5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before Applying To Law School My background: I am a retired lawyer. After graduating law school, I passed the Oregon Bar and the Washington Bar. My practice was an active litigation practice focusing on medical issues, administrative law, and construction law. I practiced in a mid sized firm, a smaller boutique firm, and as a sole practitioner. I hated my last boss most of all, that sole practitioner was a heartless bastard. My thoughts below. My thoughts: 1. Law school is expensive with many, perhaps even the average law student graduating $125,000-150,00 in debt. My rule of thumb is one should limit debt to no more than 50% of first-year income, honestly appraised. 2. Law school is ten times harder than University. Are you prepared for the extreme competition for grades which came easily at University? You will be competing with the top 5% to 10% of the University class how did you do compared to these students? 3. Law school is not anything like the practice of law. There are three distinct variants of law. There is law school law, Bar law, and the law you will practice as an attorney. These things are completely unrelated. Are you sure you want to practice law? 4. The two basic things which are most indicative of success both in law school and as a lawyer are IQ and conscientiousness. It is possible to be somewhat lower in one or the other, but if you are low in both, there is little chance you will be able to succeed in law. Without a high level of conscientiousness, practicing law will be difficult. 5. How ever hard you work in law school, your practice will be more difficult, and more demanding. The billable hour is a cruel, unrelenting taskmaster however efficient you believe yourself it will prove you are not. The typical 2,000 hour work year (8 hours per day, five days per week 50 weeks per year) is 167 hours per month. In my first practice, my billable hour "goal" was 190 hours per month. After six months, that rose to 200 hours per month, and by the end of my first year, I was working an average of 210 hours per month. After that my average rose significantly with a significant percentage of months in the 230 to 240 hours per month range. If you do not enjoy working an average 12 hour day 5.5 to 6 days per week, the law will be an awkward fit. You also need to understand that these billable "goals" were independent of vacation time. I could take all the vacation time I wanted, whenever I wanted. But I still had to meet my total billable hour goal at the end of the year. And I could not leave my clients without a human contact willing to address their needs at a moments notice. 6. It pays to be above average on the sociopath scale but controlled. So, for example, lying is detrimental but being sly, cunning and calculating is valuable. 7. How do you handle failure, because you will fail? If not in law school in law, especially if you choose an active litigation practice. One problem which can be difficult to overcome is that you will expect to win; this is likely to become your minimum standard, your C grade by analogy. Under this mental regime, there will be almost no way to do more than a win or get a C grade. So, I will you be able to feel successful? 8. Do the math, figure out how much debt will need to undertake to attend law school. Figure out how you are likely to do compared to the law school class (IQ/conscientiousness) and calculate your presumed first-year salary. Make sure you can afford it. How much debt do you have from University? The last thing you want is to become a debt slave; it is also the most likely thing you will become. 9. Interview lawyers who are doing what you want to do. Call up first-year associates, 5th-year associates, and try to get a contact with a partner or two in your area of interest. Take them to lunch, pick their brains. Be utterly prepared with quality questions; it is as much an interview for you as of you. Make an impression while accumulating the information you need. Do you still want to be a lawyer? If so, time to take the LSAT, and begin the application process. Thoughts about the article: "Do you absolutely want to go to law school? If the answer is, “I hear lawyers make good money” or “Maybe. Idk. Seems like a good use of my degree” or “I just want to go to grad school and put off the inevitable” or anything other than “I can’t see myself doing anything other than law and this is my calling and my passion and I want to give my all as a servant to Lady Justice,” then you should not go to law school." Your competition will be ruthlessly laser focused on succeeding as the best lawyer, and to be that they need to win every time. If that is not you, the law will be a painful grind. No amount of truth, justice and the American way fantasizing will change this. Go to law school because you have an incredibly high IQ, you are extremely conscientious, you are incredibly competitive, you want to work 12+ hours per day six days per week, and you need to win every time. That way you might have a chance. I suggest potential law students take this article to heart. Aretha has a song your subconscious is singing to your conscious, pay attention to it and Think! Mark Sherman
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