Am I doing the Right Thing?

[Hobbes]

Why do you want to go to Law School?  Why does being a Lawyer interest you?  Law school is not something that should be taken lightly... just going to go or going because your father is a lawyer are not good reasons to attend law school.

I agree with most people who posted.  My suggestion is focus on your studies, get a good GPA in whatever field interests you, get to know your professors, but above all, enjoy yourself in school.  Make sure you accomplish what you need to, but be sure to do other things you aspire to do... go abroad for a semester, take some recreational courses, party, etc.  Don't visit this board and start stressing until the end of 2nd or beginning of 3rd year.

[mousepad]

Could someone please explain the discrepancy between some of the suggestions (like getting a pre-law job and taking pre-law courses) in this thread and the following post from another thread?

Get involved in activities you genuinely care about, not those you think you should because they're typical "pre-law" activities.
-Megan Barnett, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Yale

"Professional joiners" are a turn-off.
-Elizabeth Rosselot, Director of Admissions, Boston College

There are lots more quotes like these, can't hunt them all down right now. And, in general, you can find lots of quotes from admissions deans that generally disparage the value of anything law related before coming to law school. For example:

I prefer to see business related experience rather than work in a law firm. In consulting and investment banking, for example, the demands on the person are great whereas the responsibilities in a law firm tend to be less challenging. Thus, the former carries more weight.
-Don Rebstock, Associate Dean of Admissions, Northwestern


These are just a couple. There's lots more like it. And, you've got to remember. This is just what they're willing to say *publicly*. You've got to assume in private (i.e. in closed doors at admissions time) they are even more critical of pre-law activities.

[jacy85]

there isn't really a discrepancy between any of those statements.

Looking at the job aspect, that depends on why you would want to get a job in the legal field.  I knew that a great number of applicants would also have legal experience, and that it's definitely not the best environment to get leadship qualities or really develp a skill that could be an additional asset for  law school, as the dean who spoke of business experience was getting at. I still chose to work in a legal enviroment, however, because I wanted to educate myself more on the legal world and the daily grind of a lawyer.  Personally, I wanted to see the non-glamorous side of the job, and make sure that I could live with it day to day before I sank myself in debt and committed 3 years to ls.  I feel that will come out in my PS, as I'm mentioning in very briefly in connection to something else.

In terms of the quotes regarding joining groups/activities, if you truly care about a legal matter, and have the opportunity to volunteer for it, (say you come from a poor neighborhood, and many people benefitted from legal aid, and you want to volunteer for a local legal aid clinic) then go ahead, but ONLY if it's something  you're truly intersted in/care about. The same goes for the second quote.  Don't join 20 activities because it looks good on your resume. 

So IMO, those statements do NOT contain a discrepancy.  They state, in slightly differing ways, that you should join activities (and, in essence, aim for jobs) that you truly love, and not just seek those that you *think* look good on a ls app.

[nekko]

Speaking as a paralegal 
1) The qualifications are fairly minimal (in CA anyway) so if you wanted to be one it wouldn't be very hard.
2) Being a paralegal as others have noted isn't a particularly good job in terms of impressing admissions people.
3) Being a paralegal is a relatively well paying job for liberal arts types who don't have tons of job options.
4) Being a paralegal can be very helpful in understanding what being a lawyer entails. I work at a fairly big firm and you get a pretty good idea of how cool it is to be a BigLaw attorney and you also get a pretty good idea of just how awful it can be. You see lots of burnout. I'm sure everyone thinks that they wouldn't be the ones who can't hack it but I've seen extremely bright attorneys from top law schools (Yale/Harvard/etc.) leave both BigLaw and/or the legal profession entirely. Of course these people in addition to being bright and hard working were also extremely nice and personable so if you don't have these additional attributes you might not suffer their fate. Also working around attorneys at a law firm like mine you get a good sense of what makes a good attorney and a bad one, plus what a well written brief looks like v. a really bad one. Hopefully you'll be with the firm that has the really well written one and can learn stuff from those attorneys but it doesn't always work out that way.

[thediesel]

For the love of christ dude, your still in high school.  Why in the world are you thinking of law school.  Case in point, imagine you are at your first college party and the only thing that you can talk about to people is how much you want to go to law school.  And then you have to worry about it for four more f-ing years.  My advice as an elder statesmen, HAVE FUN, let law school take care of itself.  If you really want to be a lawyer you will be one, just make sure you don't burn yourself out first.

[casino]

study for it and take the test now.  if you f it up, take it again one year after college because the first one won't count anymore.

casino

[SNUGGLE]

Hello, im a senior in high school and is soon going to attend college this fall. Im really obsessed about going to law school & just started to study for the lsat. I want to study right now and take my lsat earlier than most people such as in the beginning of my junor year or in my sophomore year. Is this being wise or stupid? I heard that you'll be more smarter and likely to test better on it as your brain matures or something. So, would studyin for a year in my freshman year be as effective as studying for a year in my junior year??? Moreover, what kind of extracurricular activities look good in ur application? for example, volunteer work, study abroad, work experience, clubs, awards, etc.. which one should i emphasize the most?

No

[dsong02]

just out of curiosity, why do you have the words 'Right' and 'Thing' capitalized?

i find that to be disturbing.

[legends159]

Ok so I'm getting mixed messages:

-One person says to double major in two substantially different fields
-while another says not to because it will be too much work and would'nt matter in an application

In addition
-Someone said that majoring in Pre-Law looks bad, can I get a verification on this?

[Name Changing Queen]

Ok so I'm getting mixed messages:

-One person says to double major in two substantially different fields
-while another says not to because it will be too much work and would'nt matter in an application

In addition
-Someone said that majoring in Pre-Law looks bad, can I get a verification on this?

My two cents:

Don't be a prelaw major.  Many people have told me this.  Law schools want diverse, intersting student bodies from many disciplines.  Most people in law school were not prelaw majors.  There are pre-law clubs at most colleges.  You join one of those and do moot court and all that without actually majoring in pre-law.

If you can handle two substantively different majors and still come out with a FABULOUS GPA, then go ahead and do it, it will look great.  But if it comes down to impressive-double-major with-lower-GPA and one-strong-major and highest-potential-gpa, don't let your GPA suffer.  Without the right numbers (GPA plus LSAT) you might not get seriously looked at for your top choice schools (and therefore not have the opportunity  to wow them with you curriculum).

Choose a major that truly interests you.  You'll do better and you'll enjoy life more.

Good luck