<p>would it be a bad idea to go into the field of criminology?(yes i know this is the college admissions board but the law board is dead.)</p>
<p>my stuttering(10 being the worst):
4/10 normally
6/10 when i'm uncomfortable or when i read sometimes...</p>
<p>Most law is not litigation. You could definitely find something to do for which your stuttering would not be a problem. If you are science-minded there are many forensics jobs open to you.</p>
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Most law is not litigation.
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<p>That's true, but most lawyers regularly have stressful interactions with other people that involve talking. I'm not sure it's the greatest profession for a stutterer.</p>
<p>I would recommend trying to find someone who works in the field (a friend of your parents', a neighbor, a professor, etc.) and speaking with them about your concerns. I've heard that most law is not litigation, but that criminal law is often an exception to this rule...I have no idea how true or false this claim is. Someone who can actually hear you and has experience in and around the field will probably be able to give you a better informed response.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Just in a "certainly you can be a lawyer" and an outstanding one with the challenge of stuttering, one of the most respected (former) Speakers of the Texas House, Pete Laney, was(and is) a stutterer and a lawyer. Research which areas of the law (i.e., for job placement down the road) will depend more on the written legal word rather than fluent verbal skills and you will have found your excellent niche.</p>
<p>look into corporate law - most of the time you're sitting in front of the computer and you make tons of cash! just avoid litigation - that's where the speaking comes in.</p>
<p>Some people who stutter learn strategies that help them stutter less over time. (James Earl Jones is an example.)</p>
<p>I'm not sure that transactional lawyers spend less time talking in stressful situations than litigators do. But speaking in court, and speaking in a negotiation, become less stressful with time and practice.</p>
<p>By the way, this is indeed the law board, and reports of its demise are highly exaggerated.</p>
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look into corporate law - most of the time you're sitting in front of the computer and you make tons of cash!
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<p>I'm going to have to disagree completely with you here. As a corporate lawyer, you spend most of your time communicating with your clients and discussing strategy and options with them and/or negotiating deals. I can speak from experience here, and speaking persuasively and with command is quite important in corporate law.</p>
<p>A long time ago when my family was trying to get a green card, we hired a lawyer to help us. The first time I saw him was in a court room in San Francisco. When he started talking, I couldn't believe it.....this guy had a pretty bad stuttering problem. I thought we were getting deported for sure, but he turned out to be a good lawyer and we got our green card. We went to his office one time and saw news paper clippings of him on his wall, and he definitely got a lot of business. So yea, it's definitely possible.</p>
<p>tomatoking - I know "it's always easier said than done", but like you my son has had a lifelong challenge with stuttering (though with various techniques he works on all the time the frequency of his stuttering has been reduced a lot). And he will be applying to law schools in the fall. Another well-known lifelong stutterer is John Stossel of of ABC TV (20-20 TV show).</p>
<p>I know a graduate of an HYS law school who has an extremely severe speech impediment, so severe that ordinary conversation is close to impossible. This person excelled in law school, was on law review, and got an associate position at an elite firm everyone has heard of. On the other hand, I got the sense that s/he had to work harder than everybody else and produce extraordinary written work in order to compensate for the disability. That's something students should probably be prepared for, but those with limited speech can still be lawyers.</p>