Why would anybody want to be a lawyer?

[Anonymous]

Any job can be good or bad, depending on the circumstances. I enjoyed practicing law and have transitioned to a well paying non legal job that I only got hired for because of my legal experience. I sued people who did bad stuff that hurt other people.

My friend is a lawyer who spends all her time going after child pornographers. She finds her job deeply fulfilling and meaningful, and I'm glad she is out there doing it.

My husband is a patent lawyer. He exclusively prosecutes. I think that would be boring, but he finds it intellectually engaging and likes chatting with inventors. He gets paid well, never has work emergencies, can work from home whenever he feels like, and is free to roll into the office in t-shirts and shorts if he likes. He has never missed a school play or concert and can take off in the middle of the day whenever he pleases.

My best friend from law school does estate planning for wealthy people. It suits her personality and she loves it. She also does a lot of pro bono work too. She has the means to travel all the time, and lives a good life in a mid sized city.

I think being a big firm lawyer in a practice like debt finance or M & A would really suck because you work long hours with no predictability, but that work is ton by a tiny fraction of people in the professio

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love being a lawyer. I handle plaintiff’s side medical malpractice cases. I sleep well at night knowing I am helping families get their lives back on track. It’s very fulfilling work.

How can a new law grad into that kind of law work?..
Another lawyer tried swaying me away from malpractice
It didn’t work out for her but I don’t think that means it won’t for me.

[Anonymous]

^^get*

[Anonymous]

When I graduated from college in the late 70’s I was amazed by how many people were going to law school because it was a safe route to being UMC. Few had any idea what they wanted to do with a law degree. I went to business school because I was very interested in consumer marketing and that’s what I did after graduating. Many of those who went to law school left the profession after 5-10 years because they hated what they were doing. I think a better approach is to figure out what you’d like to do as a career and then determine what type degree you’d benefit from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a prosecutor and it’s definitely my niche. I love it. I don’t want to do anything else and I don’t have to. I was fortunate to have a full undergrad scholarship, attend a reputable state school with reasonable tuition, and graduate with exactly $19,000 in student loan debt. Many of you would turn your nose up at my law school choice because it’s not an Ivy or some elitist SLAC but I was debt free three years into my career, which I’m now free to keep as a career.

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I'm a prosecutor and I love my job. I've worked in a few different offices (state and federal) and I think prosecutors are the exception to the "all lawyers hate their jobs" rule.

[Anonymous]

lol this is so DCUM. Whenever the topics is lawyers, the answer comes around to “hey it’s acrually pretty good!” But when the topic is educators and teachers working crazy hours lesson planning, suddenly it’s a pile on

[Anonymous]

I'm in house for a large company and love my job. I get to problem solve and counsel my clients, plus, I'm compensated pretty well, I work with smart, nice people, I am challenged and well-respected.

[Anonymous]

Patent law can be interesting. You get to see all sorts of brand new proprietary technology and to become a patent lawyer you are required to have a science or engineering degree. Patent and IP is THE lifeblood of all companies and it gives millions of people their jobs. If you have a weak patent your competition will find your flaws and it'll be fatal. Yes, there are ways to abuse patents to generate shady profits, but patent law is incredibly important to have an expert working for you

[Anonymous]

I wanted to be a lawyer.

I chased money instead. Sometimes I question that decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being a lawyer in DCUM land has one path. Top 10 school, big law for 5-7 years, then boutique or in house. Thats just one very narrow way of looking at law. My sister lives in Ohio where she went to a state law school (U of Akron) for 21k a year while working full time. It was half paid by her employer. After graduation she transferred to said companies legal department where they pay back her loans. She makes 156k in Ohio were a 5,000 sq ft house in a great school district is 450k. I think in our area it seems like the legal profession is soul sucking because there are so many of us but there are lots of ways and places to practice law and this notion of "top tier or not worth it" s silly.

Agreed. One of the lawyers my company uses is a one-woman shop in Wisconsin. Her rates are reasonable, and she specializes in a few obscure areas of law but she's good at it. She'll never end up doing litigation, just contracts stuff. She makes a decent living for the area, and she doesn't have to work crazy hours.

And again- Wisconsin. No. That’s not a choice most of us would make since you know, we live in dc.

I would personally put a gun in my mouth over living in Wisconsin or Ohio.

One of the downsides to working in a smaller market is that there are fewer opportunities to switch jobs if you are unhappy, or if you find yourself laid off. Corporate gigs are never a sure thing. I'm in-house and I got laid off from my last in-house position when the company laid off half of the employees in the DC area. I was lucky to get another job in 3 months, but in smaller markets where there are fewer large companies that need in-house attorney's, those opportunities will be harder to come by.

[Anonymous]

I’m a lawyer — soles and soul intact. Went to a public law school first OOS then qualified for in state tuition. Graduated with some debt but it was always manageable. Always wanted to work for the govt but never did. Spent a few years in big law, many years at a boutique, now in-house.

I think the issue is that most law schools cost a small fortune today and if you take out loans for that, you are stuck for life with the grind of a law firm. I have met lawyers who openly admit they will never pay off the loans over the course of their lifetime. Young folks routinely underestimate the weight of those loans.

[Anonymous]

A great job for those with argumentative personalities that enjoy academic debates. Also great for those who are detail oriented and experts at exploiting nuance.

It's a very tough job that requires a quick mind. Those who argue in court must be very, very fast on their feet.

[Anonymous]

I have aspirations of being a lawyer and plan to take the lsat this year, if all goes well. Thanks for the posts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a prosecutor and it’s definitely my niche. I love it. I don’t want to do anything else and I don’t have to. I was fortunate to have a full undergrad scholarship, attend a reputable state school with reasonable tuition, and graduate with exactly $19,000 in student loan debt. Many of you would turn your nose up at my law school choice because it’s not an Ivy or some elitist SLAC but I was debt free three years into my career, which I’m now free to keep as a career.

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I'm a prosecutor and I love my job. I've worked in a few different offices (state and federal) and I think prosecutors are the exception to the "all lawyers hate their jobs" rule.

+1
I work for the government handling criminal appeals now, and I like my job fine. I think that prosecutors tend to like their jobs. I know a lot of defense attorneys who do, too. Criminal law is many things, but boring isn't really one of them.

[Anonymous]

I'm a government attorney. I love my job. I basically try to solve problems all day and have a good work/life balance.