<p>i've taken a few law courses in high school and all of them have been pretty interesting. much more so than most of my classes. perhaps studying law is actually more interesting than practicing. all of my friends who have parents who are lawyers are immediately turned off by the career because they see what their parents do and it seems boring. and everyone i kno who has interned for firms finds it boring. what's the consensus? does it depend on what type of law you study/practice? is it all subjective? i kno i wasnt the only one who enjoyed the law classes in HS. any other info?</p>
<p>When I expressed the interest in possibly pursuing a career in law following undergrad all family members and family friends who were lawyers seemed unanimous in their urging me to do something else.</p>
<p>From what I’ve gathered from others is studying and learning the law is fascinating, but practicing it once you know it becomes dull and slips into becoming a sort of mindless routine. It’s easy to fall in love with the idea of any career when you imagine yourself at the top, like a hot shot DA fighting organized crime, a supreme court justice, or a partner at a top corporate law firm. it seems the same case with law, though that you’re at least assured a salary above the national average.</p>
<p>I fear that while this may certainly be a true reflection of the opinions of some lawyers, you will also find that many lawyers find their practices to be interesting, challenging, stimulating and rewarding. It all depends on your interests, your abilities and your career path.</p>
<p>Most careers can seem dull or repetitive if you do the same thing for a while. This is true whether you’re a construction worker, teacher, doctor, banker, nurse, or in marketing, finance, etc. Many people working in any profession will tell you this. To me, working as a lawyer for 40-50 years or so sounds a lot more exciting than what my parents do in Finance. I’ve never met anyone who genuinally loves Finance, they went into it for the money. This is true of many lawyers, but so many have a passion for what they do. I’ve never met anyone with a passion for Finance. </p>
<p>jdp349 - do you mind sharing what specific types of law your family members are involved in? There are so many different types of law and they’re so diverse. I think of Contract law as boring, but I imagine a Defense attorney would have a more stimulating career.</p>
<p>As for satisfying, the type of law you’re in makes a big difference as well. I want to be a Human Rights lawyer and to me that sounds fulfilling, but I don’t feel that way about Plaintiff Law or Contract Law (although other people obviously like those). What sallyawp said is true. So yeah, it definitely varies depending on the person and career.</p>
<p>what you studied in hs law classes is likely to be very unlike what law school will be like and VERY different than what the practice of law will be like. but that doesn’t mean its not worth you looking in to as a potential career.</p>
<p>a lot of “law” courses taught in hs or college can be very interesting – but nothing like how law school classses are taught. and by definition, they tend to address the more interesting types of cases – constitutional law, legal history? i know i took both a hs and college course on constitutional law – really interesting. nothing like how con law was taught in law school (which was also really interesting) but more importantly – few if any cases you ever work on as a lawyer will ever even touch on the type of issues you address in those courses.</p>
<p>in law school you study major cases, grand theories, big ideas (if you attend a national law school – lower tiered, local law schools are more likely to teach courses dealing with the black letter law of the state in which they are located). the practice of law often involves mundane routine matters that although important to the client are just not the type of momentous matters that often make law classes interesting.</p>
<p>the biggest piece of advise i would give you in considering whether to consider a legal career – a huge difference between studying law and practicing law is the client. that may sound obvious, but it is an essential thing to understand. studying law is about theoretical matters – no one “right” answer, etc. when you practice law instead of allowing your intellectual pondering to go in whatever direction appeals to you, you must focus it on the interests of your client – unless what the client wants is illegal or unethical, it is your obligation to do you best to achieve their goal. some people thrive on that. some people don’t. and realize clients (or senior partners who want to keep clients happy) don’t usually like being told they can’t do something they want to do – and it can be hard to have your professional life dictated by the interests of others – both intellectually and emotionally, as well as in terms of the time demands that also come with that. stress is often a part of the job – some people thrive on it, others don’t.</p>
<p>so before you think about being a lawyer because of the appeal of a few law classes – really think about how you would feel about being “a hired gun” and do as much as you can to learn about what the actual practice of law is like – talk to as many lawyers as you can.</p>
<p>and realize you have plenty of time to make this decision.</p>