Scholarships for law school?

tomtownsend
Thu, 11 Nov 2021 17:25:04 +0000

Not bitter. I have had a successful career outside of law due to entrepreneurial endeavors started before and after law. Law never comprised more than a decent fraction of my income, enough to matter but not enough to make me dependent on my firm. Law school was a colossal waste of time for my 20s. Anyone that age has skills to develop and worlds to explore, none of which are on a law school campus. A JD is an advanced liberal arts degree, with no relation to practice (glorified clinics included).

I understand lawyer families like yours are financially successful by most measures. It is all opportunity cost though. I went to an Ivy undergrad and a nationally recognized high school. Law is a very sub par outcome for that educational pedigree. Most of the alums from my HS who did not go into the public sector blow attorney incomes out of the water. They go into high finance, tech, consulting, and they have enjoy better tax rates. Ditto with college classmates. My law school classmates, well, golden handcuffs are real. A couple hundred thousand does not get you far in the tristate area, at least if you want your children to be literate and and safe and with a roof over their head that you actually own. And all of this with 60+ hours of work a week, not including the hour commutes NY/DC/Boston are known for.

Unless you are in ambulance chasing, DUIs, or other criminal defense, there is little arguing. Only the first pays well if you know what you are doing. Most litigators rarely enter a courtroom. Law and order doesn’t show the countless hours on west law or lexis, drafting motions on minutiae and taking countless depositions tangential to the case as you bilk your corporate client.

Side note: it is T13 now because Georgetown has fallen off. It really is not a safe bet for big law, and has not been for awhile.