Pros And Cons Of Law School

*This article was prepared with assistance from Tamanna Saidi, a pre-law sophomore at Baruch College in New York City.

Balancing The Pros & Cons of Attending Law School

This time of year, a lot of college students and recent grads are eyeing LSAT deadlines and law school applications. Given the high cost of law school, young people considering the commitment should make sure they fully understand what being a lawyer entails. Being an attorney is a lot more paperwork and a lot less glamour than you see on TV. This summer, Lawline’s pre-law intern Tamanna Saidi had the opportunity to chat with several different Lawline faculty about the reality of being a lawyer. Before you commit to the LSAT, application fees, and eventual tuition, check out her report-back below:

Pro: You Will Learn Skills That Translate Outside of the Law

A deeper understanding of those pesky Terms & Conditions on every website is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to skills you learn when you become a lawyer. From savvy negotiating to creative problem-solving, you will develop skills that will help carry you through life. Check out these seven skills that you can use in work and in life.

Con: You Won’t Start With the Big Case

Tamanna chatted with Florina Altshiler, Managing Attorney at Russo & Toner and prolific lecturer, before a few of her recent programs. She cautioned that no matter where you start, you probably won’t be taking on big cases right away. Most likely, you will start by working under a senior associate or partner, and eventually work your way up to solo trials years later. Of course, this depends on the size and organization of the law firm, and legal services attorneys are more likely to take on major responsibilities early on. In the beginning, however, expect to do legal research and write memos, observe trials, and generally do support work.

Pro: You’ll Have High Earning Potential

Attorneys have a high earning potential compared to other professions, according to US News Money. In 2021 average salaries were:

• Lawyers – $148,030
• Financial Managers – $153,460
• Actuaries – $125,300
• Political Scientists – $120,430
• Paralegals – $58,330

While salaries definitely do change based on where you live, the median lawyer salary in the United States was $127,990 in 2021. Even better, it looks like the job market is growing for attorneys (finally!). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job market for lawyers will grow 10% through 2031.

Con: Don’t Forget About the Debt

You don’t want to count on the federal government to forgive your debt. You want to avoid it in the first place. Lawyers are notoriously debt-burdened – most won’t be making six figures (for at least the first few years) but the majority will be in debt. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go the law school at all, but you should be thinking about how to reduce your debt load now. Florina offered some tips: If you get into several schools, do a cost-benefit analysis. You want to go to the best school that you can afford. Follow the 50% rule: if you can’t cover at least 50% of the cost of a top law school without a loan, don’t go. If it’s not a top law school, you should be able to cover more than 50%, since your job prospects won’t be as good. Find scholarships. And be smart with your money early on. Good – and bad – habits follow you for life.

Pro: You Get to Make a Difference

As an attorney, you’ll have required pro bono work, which is like a built-in mechanism for giving back. You’ll also be able to use the skills you have to do some good in the world on your own time, whether it’s a career in criminal defense or volunteering for nonprofits. The options are endless, and you can do anything from victim’s advocacy work to helping animals (because you understand how legislation works).

Con: Prepare for Long Days

Being a lawyer is not just a job, but an identity. This means that the work tends to compose a big part of the lives of practicing attorneys. Work weeks easily exceed 40 hours – frequently extending to 50 and 60, or even 70 hours a week at some Biglaw firms. Emails and phone calls from clients will come in at any time of the day or night. You can self-select for practice areas that require less emergency client contact (real estate attorneys are less likely to field midnight phone calls than criminal defense lawyers, for example). But the real trick is finding a practice area you enjoy – if you love what you do, the hours you put in will be worth it in the end.

What Else Can I Do That Makes an Impact? Consider Alternative Paths

We often think of an attorney’s career going straight from undergrad to law school to career. But some of the most successful attorneys pursued a law degree following another career. One of the attorneys Tamanna interviewed this summer was Suzanne Carter, who established herself in a career as a genetics counselor for many years before she was inspired to go to law school when she learned about the controversy over the patenting of human genes. She now primarily practices in the area of Social Security/Disability Law, utilizing her expertise from her previous career. Even if you are absolutely sure you want to be an attorney, there may be a benefit to a gap year after undergrad. You can get a job that puts you in close proximity to lawyers, set up informational interviews, and generally get a feel for the industry, which gives you a leg up on your networking when you do start law school. Don’t feel pressured to follow the traditional route – find a path that is most suitable for you. And whichever route you take, make sure it’s truly what you love.

*This article was prepared with assistance from Tamanna Saidi, a pre-law sophomore at Baruch College in New York City.

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Should You Go to Law School? A List of Pros vs. Cons

A glimpse into what kinds of students go to law school, and how to determine whether law school is the right choice for you

Introduction

“Should I go to law school?” This is a question thousands of students—especially those with liberal arts degrees—deliberate every year. Perhaps you have always dreamt of being in court, advocating on behalf of those in-need, or heard about the buzz of Big Law salaries and want to gain some rigorous corporate experience that will position you for a lucrative career.

Law school is often sold as a path for the confused, and a fire-proof way of laying groundwork for a serious and successful career. But law school is not for everyone, especially these days. So how do you know if you should go to law school?

Reasons to go to law school

A law degree is an enticing option for three reasons:

Law school offers employment flexibility

A law degree can be used to secure jobs across various governmental and business industries. While it trains you to be a licensed lawyer, graduates end up in all industries, ranging from entertainment to sports to politics. This is especially important given the shifts in what prospective law students want to do.

A recent study conducted by Gallup for the American Association of Law Schools found that, among undergraduates considering law school, nearly half stated they were interested in pursuing a career in politics, government, or public service. It also found that one in three were motivated by the opportunity to advocate for social change. This kind of flexibility is key to surviving and excelling at a changing job market.

Law school boosts your credibility

Law school helps build research, speaking, writing, and analytical reasoning skills—all qualities that are looked favorably upon in a wide scope of industries. Many employers assume that someone with a law degree has, at the very least, proven themselves to be adept at many vital skillsets.

Law school is intellectually enriching

Many have heard of law school’s Socratic method of teaching. That is, they’ve heard of the difficult cold calls in classes, and the rigor of a law school environment. It is by no means easy. But a majority of law students say they walk away from law school with a richer understanding of the law. Do not look at a JD as a degree only, but as an educational opportunity that will help you hone your public speaking, advocacy and writing skills.

What are the cons of going to law school?

With all of these qualities, advantages and resources, why doesn’t everyone go to law school?

The simple answer is a combination of debt and a rapidly changing legal market.

On average, law school graduates accumulate $145,500 in debt according to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Lawyers with low salaries may be able to qualify for income-based repayment plans.

Alternatively, public interest attorneys may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which can potentially eliminate federal student loan balances for borrowers who make loan payments for 10 years while working for the government or certain nonprofits. There are also various refinancing options and a plethora of financial products that can help you withstand the weight of debt. No matter what plan of action you pursue, the financial burden of law school must be fully understood and taken into account.

The changing job market is also one to keep in mind when considering law school. Law firms are finding increasingly innovative ways to address the needs of their clients and building broader relationships with stakeholders, but those same changes could imperil your job prospects or make the field unappetizing to you. Legal jobs have a chance of being international outsourced, for instance, and billing models are shifting.

All of that’s not to mention the well-studied lack of work-life balance in the legal field. Prospective law students considering law school should be aware of these trends.

With that said, the traditional legal market has hopeful projections. 89 percent of 2018 law school grads found jobs within 10 months. The same study found that 71 percent of 2018 law graduates worked in positions that required a J.D. Litigators are in especially high demand, and will continue to be in the next two years.

Given these potential trade-offs, one’s decision to go to law school should not be driven by fear or the negative projections of debt or a changing job market. Instead, it is a decision that should be driven by self-assessment, and career goals. Find out what job market trends you want to follow. And if public interest is the path for you, seriously consider the debt balance you will have to maintain with your goals, personal financial situation, and long-term costs.

The bottom-line answer: if you can avoid considerable debt, laser focus on equipping yourself with practical skillsets, and remain flexible about future job opportunities—you can have a successful career in the legal field. Choose your law school carefully, consider the kinds of clinical experiences you want, the possibility of mentorship, and the employment history of recent graduates at schools you’re drawn to.

Law school is ideal for those with a vision for their career path, a loose plan for how they want to execute their vision, and the flexibility to meet the needs of a changing law market.

What is law school like?

When considering law school, many often overlook the sobering reality of the three years of grueling coursework, clinical experience, research, and two summers of internships. Law school is known to be an intellectually stimulating, and challenging experience.

The current style of legal pedagogy infuses the Socratic method, aka cold calling on students at random during classtime, and case-by-case analysis. The Socratic method is a form of teaching based on asking students questions on the spot to encourage students to think aloud and analyze difficult legal and doctrinal principles aloud with their collogues. This method is often intimidating to students; while the material may not be particularly difficult to understand, the methods their professors employ produces anxiety and stress in the student body.

Students are asked to read an average of several hundred pages of cases a day as a way to learn illustrative examples of judicial principles. The structure of the legal classroom is meant to give students practice thinking aloud and with public speaking.

In addition to weathering a rigorous teaching method, law students must immerse themselves in substantive clinical (i.e. mimicking the practice of law) and journal (i.e. writing about the law) experiences in order to graduate with marketable skills. Clinics and journals provide law students with ways to apply their doctrinal, and often theoretical, lessons to help the lives of their community members or in service of important causes nationally.

Hand-on programs and clinical experiences with the supervision of a licensed attorney, will provide law students with a look into the lives of attorneys, the daily challenges of the profession, and an opportunity to manage a real case load. Students might immerse, for instance, in an immigration law clinic, spending a few hours each week seeing how that branch of the law is applied in real life and providing help that’s permitted for someone who hasn’t yet passed the bar.

Clinics and journals will also provide students with lawyering skills, expansive networks that can be integral when entering the workforce, and a series of professional accomplishments and research opportunities that will help differentiate you from other law students.

Finally, all successful law students take advantage of their summers to get exposure in fields they hope to join, build their resume, and get a better sense of the kinds of offices they hope to work for. These internships are crucial, and some students tailor their coursework to the needs of their prospective employers. While internships in Big Law or at other commercial firms are often handsomely compensated, a majority of public interest positions are unpaid, and only a few schools provide students with financial assistance during the summer.

Prospective law students should be prepared for a rigorous yet stimulating three years. One must enter law school with extreme discipline in order to manage fairly challenging coursework, and clear road plan for the types of extracurriculars and internships that could help catapult one from a successful law student, to an employable one.

Remember: expand your networks, balance coursework, and remind yourself why you chose law school through meaningful clinical experiences.

Questions to ask yourself if you’re considering law school:

• Do I want to practice as a litigator?
• What would I pursue if a law practice does not seem reasonable?
• How comfortable will I be with legal pedagogy?
• What kinds of clinics and journals would I join in law schools?
• Do I have a sense of where I want to spend my summers during law school?
• What skills do you have prior to entering law school that could help differentiate you in a legal market?
• What are your personal financial goals over the upcoming decade?