Law School vs. Masters in International Relations

Publisher
Tue, 05 Feb 2019 18:48:39 +0000

Although debated on another thread a couple of weeks ago, work experience is not necessary for one planning to go to law school & to practice law. Even work as a paralegal in biglaw (law firms of 500 or more attorneys), you will not understand the practice of law because paralegals deal with forms & certainty more than with analytical thinking–a practice which might get a paralegal fired if injected into their work.

When folks suggest work experience, it would be more helpful if they specified the type of job & its relevance to the practice of law. For example, a patent agent will gain relevant experience for practice as a patent attorney. Another that might help a bit is working as a real estate agent if you want to be a real estate closing attorney–which is really paralegal work.

If you are young, energetic & unencumbered, then go to law school. Get the 3 years over & done with. Take the bar & ethics exam, get licensed & get a position as an attorney.