Are any of you sick of hearing "your life is going to suck during LS?"

[lil_token]

Call it your first bout of hazing in the legal field.  They are trying to psych you out - DO NOT LISTEN!  Of course, there is some truth to it- it is hard.  But you know that and you are up for the challange right? Meet some friends that you trust in law school and learn to help eachother.  Do not listen to those who will say anything to scare you into failing.  It is an unbelievably competitive environment and the sooner you block it out the better you will be.  Competition does not foster success as much as collaboration does.  But, of course, you do have to be better to get the better job...

Yes, I am damn sick of hearing darn from disgruntled people either towards the law in general or from miserable lawyers. 

I don't think anyone is trying to psych out people they will not be competing with -- it doesn't make any sense.  The quality of your law school experience will depend largely on where you go to school.  Rankings aside, you should make certain that you are going to be happy with the school you select, because there is more depth to the experience than your day-to-day academic life.  Geography, social opportunities, proximity of family, and other factors play more of a role in student satisfaction than one might imagine.  Everyone's law school experience is different, but even those who love law school (I do!) will tell you that it's no tea party and it's not "fun" in the conventional meaning of the word.

[kernelgt]

I worked at a law library last year (at U.M.). It gave me a good opportunity to talk to the current students and law professors. Only one law student was supportive, but the rest were not. The second person that I talked to is from a family of lawyers, and told me "Don't do it! Find something else"! She could not give me a reason why I should not go to law school. The majority of the students were young, so they probably were in shock.

If these people were so passionate about their advice, they wouldn't still be IN law school.  Many people love to hate what they're doing for some reason because they think it garners sympathy or makes them feel important.  The last person I'd listen to is a law student saying "don't go, run now!" who hasn't taken his own advice.

[the REAL desi]

If these people were so passionate about their advice, they wouldn't still be IN law school. 

I cannot agree with that statement - next year, about 80% of your classmates will be people who had no other options, and woke up and decided to apply to law school.  The former "consultants" and "i-bankers" did that for two years and were not invited to continue.  Even most of the engineers could not find a job because of the economy and decided to go to law school. 

[Tippy Farmbuckle]

If these people were so passionate about their advice, they wouldn't still be IN law school. 

I cannot agree with that statement - next year, about 80% of your classmates will be people who had no other options, and woke up and decided to apply to law school.  The former "consultants" and "i-bankers" did that for two years and were not invited to continue.  Even most of the engineers could not find a job because of the economy and decided to go to law school. 

how does that make the original statement any less true???

[HippieLawChick]

To return back to the original question: Yes, I am tired of hearing that law school is going to suck.  I honestly don't see how it could suck worse than working 50 hours a week and going to school part time while chairing a statewide voter reg. effort. 

Not having to work and just being able to immerse myself in something I have a passion for sounds like pure liquified JOY to me!  I can't wait!

[Paperback Writer]

I wanted to start a thread to see if any of you have experienced what I have.... mostly newer lawyers telling you that LS sucks and your life is going to suck during LS.  From what I can tell there are two theories for this phenomenon:(1)  those people are terribly unhappy being lawyers and/or hate the firm where they are working; or (2)  this is the beginning of competitiveness and they are just trying to psych us out.  I have many friends who are lawyers and only one has been unconditionally supportive.  From all the others I get patronizing comments like "...I wouldn't change places with you for anything..." and "...are you ready to start your career?..."  (which is very insulting considering I am a non-trad with a great career already!)

Another one is that fresh-out lawyers are usually still in their mid-20s and don't know that work sucks in most areas, including law.  They attribute their predicament as being peculiar to the legal profession.

[HippieLawChick]

LMAO P.W.!

It's true....I think that many of them had school paid for by daddy and have never worked at all...Surprise...the reason we get paid for this crap is because it's a PITA....if it were always fun, we would be paying THEM!

[TBoneUCLA]

LMAO P.W.!

It's true....I think that many of them had school paid for by daddy and have never worked at all...Surprise...the reason we get paid for this darn is because it's a PITA....if it were always fun, we would be paying THEM!

i think there is some truth in that. i am sure almost 100% of the college seniors that have never worked a day in thier life and didn't do research about law school and expected it to be just like undergrad f*cking hating law school!

yes, i am talking about all the "elle woods" out there that show up on the first day with a heart-shaped notepad and a fuzzy pencil to take notes   i know, those arent the only people that dispise law school, but i am sure they all do/did. i think people who have had challenging careers and left them for the law and have researched and understand just how hard law school can be will be prepared and satisfied. not overwhelmed.

[tiptoe]

I think what we all must remember is that a law degree can serve as a foundation for many different career opportunities.  You can do the big law firm thing, you can do public interest, you can go into producing, you can go into real estate, hell, you can work for yourself!!! 

I just want the opportunity to have opportunities and options, that's why I am going to law school. 

So ignore all the negativity and focus on how you are going to make it work for YOU!

[Sister Funkhaus]

I know that law school is MUCH different from teaching (probably easier hahahaha), but as a student teacher, all I heard from all teachers was how awful it was, etc... Same song and dance as the law "thing." I think it is just hazing as someone else mentioned. I just ignored it. I am glad I did b/c I really loved teaching. Teaching is an awesome career, I just REALLY want to be a lawyer.