<p>Can we please get back to the subject on "things I wish I knew as an undergrad"? Pleassssssssssssssse :-(...I would really like to know, if that's ok?</p>
<p>Re AA's situation number 2: In California, courts generally limit the contingency fee that can be charged for work performed for a minor to 25%. Moreover, in California medical malpractice cases (most of which result in a defense verdict), contingent attorney fees limited to 40% of the first $50K, 33 percent of the next $50K, 25% percent of anything between $100K and $500K, and 15 percent of any amounts awarded over $600k. Pain and suffering awards are limited to $250K.</p>
<p>If doctors and lawyers didn't charge anything to "people who need money," poor people would be even more underserved by the legal and medical professions than they are today.</p>
<p>I personally slept very well at night when I made my living representing poor people. </p>
<p>The very best paid lawyers work on a contingency basis;aside from the superstars, on average, lawyers who work on a contingency basis make about the same as the average lawyer who works on an hourly basis.</p>
<p>Lawyers who represent people of average means on an hourly basis usually try to get paid up front; once you're the attorney of record, the fact that a client has stopped paying you doesn't relieve you of your fiduciary duties. You can bring a motion to be relieved as counsel, but until you do, and until it's granted, you're duty bound to continue protecting your client's interests.</p>
<p>OP - these are all things I wish I had known as an undergrad. Also,I wish I had believed Carly Simon when she sang, "These are the good old days."</p>
<p>As an undergrad, I did know & am glad I knew that grades mattered for getting into law school. I majored in sociology (OK, not the toughest subject, but one I was interested in). </p>
<p>It's good to know what law really IS and ISN'T before deciding you're going to go to law school. It ISN'T like the movies or TV shows. There's a LOT of boring & a LOT of fighting.</p>
<p>It didn't hit me until I had been practicing for a number of years that EVERY time you go to court, generally one side wins and one side loses, even in motions (& you often have LOTS of motions in tort law during the course of each case). In order to argue in court, you have to really convince yourself that the positon your side maintains is a viable one (no matter how far-fetched it may be), so that after the ruling, one side is inevitably a bit "down," even if everyone knows it's only a motion. Ratchet that up many, many times for trial & you can imagine how it feels after verdicts & judgments.</p>
<p>There is a heck of a lot of "grey" in law.</p>
<p>Very few folks go on to promote social justice in an active way with their law degrees, even though many believe they will.</p>
<p>Look around you and be sure you LOVE law better than any other field before you go into law. Talk with practicing attorneys--fresh out of law school & some who have been practicing for many years. (Most are happy to have an audience.)</p>
<p>Law can be a useful background for a lot of fields, but you don't need a law degree to take a few law courses.</p>
<p>Despite the hype, many attorneys do NOT make huge salaries. There's a LOT of competition for those jobs that pay a lot & it exacts a LOT from you -- many hours, LOTS of conflicts.</p>
<p>Law is NOT a nurturing profession. It encourages you to be a "stickler" and argumentative by the nature of the profession.</p>
<p>Most of the attorneys I know personally do NOT get paid anywhere near even $100/hour; heck even judges in our state get $50/hour (& we have a HIGH cost of living). In fact, there are attorneys leaving the profession or working side jobs because they can't make enough as an attorney to pay off student loans & other expenses. One is moonlighting as a waitress on weekends in addition to her full-time job as a public defender and one waited banquets nights & weekends in addition to his full-time job as a deputy attorney general. Several have decided to invest in properties & manage them & make much more as they ever did practicing law.</p>
<p>Cases can last a LONG time (we had some cases that lasted over ten years especially where there are serious injuries and had MOUNTAINS of paperwork). When you're on a contingency fee (as most of these long cases are), the firm is paying ALL the expenses & storing all the file cabinets of documents that you have to keep organized while the case continues. Even if you're not on a contingency fee, you still have the mountains of docs & your client is always expecting wonderful results.</p>
<p>If you're in a litigation firm, all vacations are subject to cancellation if the firm happens to go to trial when your vacation is scheduled. NO exceptions (at least among the attorneys I know).</p>
<p>Even if folks are nice as individuals, many are NOT nice when they have their "attorney hat" on (some may even be pretty unrecognizable); fortunately, there are numerous exceptions.</p>
<p>The legal community is small & people have long memories. You may "get away" with something once, but beware the effect on your reputation and the long-term consequences. Can you live in this type of an environment?</p>
<p>Excellent post HImom. There are good and bad things about every profession. Too many people go into law thinking every day will be the high drama we see in the movies.</p>