Going to law school???

DreamSchlDropout
Wed, 15 Oct 2014 17:02:26 +0000

The recommendation to get some internship experience is a good one, but before that I would take a step even further back and do some research on the various ways law is practiced.

Most lawyers never enter a courtroom. Of those who do, few trial lawyers earn the big bucks. The typical starting pay for an Assistant DA is not glamorous, and for every Johnnie Cochran there are 100 public defenders.

Some lawyers never even meet with a client, such as my friend who handles the state equivalent of Freedom of Information Act requests. Her entire workday is spent doing research in documents. You could be on an internal legal team at a corporation, writing and reviewing contracts, policy documents, and legal filings. There are a hundred different ways you can be employed as a lawyer, and if you spend some time learning about them you may have a better idea of which ones appeal to you.

Then, seek out an internship in one of the areas you think you’d like, to see if the shoe fits well once you put it on.