The J.D.: More Than Just a Degree

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The majority of people who have commented on this article were motivated to do so out of their own misfortune-- people who feel they've gotten bad deal out of life and thus feel compelled to vent to the world. Their plight certainly is not representative of law graduates in general. Consider the analogy of restaurant reviews, which contain a disproportionate number of negative reviews for a similar reason-- for usually the consumer who had the worst dining experience is the quickest to write a review whereas the consumer who had a moderate dining experience doesn't even care to take time out of her life to do the same.
A couple of year back, I graduated from a T-40 law school in the top 50% of my class. By no means am I academically exceptional, at least relative to other JDs. Yet, within weeks of graduation, I secured for myself a position in Big Law starting at well over $100K. I find the work challenging, fun, and genuinely rewarding. Apologies for the cliche, but life is what you make of it. Sitting here complaining about your personal shortcomings will certainly not help to bring you success.

Monitcello of NY 11:44PM January 14, 2011

We need good ethical lawyers. If your in Law School particularly family law...if you enter this profession with the goal to help people who need help..then you will succeed. If you go into this to make a ton of money..you may but you wont be unique..I have just spent two years in court for a custody battle where my ex played the continuation game and lets kill the mom financially...well congrats he did..but as we faced trial I got brave, I was broke had everything to lose but let my attorney go and went pro-per. I studied family law day and night and trial rules and armed myself with only 3 months to prepare..I tried to find attornyes who would help me pro-bono they all saw the mess my ex's attorney created and wouldnt touch my case for anything less than 10k. This is my child.I saw the games played in court I knew what my ex sttorney was doing and sadly I had no one who would help me. Not one not one attorney cared a child was facing losing his mother....well I am a fighter and I went court I spoke the truth I called objections when the attorney tried to pull crap I got sustains....I was scared to death but I ended up winning..as a pro-per.
What my point is here...I saw the nasty ugly side of law and games played and how in family law your guilty until proven innocent and no one will help you unless you have deep pockets.
In court during a break a mother was sitting in the audience watching me go through this trial...she was new to the family court her first day in court the same day and I saw her get a raw deal from judge because her ex had an attorney and she didnt. She grabbed my arm eyes desperate and pleaded for me to tell her how I was doing so well....I felt soo bad for her the poor woman has no idea what she is up against...I didnt know what the hell I was doing either I told her I just have been in court for 2 years and have learned as I went. But I will never forget the fear in this mothers eyes who just wants to be with her babies.
Anyone wanting to be a family law attorney...please dedicate a portion of your time to help people who are poor and need representation against the opposing parties who have the money to hire an attorney. Review their case and if you see they are being railroaded then set up a payment plan based on thier income....a waitress cant pay $225 an hour but she can pay something and she deserves legal rep just as much as her corporate 6 figure ex spouse.
Its a shame the legal profession attracts so many people with money as thier motivating factor because if you go into this field with the idea of helping people and making a difference you will win and you will achieve those goals 100%
I am considering law school now and I will have a goal of what I need to make every year (not what i want to make) and I will work in there an amount I can dedicate to pro-bono or sliding scale payments...yep I know its sounds like a pipe dream but I won my first case without a JD.

Michelle of CA 9:22PM January 05, 2011

First, I want to start off by saying that the realities of being a law school graduate do not meet the hype and mystique shown in the media in tv shows like law and order, boston legal, and private practice. I am not saying that all people fail as attorneys (in comparison to the images we see in the media). Rather, I would argue that the majority of law school graduates are not living the lives or achieving the outcomes they were expecting. For most people, the reality of being an attorney in the current economic climate entails struggling in private practice, holding a state position that pays 40-45K, or lining up to receive court appointed cases with dozens of other discouraged attorneys.
The truth of the matter is that our culture places an extremely high value on the law profession which leads to high enrollment numbers in law schools across the country. Now, how many attorneys does society really need and how many job openings are there for the tens of thousands of adults who graduate from law school each year? When you think about these two questions, it is obvious that these structural characteristics are leading to the failure experienced by the majority of law school graduates. It is impractical to place all of the blame on struggling attorneys, although for some of them laziness is the cause, for most of them their failure is due to the lack of job openings and the flooding of the market by law school graduates. It makes no sense to call all struggling attorneys lazy and undeserving especially when you consider that they have spent 7-9 years in college. I empathize with all struggling attorneys who had high hopes for success but are experiencing anything but.
Perhaps my opinions are biased due to having grown up in a border town in Texas that has been hit especially hard by the recession and from having watched my dad and his friends struggle for the past 25 years, but in my opinion being an attorney is probably not the best career choice. For this reason, I decided not to pursue law school and instead am in my third year of a Phd program in sociology. I am determined to spend the next four years convincing my younger brother to pursue a career in the health industry, academia, accounting, engineering, or computer science. I wish all of you considering law school the best of luck but I want you to know that you're fighting an uphill battle and unless you’re sure you are going to graduate in the top 10% of your class of your T-30 law school program or you have favorable social network connections you may want to reconsider your career choice.

David of IA 4:37PM December 12, 2010

I grew up in Rural South East Georgia. I was the first in my family to finish High School, much less college or law school. It seems that I was some sort of genius that blew out a lot of tests. At any rate, I still act like a hick, I still ride motorcycles, and I make it my mission to take out crooked judges, dirty cops, and sexual predators. (I hope you under estimate me. In fact, I bank on it.) I have defended, prosecuted, and judged. When I went to law school, UGA was top 20, and the Gov, Lt. Gov., Speaker of the House, President Pro Tem of the Senate, and Chief Justice of the Ga. Supreme Court were all Ga Law Grads. I also spent an undocumented year in a Georgia Prison as a political prisoner before I could take out the Judge a few years later. Now I advise Judges and Lawyers. I say all this to say - You can become wealthy as an attorney or you can make a difference. Very seldom can you do both. If what they teach you takes hold, you can never see the world like 'other' people, ever again. It is all social engineering and manipulation - proximate cause and liability. You see behind the curtain, and like the character Raistlin in the DragonLance Saga, the world turns to ashes before your eyes. But it is all I know. I make hard decisions so that you, the people, can sleep with a clear conscience. Amoral with ethics, ruthless compassion. ANd those I help are the first to kick me in the teeth as soon as it seems like that is in their best interest for the 'player' de jure. But I do not quit. I AM a lawyer, you may just work for a firm.

Joseph E. Sapp of GA 1:56AM November 13, 2010

First, I would just like to say that I am a graduate of a top 20 law school. I scored 171 on the LSAT, and without hesitation I can say law school stinks. You want to succeed in law school? Don't go.

Joey of MA 10:33PM November 01, 2010

Jobs are scarce in all professions except maybe health care. However, where the bigger problem exists is with corporate America. Corporate America has simply perfected the art of what's called "cost-effectiveness" through the increasing mechanization/computerization and off-shoring of tasks. But not to worry this race to the bottom will eventually result in a catch-22 as the millions of Americans corporate America has placed out of work are no longer able to purchase its own products and services. And this is when there really will be a global depression. Americans are/were the world's consumers.

Steve of FL 2:21AM October 18, 2010

I went to Harvard and my daddy is a federal judge, firms were lining up to hire me. I had a midlife crisis because I had too many offers. If you graduate law school with less than 3 offers from big law and a SCOTUS clerkship, you sir are lazy scum.

Harvard of DC 8:28PM September 03, 2010

Boalt is a top 14, of course that would be a good investment. That's like saying a History BA is a good investment because a kid out of Harvard got that degree 5 years ago and then leveraged it into a good opportunity somewhere.
If there were only 50 law schools, grads might have had a chance. But there are far more than that, so only the T14 benefit people by themselves.
200 years ago it didn't matter how smart a minority was, they'd never get an opportunity in anything. Now, it doesn't matter how smart a law student is, unless they have the connections or went to a top school, their degree is worthless.
Opportunity is everything. You can't do a thing if there is no opportunity.
For me, I went to law school hoping for a $50k a year prosecutor job, or something like that. I haven't been able to land anything and it was a terrible mistake. I should have gone to medical school instead, and now I understand why my parents wanted me to be a doctor.
Medicine is completely different. It's an actual profession that takes care of its practitioners. They load you up with debt but in return you get a job and a real chance. They don't just tell you to open up your own practice and leave you in the cold. Incidentally I am taking the MCAT next week. I went to a mediocre law school on scholarship, a mediocre medical school without any scholarships however would have been far better for me. Law firms don't even care that I was pre-med, even though I'd think that'd be an asset for either patent or medical malpractice.

Grimple of NY 3:40AM August 28, 2010

Look, "the law is a ass," as Mr. Bumble said.
However, I went to one of the only top ten law schools whose philosophy is that the law ISN'T a "trade school."
Those years of interdisciplinary education were invaluable to my human development.
But, after a few hellish years in big-firm practice, that same humanist education told me to get the hell out of the field, fast.
If you don't believe that money, status, power (and mind-numbing exhaustion combined with heart-attack deadlines) is your idea of the American Dream, do what I did.
Quit my job and became a busboy at 30.
Now 59 with a wealth of experiences I wouldn't change for the world.
Life is an adventure, people. No one in my law class WANTED to be a lawyer, they just didn't want to "fail" in life after college... whatever that means.
The answer for all prospective grad students is: Pick what you DON'T EVEN DARE TO DREAM.
"The best minds of my generation" stagnated on Wall Street or K Street for 30 years, and are now loft wondering what life was all about?
A mind (much less a life) is truly a terrible thing to waste.

W. Reed Moran of CA 5:21PM August 15, 2010

I am 49 and wondering if law school is right for me? I want to work in public service and I know it is not for the big enchilada, but to live in a area where a lawyer is needed for the underrepresented. Is law school worth it, considering I am near retirement in my present job? I could go, work as a self employed contractor and continue my job in IT.

Jimmy of AZ 3:18PM July 19, 2010