kind of law do they practice and what services

[SemperLegal]

I see where both of u are coming from and value your inputs...at this point nothing is official, just a few thoughts on attending law school.

What would the 160k healthcare attorneys focus on? As in what kind of law do they practice and what services

Making ERISA plans, for Fortune 500, buying hospitals, and helping pharmaceutical companies move to Ireland.

[totesTheGoat]

What would the 160k healthcare attorneys focus on? As in what kind of law do they practice and what services

They're never going to see/work with a patient again (if they ever did). All the work is going to be Giant Health Services Conglomerate A v. Giant Health Services Conglomerate B. This may be a touch hyperbolic, but not by much.

I would guess (not being in the field) that BigLaw 160k attys are focused on

1. Defending or advising insurers
2. med mal, on the hospital's side
3. Doing acquisitions/contracts/compliance for hospitals

Also, the dollars per hour need to be computed as well. I don't know what your current quality of life is for $95-110k, but those $160k atty jobs are notorious for 80+ hour weeks on a regular basis, all-hours availability, and never being able to take a (planned) vacation again. I'm with SemperLegal... you're either taking a pay cut to get a certain level of autonomy and patient advocacy, or you're making money in a soul-sucking BigLaw job that has zero autonomy and almost no patient implications.