<p>I'm sick of reading all these chances threads and questions about admissions, so I thought I'd ask a question about law in general. I'm a college sophomore, and obviously, I'm interested in law school. I just got my LSAT book the other day. I skimmed through it and I found it somewhat interesting, but I want to know from people who've been through the process:</p>
<p>How was law school? Did you feel adequately prepared for your career path (the lifestyle/the pace)? Did it help you decide that you don't want to do law? </p>
<p>What's it like working in the biggest firms? What kind of person does it take to survive there? I hear about lawyers being depressed and I feel as though it's because they chose the wrong profession. What made you pick law? How hard is it to get out of law? I heard that it's hard to leave the lifestyle because of just the sensation the job gives you (power).</p>
<p>Does the allure of making multi-million dollars as a partner outweigh the potential happiness that you might be setting aside? </p>
<p>I don't know if there are older (well, early 30s may be?), but do you feel like by putting your career first, you missed out on having a family?</p>
<p>I'm posing these questions because I was talking to one of my former coaches who works in the admissions office at my high school and is a Dartmouth grad. He had all these opportunities across the country in various fields with exciting jobs, but in the end, he returned to the Northeast because that's where he would be happy. I guess what I'm asking is are you happy or do you feel complete with your choice of life? </p>
<p>These are just some questions I wanted to put out there, hopefully I can get some feedback. Hopefully it will be helpful to other people, who are interested in law, but aren't sure if it's the right path. </p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>The legal profession has the highest dissatisfaction % around, plus nearly 50%of practicing attorneys do not advice others to take the punge into the law. They hated law school and hate being lawyers even more.</p>
<p>
[quote]
making multi-million dollars as a partner
[/quote]
Barely. The most profitable firm in the country's partners apparently take home about $2M, which barely fits the threshold for "multi-million." That's a huge sum of money, of course, but it practically pales in comparison to similarly talented, hard-working Wall Street workers. After the opportunity cost is scaled in -- well, there's just no comparison.</p>
<p>Okay I might have stretched a little bit with the salary figures. I guess it's the top of top partners making the big...big bucks. Yeah, law is my alternative to Wall Street, and I think I could certainly thrive in either, but Wall Street is my preference right now.</p>
<p>No. The figure quoted (about $2.5M) **is **the top of top partners.</p>
<p>EDIT: With the exception of a onetime RIM windfall, the top firms are around $3M:
Big</a> Profits at Top Law Firms - Mergers, Acquisitions, Venture Capital, Hedge Funds -- DealBook - New York Times</p>
<p>I thought I saw some figures like that.</p>
<p>Again, the point is: given that this is the absolute top of the field, law is simply not that profitable. $3M is, of course, a huge sum of money. But this the VERY TOP of the legal field, with hundreds of people working ninety hour weeks for each person who makes it here. Given how bad the odds, the hours, and the required education is, you'd think the compensation at the very top of the pyramid would be more than $3M.</p>
<p>
[quote]
In the year 2004, the most profitable US law firm was Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, whose partners made over $2.5 million each that year. While obviously $2.5 million is a princely chunk of change, it simply doesn't compare to the kind of money that Wall Street star financiers make. The stars on Wall Street can and do easily make over 10 times that amount in a year.
[/quote]
</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/5027-average-salary-misleading.html#post220667%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/5027-average-salary-misleading.html#post220667</a></p>