<ol>
<li><p>This might sound like a silly question, but is being a lawyer anything like the show "Suits"?</p></li>
<li><p>How hard is it to find a job after law school?</p></li>
<li><p>How many hours do lawyers usually work?</p></li>
<li><p>How hard is it to get into a good law school?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>bumppppppppppppp</p>
<p>I work with lawyers, so I can help. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>“Suits” is to legal practice as “Grey’s Anatomy” is to the medical field. It’s a glamorized version of law.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are at the top of your law class (top 10%), the job prospects aren’t bad. If you are not at the top of your class, there are too many lawyers competing for too few jobs. </p></li>
<li><p>It depends on how you practice law. If you work for a large firm, you will be working 40-60+ hours per week. You have to bill a certain amount of hours to maintain your position. If you work as in-house counsel (for a corporation), the hours are a bit better. You can also practice independently and determine how many hours you work, but pay is less consistent. </p></li>
<li><p>That depends on which schools you consider “good.” The top 14 law schools have a very competitive admissions process. However, there are countless other law schools that are much easier to gain admission to. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you’re considering law as a career, I leave you with this advice: </p>
<p>Do not pursue law only because it sounds impressive or seems exciting. Do not pursue law only because of the salary potential. You will experience burn-out early on and find yourself trapped by debt from law school. However, if you are genuinely interested in law and can write well (writing-intensive field), go for it! It’s a great profession for those who truly enjoy it. You are able to work with many intelligent people and will always be challenged intellectually.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! ^
I can’t wait for law school.</p>
<p>Ok i know you said being a lawyer is nothing like suits, but so far my knowledge of lawyers comes from that show. In the show Suits and lawyers have to use logic and research to figure stuff out. It takes some critical thinking and “investigating” to find the info that the lawyers need. Is this what real lawyers do?</p>
<p>There have been a lot of posts on CC about the detriments of going to law school.</p>
<p>One partner at a big firm posted a message saying how a lot of lawyers work for his firm for free, in the hopes of one day getting a job offer.</p>
<p>Another post told of a female lawyer who was working as a stripper.</p>
<p>Another told of lawyers who concealed the fact that they were law school graduates so that they could at least get a job as a paralegal. </p>
<p>There is a VAST oversupply of lawyers.</p>
<p>And that is not going to change.</p>
<p>In fact, I would say it is likely to get worse, because the gov’t will probably be hiring less lawyers, because of the massive budget deficit, they will need to be reduced. </p>
<p>While everyone must make their own decisions, in general, I would strongly advise to go in a different direction.</p>
<p>Of course, if you are smart enough to get into a top law school, your odds might be better.</p>
<p>But just as one piece of anecdotal evidence, I have a client whose grandchild just graduated Northwestern Law School, and is unemployed.</p>
<p>Further, you might also think about the fact that most jobs advertised for lawyers say 1-3 years experience, or 3-5 years experience. Once you hit about 32 years old, if you have not made partner at a big firm, there will be no jobs for you.</p>
<p>Of course, the question then arises—what else does once do with a liberal arts degree other than go to law school? It is my belief that a lot of kids go to law school (or get an MBA) because they are not sure what else to do.</p>
<p>I base my advice not only on my own experience as a lawyer, but also on the experiences of countless friends and co-workers, a lot of them who were a lot smarter than me, and didn’t make it in the law profession.</p>
<p>In fact, I have an old girlfriend who I looked up on the internet recently. She went to a super top undergraduate school, was extremely attractive and made a professional appearnace, but just went to a so-so law school, and 20 years later, she has evidently abandoned the legal field entirely, working as a real estate agent.</p>
<p>I know most of you will ignore this advice. I was given the same advice 30 years ago, and foolishly pooh poohed it.</p>
<p>My kid has two parents who are lawyers, and he got super high verbal SAT scores, so you would think we would want him to go to law school, but we don’t.</p>
<p>Pay absolutely no attention to what you see on TV about how glamorous the lives of lawyers are. </p>
<p>Think long, and HARD, before you go this route.</p>
<p>Best case scenario—you will get a job at a big law firm, and work 60 hour weeks, 7 days a week, and you will be in constant fear of your job, because every day, that law firm will be receiving a million resumes from lawyers, many with top credentials, looking for jobs. And then, when you are 32 years old, there will be no job at all for you. If you are LUCKY, you will then get a job at a small law firm, and will find yourself working besides former Ivy League law grads who now are working at the small law firm, with no hopes of advancement.</p>
<p>too many lawyers so few good jobs. Good luck.</p>
<p>This might be a dumb question but does location matter? For example, would getting hired be harder in Los Angeles or NYC compared to middle America?</p>
<p>wow
thanks for the information, everyone!</p>