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Considering Law School


I’ve written more law school recommendations since last September than in any comparable period since I started to teach.  The reasons are obvious, but the relative desirability of law school compared to, say, using your marketing concentration to get a job as a lifeguard, should be not be assumed.  Since I began this blog I’ve written many times about whether law school is worth it.  No one goes to law school planning to graduate in the bottom half of his or her class but, obviously, that’s where half of law students will reside.  A law degree has never been a magic ticket to financial security or professional happiness.  Seismic changes in the legal job market won’t increase its value.  This sour message is prompted by multiple conversations today about careers in law and this post from Legal Blog Watch on March 24:  Aren’t Students Doing Cost-Benefit Analyses of Law School? If you are thinking about law school ask as many lawyers as you can what they do, whether they are happy, and why or why not, look hard at how much law school costs and what types of jobs are available for someone with your academic skill set, and don’t go to law school just because you don’t know what else to do.

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This was written by David Randall. Posted on Wednesday, April 15, 2009, at 6:16 pm. Filed under Law School, Legal Profession. Bookmark the permalink. Follow comments here with the RSS feed. Post a comment or leave a trackback.

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3 Comments

  1. JesseR wrote:

    As a current 1L and one of Prof. Randall’s former students, I can tell the readers that the law markets difficulties do not start upon law school graduation. As more and more law firms cut 2L summer programs (or dissolve altogether) 2Ls are looking at jobs typically reserved for 1L summers (public interest, judicial internships, etc). This has posed problematic for many of my classmates who thought specific 1L summer jobs were quite within reach, but who now compete with more qualified 2Ls. Definitely look into the changing nature of the law market, the cost of law school, and the job applicant requirements of various law firms where you’d like to work.

    Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 7:17 pm | Permalink
  2. David Randall wrote:

    Thanks Jesse. This advice carries more weight coming from someone who is living it now.

    Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 8:25 pm | Permalink
  3. chenga wrote:

    To add onto what Jesser said, Law School is definitely a much more difficult route to take than it use to be. My older brother is currently a 1L and tells me constantly about how difficult things are right now (especially since I’m considering law school myself). He tells me about posts he reads on Legal forums and how many students are having their summer associate offers revoked. He believes, however, that he is in a much better position than most law students since he use to be a legal assistant at a large law firm.
    Regardless of the economy, I’ve always read that law school should be considered very carefully specifically when you are considering going to a lower ranked and lesser known law school.

    Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 6:15 pm | Permalink

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