Top Law Schools

Title is pretty self explanatory. 1L and I definitely fit the bill of a student who shouldn't have gone to LS but just went because they thought they had no options. The material is boring, and I just don't think I'll be cut out for the profession. What should I do ? Just cut my losses and drop out ?

Probably

Hated 1L, 2L was better, and 3L was best... but if you can realistically get out without creating too much damage, then probably not a bad idea... especially given that it is only September.

If you are at a good school I would suggest busting your ass this semester and seeing what your grades are like. There are plenty who, like you, have no genuine interest in the law and just treat both law school and legal practice itself as a means to an end. There are also those who hated law school but find practice tolerable or even enjoyable.

Aergia wrote:If you are at a good school I would suggest busting your ass this semester and seeing what your grades are like. There are plenty who, like you, have no genuine interest in the law and just treat both law school and legal practice itself as a means to an end. There are also those who hated law school but find practice tolerable or even enjoyable.

This is good general advice. Your original post tells us nothing about your school rank or your cost of attendance. It's hard to advise without that sort of information. Also, is seems premature to dismiss legal practice when you have no idea what it actually entails yet.

What are your post law school goals? If it's big bucks then you really are looking at a firm job, but if your school is well ranked there could be lots of options available there. Even if you dislike the firm life, you can start aiming for a move in-house after a few years.

If you just want something meaningful and the cost of attendance is low enough, PI, public defender or AG positions could all be worth considering. None of those are going to feel like law school.

So, come back and ask again (with a little more info) after your grades are in.

albanach wrote:

Aergia wrote:If you are at a good school I would suggest busting your ass this semester and seeing what your grades are like. There are plenty who, like you, have no genuine interest in the law and just treat both law school and legal practice itself as a means to an end. There are also those who hated law school but find practice tolerable or even enjoyable.

This is good general advice. Your original post tells us nothing about your school rank or your cost of attendance. It's hard to advise without that sort of information. Also, is seems premature to dismiss legal practice when you have no idea what it actually entails yet.

What are your post law school goals? If it's big bucks then you really are looking at a firm job, but if your school is well ranked there could be lots of options available there. Even if you dislike the firm life, you can start aiming for a move in-house after a few years.

If you just want something meaningful and the cost of attendance is low enough, PI, public defender or AG positions could all be worth considering. None of those are going to feel like law school.

So, come back and ask again (with a little more info) after your grades are in.

HYS with probably around 150k in debt at graduation. Would like to do something meaningful. But yeah, I probably should at least stick it out for a semester

mrpeanutbutter wrote: HYS with probably around 150k in debt at graduation. Would like to do something meaningful. But yeah, I probably should at least stick it out for a semester

Graduate in the middle of your class and you should have a ton of options with a reasonably manageable debt burden.

I'd start looking for practice areas that might interest you so you can explore in your 1L summer. I was disenchanted with law school until I found legal aid work. While I'm not doing that now, it totally reshaped my view of law school.

You're at a great school. Every sort of advocacy group is open to you, as is every big law firm and a whole host of government opportunities.

Of course, having made it to a great school you likely have strong undergraduate credentials. If none of that is truly interesting, it's certainly better to reevaluate as a 1L than a 3L. Still, I think seeing practice in the summer might be helpful in making that assessment.

i'd say finish out the semester but start applying for jerbs right now. you have the credentials for HYS, so it's not like you have NO options. if you truly feel like you don't want to be a lawyer, it's not too late.

be careful of grass-is-greener syndrome though. banking is soulless, STEM/Med is hard, coding is oversaturated, and consulting has a whole suite of shitty things about it.

The TLS "cliche" of "go to B-school" still stands though, so long as you crush the GMAT and go to an M7. Caveat: my bschool friends are saying that the M7 is moving away from admitting wall-streeters with the requisite GMAT and giving preference to ppl with a broader experience base, with boosts given to ppl who have international experience (even if it's just teaching english abroad) so take that into consideration.

For what it's worth...

I had this same exact feeling 1L year during my first semester. I toyed with the idea of dropping out but couldn't bring myself to do it because I didn't want to look like a "quitter." Here I am as a 3L with the same negative sentiments about the profession WISHING I would've followed my gut 1L fall. I will say that a lot of people who might actually enjoy practicing law may have felt the same way at some point. I feel it in my bones that practicing law is not right for me, but as a 3L I have no choice at this point but to finish. (On the bright side, I have a full scholarship, so at least I won't have a mountain of debt...) This isn't me telling you to drop out, but it is me telling you that personally I regret not doing so long ago when it was still early on.

I wish you luck OP.

I don't get why someone would drop out from a good school. Even if you don't want to be a lawyer, a top school only helps in anything on your resume.

corporatemandaorbust wrote:I don't get why someone would drop out from a good school. Even if you don't want to be a lawyer, a top school only helps in anything on your resume.

Unless you're posting threads about your chances at Columbia to troll, stop posting in the forums that are only for law students.

corporatemandaorbust wrote:I don't get why someone would drop out from a good school. Even if you don't want to be a lawyer, a top school only helps in anything on your resume.

1) cavalier is right - you can't post in the law student forum until you are in law school.
2) the above is wrong. Having a JD from wherever and trying to get a non-law/JD advantage job doesn't help on your resume. Sure, a JD from a top school probably looks better than a JD from Cooley, but non-law/JD advantage employers generally don't want to hire a JD, period.

albanach wrote:

mrpeanutbutter wrote: HYS with probably around 150k in debt at graduation. Would like to do something meaningful. But yeah, I probably should at least stick it out for a semester

Graduate in the middle of your class and you should have a ton of options with a reasonably manageable debt burden.

I'd start looking for practice areas that might interest you so you can explore in your 1L summer. I was disenchanted with law school until I found legal aid work. While I'm not doing that now, it totally reshaped my view of law school.

You're at a great school. Every sort of advocacy group is open to you, as is every big law firm and a whole host of government opportunities.

Of course, having made it to a great school you likely have strong undergraduate credentials. If none of that is truly interesting, it's certainly better to reevaluate as a 1L than a 3L. Still, I think seeing practice in the summer might be helpful in making that assessment.

I don't love law school (I'm a 2L). But I'm in school to be a public defender and I absolutely loved interning at my local PD's office over the summer - THAT'S what keeps me motivated for school. There's no shame in quitting if you know it's not for you, but if you feel like you might enjoy practice, maybe try to stick it out.

Best of luck to you, OP!

Eternalsunshine wrote:

albanach wrote:

mrpeanutbutter wrote: HYS with probably around 150k in debt at graduation. Would like to do something meaningful. But yeah, I probably should at least stick it out for a semester

Graduate in the middle of your class and you should have a ton of options with a reasonably manageable debt burden.

I'd start looking for practice areas that might interest you so you can explore in your 1L summer. I was disenchanted with law school until I found legal aid work. While I'm not doing that now, it totally reshaped my view of law school.

You're at a great school. Every sort of advocacy group is open to you, as is every big law firm and a whole host of government opportunities.

Of course, having made it to a great school you likely have strong undergraduate credentials. If none of that is truly interesting, it's certainly better to reevaluate as a 1L than a 3L. Still, I think seeing practice in the summer might be helpful in making that assessment.

I don't love law school (I'm a 2L). But I'm in school to be a public defender and I absolutely loved interning at my local PD's office over the summer - THAT'S what keeps me motivated for school. There's no shame in quitting if you know it's not for you, but if you feel like you might enjoy practice, maybe try to stick it out.

Best of luck to you, OP!

This! Seeing it in practice is SO DIFFERENT. I was at a PDs office this summer as well, and being in court every day is nothing like sitting in doctrinal classes. Find some area of law that you like, if any, and try to get an internship doing that. It might change your perspective. Give it some time.

pancakes3 wrote:i'd say finish out the semester but start applying for jerbs right now. you have the credentials for HYS, so it's not like you have NO options. if you truly feel like you don't want to be a lawyer, it's not too late.

be careful of grass-is-greener syndrome though. banking is soulless, STEM/Med is hard, coding is oversaturated, and consulting has a whole suite of shitty things about it.

Coding isn't saturated. There are constantly openings for $80,000-$200,000+ jobs for fresh grads. Companies are on campuses recruiting from for-profit colleges, small regional state schools to MIT in an attempt to fill these positions.

The problem is people can't code. https://blog.codinghorror.com/why-cant- ... s-program/

But, it's not saturated. Companies are desperate for people that can code.

As other people have noted, the practice of law is very different from law school. I encourage you to stick out the year and put your all into it. Do something you could see yourself doing as a career your 1L summer. If you still regret law school at that point, cut your losses and drop out.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

corporatemandaorbust wrote:I don't get why someone would drop out from a good school. Even if you don't want to be a lawyer, a top school only helps in anything on your resume.

1) cavalier is right - you can't post in the law student forum until you are in law school.
2) the above is wrong. Having a JD from wherever and trying to get a non-law/JD advantage job doesn't help on your resume. Sure, a JD from a top school probably looks better than a JD from Cooley, but non-law/JD advantage employers generally don't want to hire a JD, period.

Yep. A JD - generally - is going to have a tougher time getting a job than someone who left school after a semester or a year. The jd will box you in — even if it’s hys.

That said, I’d strongly advise finishing out the year and going through OCI. Once 1L is done, your opinions may change. Also, nothing wrong w seeking jobs now — and if something great comes up, scrap the law school before end of 1L, but if not, might as well finish out year to keep options open.

Consider checking out public policy work. That kind of work prefers JDs but you don't actually practice the law for the most part. The head of public policy at Facebook went on a campaign trail right after law school despite having a law firm job in his pocket but then he was offered a position on White House staff so he turned down the law firm to do it and that got him connected to someone who wanted to hire him at Facebook. He always jokes about only having practiced the law once in his life, which was the summer after 3L during the campaign when he had to deal with some ballot legal issues.

mrpeanutbutter wrote:Title is pretty self explanatory. 1L and I definitely fit the bill of a student who shouldn't have gone to LS but just went because they thought they had no options. The material is boring, and I just don't think I'll be cut out for the profession. What should I do ? Just cut my losses and drop out ?

The material is quite boring and will always be (except for the random lover-of-the-old-doctrinal-law student. a.k.a. gunner), but actual practice is quite interesting (even with the few 14 hour workday weeks). I had the same feeling as you when I was a 1L, and almost cut and ran. I stuck it out and have been practicing for a few years now. LS, especially your 1L year can do a great job of boring you and making you feel inadequate, especially if you start comparing yourself to others/ envisioning actual practice in the lens of your doctrinal classes.

Focus on your fall semester grades, start searching for both Law and non-Law jobs right after the holidays and then reassess from there. There is no reason to worry what others think regardless of what you do, because after all only you can live your own life.

There's a lot of things you can do with a JD. I'd probably check your backup plans too. Nothing worst than regretting law school in the middle of a final and trying to hold back from saying "fuck it!"

Yep. A JD - generally - is going to have a tougher time getting a job than someone who left school after a semester or a year. The jd will box you in — even if it’s hys.

It has to do with the personality of the interviewee and what their resume looks like. I constantly apply to job openings to experiment and see what's available (even when happy with my job). There have been plenty of opportunities in H.R., compliance, recruiting, and government.

Judging from a decent % of posters here, if they're the way they are in person as they are online, it's their personality that's the problem, not their J.D.

I've heard more from people with hiring power at major companies that they're very hesitant to hire MBAs, especially with little work experience, but don't have the same hesitancy with J.D.s

I think the jobs you’re referring to all count as JD-preferred positions. For something that is *not* a JD-preferred position, I agree that having a JD is going to turn employers off and make getting a job harder than not having one.

I'm not sure that's true overall. If you're gunning for the top-tier consulting shops for instance, having a top JD will give you a much better shot (though obviously less so than a top MBA) especially if you're undergrad is nothing to write home about.

Pretty sure top consulting firms already count as JD preferred/JD advantage.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:I think the jobs you’re referring to all count as JD-preferred positions. For something that is *not* a JD-preferred position, I agree that having a JD is going to turn employers off and make getting a job harder than not having one.

If you're applying for jobs that only look for a college degree but you have a J.D., from what I've seen yes employers are going to look down on that because you seem way overqualified and are a flight risk. But JD-preferred positions are by definition JD-preferred.