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But give how much they're charging for tuition these days, I wouldn't advise anyone who has to incur the massive debt usually required to attend law school to do so unless he/she definitely wants to practice law.
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If you are putting yourself through, expect about $100,000 for public school and upwards of $175,000 for private school. That's a lot of tuna fish.</p>
<p>I will add to Greybeard's statement and say that, given how much law school costs, that you should not do it unless you want to practice law and are going to a good enough school so that you are basically guaranteed a high-paying job.</p>
<p>random question: are classes you take as pass/no pass disregarded when law schools look at your application?
another random question: what year did any of you study abroad and do you recommend it?</p>
<p>The only classes I took pass/no pass were spanish conversation & I don't think they counted one way or another (my major was sociology) & I was just taking Spanish for fun, until I didn't understand the English grammar, much less the Spanish grammar & everyone in the class was majoring in Spanish.
I never studied abroad but my niece (who just graduated from law school) did--she did a semester in London at a soliditor's office & loved it (she was a English & business major). I did spend 6 weeks in Taiwan the summer after I graduated from college before starting law school & enjoyed that. Don't know whether I'd particularly recommend it or not--depends so much on the individual & the opportunities available.</p>
<p>I may be in the minority, but I have greatly enjoyed my career in criminal law, first as a public defender, then a prosecutor, now a judge in a criminal court. There is a huge difference between counting and billing for 15-minute intervals, as done in most civil law firms, and practicing criminal law for the public good. I have always found that being involved in criminal law is as stimulating as being in the middle of a John Grisham novel, and every day I come home with a new story about what happened in court. This doesn't happen necessarily when one works doing criminal defense for a law firm, because making money to keep the doors open becomes the paramount concern. But the hours are terrific as a public lawyer, a mom can be home for dinner or watch kids' ballgames, the salary is usually adequate (in Los Angeles a public defender/DA can make way over $100,000/year) and one can feel they're making a difference. I've been involved in the field for over 30 years and, yes, there have been some negative changes such as litigants from both sides being less respectful of the court. But overall the job can't be beat. That's just my opinion. If criminal law interests you, don't be scared away by unhappy civil lawyers.</p>
<p>right when i read "john grisham novel" your entry pulled me right in :)<br>
criminal law definitely sounds interesting the way you talk about it; i especially love the part about the terrific hours and the ability to spend time with family. i may sound stupid asking this, but is it "dangerous" to go into criminal law? looking into law, i realized the field is sooo broad and there are so many types that it may be very difficult to choose which area to pursue.</p>
<p>Km5, as a former criminal defense lawyer, I agree completely (or almost completely) with your assessment.... but I could never have gone into criminal law if I had come out of law school in debt. When I attended law school back in the 70's, I was able to attend a top ranked public school for under $750 in tuition a year. That opportunity just doesn't exist any more. The salaries you cite for LA public defenders and DA's are for those with experience -- there are still parts of the country where the starting salary for a DA or public defender is around $30-$35K. It's tough going for anyone who is looking at going into a public-interest oriented law career. (And one reason I quit is that it's next to impossible to make a living doing criminal defense in private practice)</p>
<p>To JasonXX: the most dangerous field of law is family law. If you read about a lawyer getting shot in the news, nine times out of ten the shooter is the disgruntled ex-spouse of the lawyer's client.</p>
<p>and dam law schools and their freaking high costs. even if i go to law school after working a couple of years, major debt will still accumulate. o well doesnt matter, ill do it for the love of the law.</p>
<p>In HI, I believe starting prosecutors & public defenders make about $40,000 or so, the same as court clerks. They put in rather/extremely long hours in HI, but I'm glad they have better hours in CA. There is no perfect job, but criminal law is a very interesting field & it sounds like in caome states it can be pretty rewarding--financially & emotionally.</p>
<p>What are the opinions of the ADA profession? Most of the people who posted here were making comments on being lawyers at firms, but let's not forget about the DA's office. . .</p>
<p>What's a "high paying job in corporate civil litigation? I am in my 30s and considering switching to law for the passion of it. In my present field of business I could be making about 750,000 USD per annum in about 10 years in leadership roles. Would being a lawyer in a big firm, or even with my own practice, allow me to make this kind of dough? Hard work is not a problem. Thanks for any input.</p>
<p>What would you guys say to going to law school not to practice law, but as a substitute for an MBA? I'd like to do consulting work and 90% of consultants have a hard time advancing beyond associate without a graduate degree, but the world's crawling with MBA's. For example Penn's 3 year JD/MBA doesn't sound so bad.</p>
<p>I took a 4 year JD/MBA back in the day. It ended up good for me, since after about 9 years of law practice I switched to a business job. I knew a few JDs who went directly into consulting, and of course more MBAs did so. There are other schools that offer joint degrees, since I imagine that it would be quite difficult to get into both Wharton MBA and to the law school. Where I went you had to be accepted to both schools. I thought 4 years was a bit compressed for both degrees. I am not sure how you could do it all in 3.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks. I wanted to ask because I keep hearing that "a JD is good for nothing other than practicing law". I guess that's kind of right, but at the same time everyone and their brother has an MBA. As for the Wharton/Penn Law thing, difficult? Without a doubt. Impossible? I think not.</p>
<p>I'm told every school that has an MBA program and a law school has a joint program pretty much. I only looked at the JD/MBA from penn because it's 3 years long, but otherwise, Stanford also sounds great. My mantra is: Aim for Harvard, get into Georgetown.</p>
<p>My law background has been very useful in running the non-profit I started up, especially in filing the forms to qualify with the IRS & local tax office as well as the business office, as well as working with legislators and policymakers.</p>