Go to law school?

[Anonymous]

34 years old, single. Born and raised in DC area. I work in HR and make about 55k. I really want to go to law school. I took the LSAT last month and kind of bombed it - I got a 154. I also went to a middling college in the midwest and got a low 3's GPA in sociology. Realistically, I know I am not getting into Georgetown or GW. Probably more like American or U. Maryland (I am willing to commute to Baltimore). Assuming I get a small scholarship at American or UMD, would it make sense to go? Or even if I have to pay full price (I am a MD resident)? I know the job market is pretty bad now for lawyers, but I am thinking that will pass by the time I get out of school. Thoughts? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Don't do it.

Or if you decide to go read this first:

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/10/deciding-to-go-to-law-school-in-one-epic-flowchart/

[Anonymous]

PP again. Maybe try working as a paralegal first to get a feel if you like the work before you go 5-6 figures in debt.

[Anonymous]

Law school is an extremely significant commitment of time, energy, and most of all, money. You're not likely to get a merit scholarship with a 154 LSAT, no offense.

My husband is an attorney, Big Law, and from second hand experience I wouldn't recommend it. People who graduated law school last year (or longer!) are still having trouble finding a decent legal job. Do you have any idea what kind of law you wish to practice? Unless you got a job making excellent money (e.g., Big Law firm), the investment of school would probably not be worth it. For example, plenty of lawyers make what you do now, and are swimming in debt from law school. And we're not talking they all went to Yale either - even lower tier law schools are expensive.

Perhaps you should think more about why you suddenly want to go to law school. Is it that you hate what you do? What is your skillset and what do you feel passionate about, or like to do? I would think of what other careers may be out there that you could transition to, ideally without having to sink 200K into another degree.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

You say you want to be a lawyer. What type of law do you want to practice? What especially interests you about the law? The job market may not have recovered by the time that you graduate - if you do this, it needs to be because you are passionate about the work, not because you don't know what else to do, want to earn a decent living etc.

[Anonymous]

You won't get into either school you mention with those scores and certainly not with a scholarship. You may get lucky - DH had similar scores, went to a not-great law school, and landed on his feet. But he is the exception especially if e was starting now.

[Anonymous]

The other thing to think about is, in addition to the investment going in, even if you can find a decent job, you may not like it. I wanted to be a lawyer since I was 8 years old. Went to law school on a full merit scholarship, never had too much trouble finding job. I have NEVER liked any attorney job that I had. It is just not a good fit for me.

[Anonymous]

I would absolutely not do this. There is a huge glut of lawyers. The big law firms are hiring fewer people, so the public defense and nonprofit jobs that would normally go to second-tier graduates are all snapped up. Visit the law schools that you like and ask them what the employment statistics are for their graduates. One dirty secret is that law schools sometimes employ their own graduates to pad their placement statistics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The other thing to think about is, in addition to the investment going in, even if you can find a decent job, you may not like it. I wanted to be a lawyer since I was 8 years old. Went to law school on a full merit scholarship, never had too much trouble finding job. I have NEVER liked any attorney job that I had. It is just not a good fit for me.

This. Most of the law graduates I know are no longer practicing because they hated it so much.

[Anonymous]

Do you really want to live your life saying "I wish I had . . ." That in a d of itself is a good reason to at least try it. Maybe it will change your life. Maybe it won't, but at least you won't die without ever pursuing your dream.

[Anonymous]

Question. Why does BigLaw pay so much? What exactly is the value added such a firm brings to its clients to charge so much? What is the product at the end of the day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you really want to live your life saying "I wish I had . . ." That in a d of itself is a good reason to at least try it. Maybe it will change your life. Maybe it won't, but at least you won't die without ever pursuing your dream.

Mmmm no. Unless, as a PP suggested, "trying it" means you work at a law firm first and do some paralegal work or similar, but "trying it" by applying, getting in, paying for, and completing law school only to find you dislike it or worse, hate it, having spent 150K on "trying" out that dream, is not smart.

[Anonymous]

Terrible idea. Don't go to law school if you can't get into a top 10 school. Even those are having a difficult time placing students.

[Anonymous]

The suggestion above about finding work as a legal assistant is a good one. If you are good at your job, you can make quite a bit more than 55k. You can also make more than 55k in HR if you can find the right niche.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PPs that it's not a good idea. The bad market for lawyers won't pass--the industry has changed permanently in a way that results in fewer jobs with more stress. With your scores, you would be very unlikely to get any scholarship help. Instead, you'll graduate with over $150k in debt, and be shackled with permanent student-debt handcuffs, even if you end up loving the job you're lucky enough to find.