<p>I'm going to keep this short, but as others have said, don't plan to be in the top of your classes. Remember that everybody in that room is going to be trying to be at the top of the class as well, and just because your dedicated, doesn't mean everybody else is. However, the other days a professor put it well when she pointed out that, "Roughly half of all current lawyers were not in the top 50% of their class." It did actually make me feel a little bit better, but as I've been warning people, be 100% sure that you want to do law school before you take the plunge. It is very hard work, and despite me being "very dedicated" I have many nights were I'm feeling down because I've got no idea what it is I just read.</p>
<p>With that I need to return to Civ Pro, just really think about law school and be sure it's what you want, don't do it just for the money.</p>
<p>It should be said that there is one situation where you can predict reasonably well to be at the top of your class. If you are coming in far above the average of the class. A 4.0/180 grad can probably expect to be at the top of the class at Cal (or virtually all of the law schools other than Harvard/Yale), because they are far above the school average in capabilities.</p>
<p>I think people have to realize that just because you have a law degree, doesn't mean you'll be making tons of cash. It has to be something you're into, and happy with. </p>
<p>I think in the article it said something like, temporary contract workers are making as little as $20 dollars an hour. That's making a living, that's not homeless, that's fine in my books. From what I hear, going to law school is pretty useful for a lot of different jobs even if you're not at the top of your class. Work hard and keep on top of it, and try to enjoy it. </p>
<p>Oh yeah, I think people also have to keep in mind that it strongly depends on the kind of law you specialize in too. Family law doesn't provide top cash as much as corporate law, but I may be wrong.</p>
<p>I'm sorry, but if you go to Harvard Law, as long as you're in the top half of your class, it really doesn't matter. A Harvard JD speaks for itself.</p>
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I think in the article it said something like, temporary contract workers are making as little as $20 dollars an hour. That's making a living, that's not homeless, that's fine in my books.
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<p>Well, I don't think many people would say that anything above homelessness is fine. Also keep in mind that they get no benefits and have zero job security or potential for advancement. And, of course, consider the tremendous amount of debt they're carrying. </p>
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From what I hear, going to law school is pretty useful for a lot of different jobs even if you're not at the top of your class.
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<p>Where did you hear that? It's not really useful for non-legal jobs, especially if you're at the bottom of the class.</p>
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Oh yeah, I think people also have to keep in mind that it strongly depends on the kind of law you specialize in too. Family law doesn't provide top cash as much as corporate law, but I may be wrong.
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<p>That's generally true, although it really matters more who you work for than what specific area you practice in. Big firms generally just don't do any family law, immigration law, trust & estates, etc., or they do very little of it.</p>
<p>A JD is not helpful to many other careers. That is something a lot of people say but very few can come up with careers where having a law degree is a plus. Anytime I hear anyone say that they are going to law school, not to practice law, but because there are so many things you can do with the degree, I ask them to name one.</p>
<p>Something else to remember: those glamorous high paying big firm associate positions aren't always what they seem when you consider the fact that your employer essentially owns you. I'm sure you've heard the saying about the major NYC law firms: they pay their first years more than anyone else, and it's all minimum wage. Look before you leap.</p>
<p>After having been married to a lawyer for 20+ years, who has been with a firm for close to 30 years, I can tell you that you can essentially make as much money as you are driven to make. The law profession is a service business (if you are with a law firm) in which you (according to husband) sell chunks of your time/life. Your billable hours will determine your salary ultimately!</p>
<p>Hey, fresh out of law school, most people have no family, no kids, and no responsibility or commitments outside friends and/or girlfriends. This is THE time to dedicate yourself entirely to your career. Would you rather work biglaw associate hours when you're 25 or when you're 40 and have two kids that want you to tuck them in every night?</p>
<p>^Um, what makes you think that the lifestyles of attorneys at these firms improves substantially between 25 and 40? As an associate, you'll be living at the office. And you're not going to make partner unless you're bringing in a very large book of business -- and if you are, you're going to spend a lot of hours getting and keeping that business. Either way, you won't be going out with friends much at 25 and you won't be home much to see your kids at 40.</p>
<p>That's true.....I'm saying, IF you're planning to do biglaw, it's better you start at 25 rather than 40. I guess what I'm trying to say is when you make partner, you at least get to go home.</p>
<p>I know many, many "biglaw" partners who work as hard or harder than the associates. They tell me all the time that they can't get the associates to work as hard as they do - and I get emails at 11 pm and 6 am from them fairly regularly.</p>
<p>one of the biggest myths about big firm practice, i think, is the idea that the partners get to kick back and have the associates slave away. partners don't get to be partners unless they have incredible drive and work ethic -- that doesn't stop once they make partner. the type of work may change, the degree of control over the work may change -- but don't think that partners get to relax and reel in the cash.</p>
<p>at the firms i worked at, the partners worked very hard -- it is one of the reasons they had such high demands on the associates -- it is what they expected from themselves as well as others.</p>
<p>I think that I may have mentioned this before, but when I was a baby associate with a well known BIGLAW firm in NYC, one Saturday night at about 2 a.m. (keeping in mind that we had all come into work on Friday morning having no idea that we wouldn't go home until Sunday morning), the partner on one of my deals sat down next to me during a lull in the negotiations to describe how much he loved his work, yet hated how the hours kept him from his family. He described partnership as "winning a pie eating contest where the prize is more pie". </p>
<p>His statement has always stuck with me as an excellent way to sum up BIGLAW partnership. Oh, and yes, that partner was there with us in the office until the moment we all went home. His experience was quite typical.</p>
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It should be said that there is one situation where you can predict reasonably well to be at the top of your class. If you are coming in far above the average of the class. A 4.0/180 grad can probably expect to be at the top of the class at Cal (or virtually all of the law schools other than Harvard/Yale), because they are far above the school average in capabilities.
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<p>Here's an question. Let's say I'm a 168, 3.5 and I've gotten an admission to Harvard Law because I'm a very famous unicyclist. I've also gotten into schools where my numbers would reasonably predict an admission -- say, for example, Georgetown.</p>
<p>By the same logic as Payne describes above (which makes sense), I'm quite certain to be near the bottom of my class at Harvard, since I'm below their 25th percentile on both measures.</p>
<p>Should I pass up my Harvard admission to go to Georgetown instead?</p>
<p>What if I change the numbers so that I'm choosing between Georgetown and, say, Boston University? Etc.</p>
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Should I pass up my Harvard admission to go to Georgetown instead?
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<p>That wouldn't make sense. Because even being in the bottom of the class would probably be better in terms of career prospects than being in the middle at GULC. And at most top schools, students generally wind up clustered around the middle, so the difference between the median and the 25th percentile is not that great, and the schools often don't publish rank anyway.</p>