When I was about 8 years old, I saw and episode of L.A. Law with Blair Underwood and decided I wanted to be a lawyer. I had a vision of me, helping people with style.
With a laser focus, I pursued my dream. I participated in debate team, student government and mock trial. I was a Pre-Law and Political Science Major in College and volunteered at a Family Law Clinic at a nearby law school. I continued my enthusiastic and idealistic pursuit of the law with a judicial internship my first year of law school. During my second year of law school, I was chosen to take part in a law clinic whose purpose was to free those who were wrongfully convicted using DNA evidence. With my typical enthusiasm, I spent every waking moment working to free one of my “clients”. I worked 20 to 30 hours a week, ran up $800 cell phone bills talking to my client, my client’s family, the warden at the prison he was held in, the nurse who would eventually collect his blood for comparison, and the original District Attorney assigned to the case. I worked as hard as I did because I could not bear the thought of an innocent man in a jail cell for a crime he did not commit. At the end of the year, I received the results of the DNA test and they proved conclusively that my client was guilty. Devastated, I vowed to shun criminal law completely. I knew then that I did not have the requisite personality to deal with the unavoidable guilty client.
After law school, I was offered the opportunity to work for the Federal Government, however, the $150,000 I owed in student loans did not justify turning down the opportunity to work for a corporate law firm. Once again, disappointment awaited me. I left my home at 6am and often did not return home until 9pm. During the day, I had to make sure that I was billing for everything, every sheet of paper copied was billed to a client, every fax and every phone call. I became quite skilled at filing forms, completing paperwork and assisting people with creating their nonprofit businesses but felt as though I was not really contributing much to society. Eventually, I left the law firm to start my own business, write books and consult with small business owners.
I do not regret the time spent in law school or what I learned, though I admit freely that I could have gotten the same education for less. For anyone considering a career in law, I would recommend first, understanding the financial obligations attached to this choice. The loans necessary to go to law school now will mean that you will owe anywhere from $1000 to $1500 a month for 20 years after you finish law school. Depending on where you live, that is a mortgage. Malpractice insurance will cost an additional $200 – $400 a month. Starting life with a $2,000 monthly deficit is probably not the best financial decision you can make, especially if you do not find yourself attending a Tier 1 law school or at the top 10% of your class.
My recommendation for anyone considering a career law is to identify exactly why you want to pursue that career path – if it is to help people, there are a lot of less expensive options available to help people. If you have a job lined up for you when you graduate and your school will be paid for in full, then go for it.