How badly do you regret having gone to law school ?

[Anonymous]

Loved it but I am 65 and to be taken seriously as a professional woman in my era- one had to be a lawyer or doctor. I had no debt-- law school was cheap back then. One did not need to go to a fancy law school to get a great job.I feel sorry/badly for many of the posters here.

[Anonymous]

Very, very, very badly. And at the same time, I enjoyed it and IN THEORY I enjoy being a lawyer. The reality of it though? Most depressing ever.

[Anonymous]

I very much regret going. I don't enjoy being a lawyer and the tax payer is on the hook for my loan forgiveness. They really should shutdown all but the top 100 schools but the law school student loan grift is too big to fail at this point with unlimited grads looking to fight for social justice while taking out $300k loans in order to do it

[Anonymous]

Not at all. Started as an ADA in a large metropolitan city,, now a federal prosecutor. My work is interesting, rewarding and most importantly fun! Ten years as an attorney I am at the GS cap (176k), and eligible for PSLF in May 2022. I gamed the system each year and deferred as much income as possible. For my law school and undergraduate education I paid approximately 36k total in loan payments.

[Anonymous]

Completely regret it. God, being a lawyer is so mind-numbingly boring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loved it but I am 65 and to be taken seriously as a professional woman in my era- one had to be a lawyer or doctor. I had no debt-- law school was cheap back then. One did not need to go to a fancy law school to get a great job.I feel sorry/badly for many of the posters here.

Sigh why does life get worse for Americans every decade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not regret it at all - but I went to law school knowing I did not want to be a lawyer. I have always worked in leg affairs/lobbying, make good money, have a ton of flexibility, and my degree gives me a little cache in my field. I do have loans, but I would if I had gone for an MA as well.

So lobbying pays more than lawyer? Did you work while in law school?

[Anonymous]

Law school was the best decision that I ever made. IF you think about it, it's one of the only professions where you can hang your own shingle if all else fails with little to no start up money. You can operate your business with you, yourself and only you.

As a young mother with difficulties paying for FT childcare, starting my own business was a god send. It was tough in the beginning but I will tell my daughters that law is a great entrepreneurial venture for working women and mothers.

I do not think that I would've had the same rosy outlook on my profession, however, if I didn't run my own business and manage my own time. That's a game changer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Law school was the best decision that I ever made. IF you think about it, it's one of the only professions where you can hang your own shingle if all else fails with little to no start up money. You can operate your business with you, yourself and only you.

As a young mother with difficulties paying for FT childcare, starting my own business was a god send. It was tough in the beginning but I will tell my daughters that law is a great entrepreneurial venture for working women and mothers.

I do not think that I would've had the same rosy outlook on my profession, however, if I didn't run my own business and manage my own time. That's a game changer.

Actually, many professions allow for you to put up your own shingle based on intellectual properties alone - it’s called consulting. The problem with law is that many get involved because it appears to be a quick path to wealth. Then the professional became over saturated and salaries stagnated. I make 2x more as an HR professional (with the ability to consult / hang said shingle), with a lower entry-point (little student debt), then my brother in law who is a run of the mill attorney

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public interest lawyers don’t regret it since their work is meaningful.

Not necessarily true. Public interest doesn't way well and the people you may represent aren't always the nicest of people even though they may be underserved or indigent.

I’ve been a public interest lawyer for 20 years. I literally know hundreds of public interest lawyers across the USA, and nobody regrets their career path.

Hint: we aren’t in it for the money. (Nonetheless, I currently make just under $200k.)

The trick is to go to school in state. Minimize or avoid student debt.

I’ve been a public interest lawyer over 20 years and I regret it. I was so smart—went to top schools and did really well. I choose this profession thinking I could help improve people’s lives. Meanwhile, in the last 20+ years, the world seems like it’s gotten worse in so many different ways, and I’ve been putting little pieces of puddy into tiny holes in a dam that’s cracking and over-flowing. And the clients are generally fine, and my colleagues are great, but dealing with other lawyers is so draining. Almost every day I have several calls with people who are just argumentative, derisive, accusatory, and often wrong. And at least some of the work is really boring and repetitive or inane.
In retrospect, I should have gone into science, some kind of data analysis, or maybe worked for someplace like PBS. I think any of those fields would have had more real impact on improving people’s lives. The days when the court system was a good venue to do that are long gone.

[Anonymous]

It’s been bad and good. The test is:

- would you urge your kids to follow you into the legal profession ? (I would not).

My father was a U of Maryland state employee. Hence, tuition remission meant my law school was “free.”

And I earned a rare spot in the Honors program. CAVEAT: you think you “deserve” an AUSA spot? The civil rights division is your “dream job?” Think you are too good for the Bureau of Prisons? Good luck to you and your inflated ego.

I am not an AUSA. But I make the same $$, without sacrificing every weekend.

Law also means: you are surrounded by strivers. Not only strivers, but back-stabbing, cut throat strivers. Intelligent people- for sure. But not trustworthy people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s been bad and good. The test is:

- would you urge your kids to follow you into the legal profession ? (I would not).

My father was a U of Maryland state employee. Hence, tuition remission meant my law school was “free.”

And I earned a rare spot in the Honors program. CAVEAT: you think you “deserve” an AUSA spot? The civil rights division is your “dream job?” Think you are too good for the Bureau of Prisons? Good luck to you and your inflated ego.

I am not an AUSA. But I make the same $$, without sacrificing every weekend.

Law also means: you are surrounded by strivers. NotA strivers. Intelligent people- for sure. But not trustworthy people.

This is every industry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s been bad and good. The test is:

- would you urge your kids to follow you into the legal profession ? (I would not).

My father was a U of Maryland state employee. Hence, tuition remission meant my law school was “free.”

And I earned a rare spot in the Honors program. CAVEAT: you think you “deserve” an AUSA spot? The civil rights division is your “dream job?” Think you are too good for the Bureau of Prisons? Good luck to you and your inflated ego.

I am not an AUSA. But I make the same $$, without sacrificing every weekend.

Law also means: you are surrounded by strivers. NotA strivers. Intelligent people- for sure. But not trustworthy people.

This is every industry.

NP. And while I agree it is in every industry to an extent, law is saturated with strivers and smart, pompous aholes. Some legal fields more so than others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not encourage my kids to go to law school in the current environment, but as a pre-2005 grad I can’t say I regret it. I’m a government lawyer (not fed) and went to a Tier 2 law school, but I’m now an extremely experienced litigator and have fun running circles around biglaw associates that rarely see the inside of a courtroom. My law school debt has been erased through PSLF, I earn more than 150k a year, and have a work-life balance. It could be much worse.

You sound insecure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public interest lawyers don’t regret it since their work is meaningful.

Not necessarily true. Public interest doesn't way well and the people you may represent aren't always the nicest of people even though they may be underserved or indigent.

I’ve been a public interest lawyer for 20 years. I literally know hundreds of public interest lawyers across the USA, and nobody regrets their career path.

Hint: we aren’t in it for the money. (Nonetheless, I currently make just under $200k.)

The trick is to go to school in state. Minimize or avoid student debt.

I’ve been a public interest lawyer over 20 years and I regret it. I was so smart—went to top schools and did really well. I choose this profession thinking I could help improve people’s lives. Meanwhile, in the last 20+ years, the world seems like it’s gotten worse in so many different ways, and I’ve been putting little pieces of puddy into tiny holes in a dam that’s cracking and over-flowing. And the clients are generally fine, and my colleagues are great, but dealing with other lawyers is so draining. Almost every day I have several calls with people who are just argumentative, derisive, accusatory, and often wrong. And at least some of the work is really boring and repetitive or inane.
In retrospect, I should have gone into science, some kind of data analysis, or maybe worked for someplace like PBS. I think any of those fields would have had more real impact on improving people’s lives. The days when the court system was a good venue to do that are long gone.

Your experience is so different from all the PI lawyers I know.

What field?

You aren’t a legal aid lawyer, correct?