Off-Topic

Yeah, it's even those of us who like being lawyers and are happy with our career that are advising folks to not do it, probably because so many of our classmates are completely out of the legal field. I was middle of my class at Maryland and had a bunch of journal and other stuff on my resume and the only offers I got out of law school in 1999 were for small firms that would have worked me to death for ~$30-35k a year so I made the choice to start off at about that in an in-house position. It paid off for me and I now make pretty good money, but if a couple of things broke a bit differently in my life/career it could have been pretty disastrous for me financial-wise.

I have a lot of classmates where it didn't work out so well, even the ones who were in the top 10-20% of our class. Most of us/them could have made a lot more money and probably have been happier in a non-legal position. It wouldn't surprise me if less than half my class is using their law degree at all and there are even a bunch that are "using their law degree" in a peripheral capacity to become sales reps working at legal services companies like Lexis, Westlaw, Robert Half Legal, etc. They seem fairly happy with their careers, but I don't think anyone goes into law school thinking "three years and $200k+ later I'm going to be a sales rep!"

And then the ones that went to big firms and are financially set mostly hate their lives.

Oh, and it's probably also worth mentioning that we are basing our experience on people who graduated a while ago, when the legal market was much, much stronger. I would hate to be a third-year law student or recent grad right now.

And nothing is more annoying than being FB friends with a bunch of type-A attorneys who decided to become stay-at-home moms and have channeled their type-A legal training into their status update postings. I mean, I love mini-me and mention him enough to be obnoxious here, but it's nothing compared to the ex-lawyer SAHMs.

I don't know anything about ASU law, but I would imagine that limiting yourself to one school is probably a bad idea, especially if it's a middle of the pack school. I understand the regional aspect of it and if you want to live in Tempe all your life it may be a better move than going to a better, though still regional school, but why not try and go for a more nationally renowned school?

I find that aspect of the question more curious than the becoming a lawyer in the first place.

Well then that would rule out law school for almost everyone (which is fine, there are too many lawyers).

If you actually want to be a lawyer, then don't let the talk of miserable lives and debt scare you away. they're just things to keep in mind. I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, I had no clue what I wanted to do in the legal field, but I just found it to be a great match for my interests and skills. So like I said you should find a way to see if ASU has any good pre-law classes that might give you a taste, intern in a legal office, things like that. There's no substitute for the real thing but you'll at least have a better idea of what to expect than all of the people who go to law school because they didn't know what else to do and they think all lawyers get to work on exciting, world-saving cases while making big corn money.

Fixed.

I'm not sure I fully agree with this. If you're taking on tons of debt then I do, but my best friend here passed on GTown + 230k in debt to go to the 35th ranked school with a full ride and no stips. Obviously big law prospects are much smaller, but the options are expanded and debt minimized if you arent set on "biglaw".

If you are willing to practice in the region the school is in + you can limit debt and still go to a good school I think going outside T14 is fine. You just have to be realistic. Dont take out 6 figure debt to go to a school with dim job prospects.

Agreed in a big way on debt load. I know a lot of people who work at big firm jobs they hate just because they have to pay off their debt - and they're the lucky ones. I graduated from W&L in 2000 and they paid around half my tuition. So I took on some debt but not a lot, and though I haven't practiced law since 2004 what I do is quasi-legal and the degree has helped me to higher salaries. Would absolutely not have been worth $50k in debt.

Almost all of the young lawyers I know here are aggressively paying down their law school debt. They make $160k+, but they don't really live like it considering how much of it goes their debt.

Either way it's a miserable existence. Document reviewing out the ass, endless research on Lexis/Westlaw, and essentially being on call 24/7 in the case that some partner wants to bounce some asinine idea off you at 4:30AM on a Tuesday. All of that and virtually no chance of becoming partner unless they go somewhere and develop a niche or develop clients.

I came into this job wanting to go into corporate law and now there's not a chance in hell I go back to law school.

But all this being said, there's probably no chance that anyone reading this thread who wants to go to law school actually listens to any of our advice.

right. I do find all of the back and forth interesting though.

Personally, I have a decent idea of what lawyers actually do (though have never worked in the field). I think the type of people who regret going to law school are those who have a misunderstanding of what they actually will be doing when they get out of law school. Like neal said, I have found that through experience the practice of law is something that genuinely interests me and aligns with my skill set. Still, I've heard the stories that Devils is talking about from a few people which has made me reconsider something that was once ironclad in my plans, ideally I could follow a similar path and work in the field before making such a decision.

As for why ASU, while it is a fairly middle of the pack law school it is improving (fairly rapidly too) but more importantly it carries more cache in the region than most law schools do (i.e. non-top ten) and I'm aiming to practice in the area. Probably the most important aspect is cost though. The only way I'll go to law school is if I get scholarship money in some form, I'm trying to minimize the debt as much as humanly possible and I'm certain I'd be able to get scholarship money from ASU.

You are talking out of your ass until you have actually worked in a law office. Read what you just wrote in your first paragraph and examine how contradictory it sounds.

Also, what's your GPA and your latest LSAT practice score? What year in college are you? What is your major? I guarantee you are already lacking the experience most of your law applicant peers have.

While you're at it, re-examine your first paragraph for the type of lazy grammatical effort that law schools and your potential legal employers WILL NOT tolerate.

What exactly about your skill set makes you exceptional in the least? What makes you think you are worthy of a scholarship? These are the questions about which you need to do some serious soul-searching.