I never realized that I didn't allow for anonymous comments before. But now, I welcome them with open arms. :)
I hope more people comment now. Have a wonderful day!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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Everyday is a cloudy day in the life of a disenchanted lawyer. Email tips to Angel at angelthelawyer(at)gmail(dot)com or Hardknocks at hardknockslaw(at)gmail(dot)com
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Not trying to be mean but you didn't do everything right. The title of your blog is misleading. You didn't go to a top 14 law school. You didn't do moot court or law review. You didn't network enough.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't mind me asking if you had a chance to do it all over again, would you still go to law school? If not, what would you be doing with your life?
Since we're anonymous, I say "fuck you" to the commenter above. Angel, I'm glad you've come around to the virtue of the anonymous.
ReplyDeleteIf you're single (or don't care) let me know!
VIVA LA ANONYMOUS
i am in limbo too. thinking about moving. but that's just like going to law school. doing *something* to feel like i'm making progress, which i'm not. i would only get myself into more trouble, i'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteWow. So happy to hear from anonymous peeps.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous #1: Yah.. I wasn't on law review. But I did do everything right up until I went to law school. I was frankly too disenchanted to write on or do moot court. I had a 4.0 in college. I went to a T30... I'm sorry that's not good enough. I had a high LSAT, so I was given a 50% scholarship based on that alone. I actually taught LSATs for a few years. Everything in my background indicated that I would be a success in Law School. But, alas, one semester made all the difference. So, I stick by my title. Most students that decide to go to law school have my qualifications or even less. And ALL of us think that we will be at the top of the top. Oh yah... I'm as social as the come and the networker of the century. If you can do better.. feel free. Good luck to you. But if you land that dream job at a big firm (as I did) and you get laid off anyways. Don't look to me for comfort.
As for my decision, I would have been a police officer or a mortician. That's what I should have done. Although I kick some ass as an attorney, the incidentals are killing me.
Anonymous #2. I'm not single, but I appreciate the gesture. And the big "fuck you".
Anonymous #3. Moving will just make you incur more expenses. It's not cheap. With moving trucks, storage, new furniture, deposit and new rent. Just stay where you are. I would only move for a job at this point.
poster #1:
ReplyDeleteI went to a T14 and did moot court, and networked like crazy. In the end it worked out for me, I like what I do and am finally getting paid decently. Most people would consider my career very successful in terms of results for clients.
However, in 15 years of practicing law, I broke 100k only twice. Often I struggled to pay the rent. One of those 100k years was with biglaw, which is simply not worth what they pay (no amount of money is worth it), so I quit it. Otherwise there are no well-paying jobs in this industry, and most of the poorly paying ones are horrible as well.
Although I consider myself very fortunate, I work 5x as hard for a fraction of the money available to bartenders and normal small business owners. Many lawyers with better credentials, who might also be better lawyers, are starving.
Angel and others like her reasonably expected not to be superstars, but to live comfortably and pay the bills doing intellectually interesting work. Anyone who thinks law school will reliably lead to that is in for a rude shock. I hope that includes you.
By the way what happened to devastator's blog?
Touche'! You summarized my point so much better than I was able to. And to add to that point, no one that goes to law school is considered a loser the day before it starts. They are all typically over achievers who did well in school and are seeking a comfortable living. It's sad that they (and we) aren't able to achieve this with an education from 95% of the law schools out there.
ReplyDeleteI'll contact Devastator.. not sure what's up with that.
Maybe you should change the title to "But I Did Everything Right, Until I Started Law School!" Just a suggestion, don't hate me for it.
ReplyDeleteWhat sage advice would you give to those who are interested in attending law school and eventually becoming a licensed attorney?
ReplyDeleteThere has to be some kind of hope for the legal industry.
I stick by title, 9:42 a.m. If nursing schools only helped the top 25% of the top 14 nursing schools become working nurses, nursing schools would be deemed defunct. All I ask of law schools is that they give the vast majority of the student body the ability to earn a livable wage. Besides, up until I was laid off, I had made it. I was working a top law firm. But I got cut along with 60 some odd people. So, is it really me that is the problem? I don't hate you for it though. I'll take it as constructive criticism.
ReplyDeleteDevastator is revamping his site and will be back soon. I think he's got family stuff going on too. But he's fine.
Sage advise? If you want to become a licensed attorney, you can do that. But will you get a job that pays a livable wage? I dunno. But a law degree is a great thing to have if you get it for free, because then you can work for $35K and not feel so bad. So, my advice is to go to school for free. Completely free. Move in with family. I hope mom cooks and get a full scholarship to a local school. Work beforehand and save 10K for incidental costs, like books and study aids, the bar exam and Barbri. Hell... skip law school altogether. Enroll in Barbri and take the California Bar. You don't even have to go to college to take that bar exam. Is that something you can do?