Reply to So what IS the outlook for the legal field?

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[quote=Anonymous]I graduated from law school less than five years ago, so the economy was not good when I graduated. I offer these points of consideration:

* Does she understand what being a lawyer actually entails? This can seem like a condescending question, but I have friends who got through three years of school and at least two internships and came out still not really understanding what their days as attorneys would be like. At a firm, you are under significant time pressure, churning out written assignments, generally alone, for 10+ hours a day. Not everyone enjoys that kind of solitary work environment. Clerkships are mostly the same thing. Jobs that get new attorneys into the courtroom are relatively rare and usually require the attorneys to juggle huge case loads with minimal guidance. I suggest she work at a law firm or other legal organization, even in an administrative capacity, to get a sense of what the work environment is like. You say that law seems like a fit for her skills and interests, but plenty of other satisfying careers with better job prospects may be too...

* Can she get into a great school, preferably with a scholarship? In this economy, I would not recommend someone go to a law school outside of the top 50. I would not recommend someone take on debt to go to a law school outside of the top 20. The job prospects just aren't there for someone to assume that kind of financial risk. Things are quite grim for new attorneys with six-figure debt from less competitive schools.

* Can you comfortably pay for law school for her? If you have the kind of money where you can pay for her to go to law school and accumulate no debt, the calculus becomes very different. More options will be open to her because she won't need to make money to pay off her loans. She would have the luxury of deciding she doesn't want to practice but finding a career path where a JD is still useful. Lobbying is one example of this.

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