Thinking about going to law school p/t

[Anonymous]

I have been interested in becoming a lawyer specializing in consumer protection. I have worked in disputes for a credit card company and I am just astonished that people are unaware of the policies and procedures that are affiliated with a product or service. I wanted to become a lawyer at one point in time, but decided to major in business in undergrad since my dad was an entrepreneur during my late teens. I have thinking about applying to some JD/MBA programs to fulfill my goals. What are your opinions?

[Anonymous]

How old are you and how will you pay for it?

[Anonymous]

I'm in my late 20s, I'm going to use employer reimbursement, savings, and loans.

[Anonymous]

My guess is that you could probably help people a lot more without being a lawyer. Maybe if you have someone paying the tuition for you it would make sense, but if you don't you will end up hamstrung by student loans. But if you just decide you want to work in consumer protection issues I bet there are lots of jobs that don't require a law degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that you could probably help people a lot more without being a lawyer. Maybe if you have someone paying the tuition for you it would make sense, but if you don't you will end up hamstrung by student loans. But if you just decide you want to work in consumer protection issues I bet there are lots of jobs that don't require a law degree.

Would you happen to know of any careers that would be a good fit?
I've applied for a Consumer Affairs rep for a well known consumer products company. It seems rather entry level. But I'm looking for something a bit higher than that since I have some experience.

[Anonymous]

OP, I worked as a paralegal for a "consumer protection" firm and I would not recommend this. Several recent Supreme Court rulings have made class actions difficult to pursue and not as lucrative as it once was. Some states are catching on, enacting state laws attempting to limit class actions, and on top of that, nearly every single company you enter into an agreement or contract with will have an arbitration clause. Finding plaintiffs is much like "ambulance chasing" when you get down to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I worked as a paralegal for a "consumer protection" firm and I would not recommend this. Several recent Supreme Court rulings have made class actions difficult to pursue and not as lucrative as it once was. Some states are catching on, enacting state laws attempting to limit class actions, and on top of that, nearly every single company you enter into an agreement or contract with will have an arbitration clause. Finding plaintiffs is much like "ambulance chasing" when you get down to it.

PS, "consumer protection" basically means class action litigation. Not much else you can do.

[Anonymous]

You'll see this comment on other lawyer threads but I agree with it. Unless you can go to a top top law school (which rules out part-time), I don't think law school is worth anyone's time or money at this particular point. The glory, easy days of getting a job after graduation are long gone. Tens of thousands of lawyers are out of work -- many with significant debt.

[Anonymous]

Ok. if law school is not a great idea, then how would I go about furthering my career?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You'll see this comment on other lawyer threads but I agree with it. Unless you can go to a top top law school (which rules out part-time), I don't think law school is worth anyone's time or money at this particular point. The glory, easy days of getting a job after graduation are long gone. Tens of thousands of lawyers are out of work -- many with significant debt.

Georgetown, GW, American, George Mason, all have part-time programs, and I believe they are all Tier I schools. But the market is really bad for lawyers right now. I worked for a federal agency, and we put out a job announcement for a paralegal position and got back applications in the thousands. Many of the applicants had law degrees. It's not a good time to go.

[Anonymous]

If you can go to law school without loans, it might be worth it. But I would not go into debt for law school unless you are going to a top ten school.

Maybe look at the CFPB web site for job listings and see what qualifications they are looking for. That would give you an idea of what you need to do to advance in the field.

[Anonymous]

better off pissing your money away in Las Vegas on gambling, booze and hookers.

[Anonymous]

Look at policy positions at cfpb or exam positions in consumer compliance to start. Law degree not necessary and you probably would get closer to what you want to focus on

[Anonymous]

DO NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL

the job market is shit. whatever inspired you to go to school (environmental law, sports law, consumer protection) is almost definitely NOT what you will be doing when you graduate.

most likely, when you graduate you will take a job making 45k at a shitshop "firm," where you may even be paid as a 1099 (which means you have to pay all your employment taxes). the owner of the firm will have coffee stains on his JC penney shirt and will throw on his rumpled ass jacket when it's time to go to court on that trip and fall case he took. the client, shaniqua, will have called him 37 times "axing" where her money be.

either that, or you will do doc review at $25 an hour. mind-numbing horseshit that with no job security, and you are treated like a second-class citizen by "real" big firm associates supervising the project.

if you go to georgetown and do well, you have about a 40% shot at a biglaw/decent govt gig, which will allow you to at least service your debt. if you go to any of the other schools mentioned here, your chances vary from 5-12%. the alternative, for the most part, is as outlined above.

in any event, you will not "help people" when you graduate. whatever it is you went to law school for, you will not be doing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at policy positions at cfpb or exam positions in consumer compliance to start. Law degree not necessary and you probably would get closer to what you want to focus on

+1