Master of Jurisprudence

[smartandunique]

Hi everybody-does anyone know about the Masters of Jurisprudence degree? If I don't get accepted to a law school I'd like to attend, I was considering this degree.I know a lot of people attend law school for a JD but have no desire to be a lawyer and that's who this degree is marketed at,per the admissions staff.I'd like to be a legal aid attorney but if I couldn't attend law school I'd still like to work for the goverment.
What's your opinions? Thanks

[bigs5068]

I don't know much about it, but if you want to be a lawyer then you should try everything you can to go to law school. If that doesn't work out and you really want to work in the field you could get a paralegal certificate. Or if you really wanted to make some money get a B.S. in some technological field that would qualify you to take the patent bar and then you could be a lawyer without going to law school.

[smartandunique]

Thanks-I'm really aiming for law school but I wanted a back up plan.

[Hamilton]

I am down on law school and echo sentiments that I have seen others post - unless you go to a T1, get a great scholarship, or truly have your heart set on being a lawyer, I think law school is a terrible investment.  Law school is not even a ticket to stability - forget wealth.  In fact, with a huge loan, law school could be a one-way ticket to financial ruin.  Record numbers of JDs are being produced and the job market is not expanding. 

Before anyone jumps on me, I am not attacking non-T1s, I am stating the reality that they are going to have a much harder time landing work because of the pecking order within the legal community.

[bigs5068]

Yes that is somewhat correct, but that is true of any form of education. The world is getting more and more competitive, law school is outrageously priced, but you can make it up. You need to realize that education is a LONG TERM investment odds are if you go to a tier 3/4 you may start out making only 50k, which when faced with a 100k loan accruing interest seems sh***y. However, if you are a halfway competent attorney in a few years you will be more experienced and be paid more generally.

That is the same with any education I have said this before, you could go straight from high school to working at a bank or grocery store and have no educational debt and if your working 40 hours a week, you will have way more money than anyone that is going to college those first four years and generally even a few years after graduation. Odds are your first job in any profession is going to suck a little bit, of course there are exceptions, but you generally have to start at the bottom and work your way up. However, if you get a M.D., M.B.A., J.D. whatever it may be you can more experience and grow. You cannot really grow passed cashier that is the end, so that is the reason for going to school in any capacity. Is there a risk that is might not work out absolutely, but that is life.

In regards to these perceptions of schools they again apply to every single profession. A computer science major from San Jose State will not have the same doors open to them as a Stanford grad. That is the way it is, in time maybe the San Jose State guy will make more money or even be a better programmer, but I wouldn't bet on the San Jose State guy having a better career than the Stanford Grad. However, if the San Jose State guy likes computer programing odds are he will get a job in the field and if that is what he wanted to do it should work out.

Bottom line education is a risk and yes Harvard/Stanford will open more doors than Timbucktu State.

[Sheshe]

Yes that is somewhat correct, but that is true of any form of education. The world is getting more and more competitive, law school is outrageously priced, but you can make it up. You need to realize that education is a LONG TERM investment odds are if you go to a tier 3/4 you may start out making only 50k, which when faced with a 100k loan accruing interest seems sh***y. However, if you are a halfway competent attorney in a few years you will be more experienced and be paid more generally.

That is the same with any education I have said this before, you could go straight from high school to working at a bank or grocery store and have no educational debt and if your working 40 hours a week, you will have way more money than anyone that is going to college those first four years and generally even a few years after graduation. Odds are your first job in any profession is going to suck a little bit, of course there are exceptions, but you generally have to start at the bottom and work your way up. However, if you get a M.D., M.B.A., J.D. whatever it may be you can more experience and grow. You cannot really grow passed cashier that is the end, so that is the reason for going to school in any capacity. Is there a risk that is might not work out absolutely, but that is life.

In regards to these perceptions of schools they again apply to every single profession. A computer science major from San Jose State will not have the same doors open to them as a Stanford grad. That is the way it is, in time maybe the San Jose State guy will make more money or even be a better programmer, but I wouldn't bet on the San Jose State guy having a better career than the Stanford Grad. However, if the San Jose State guy likes computer programing odds are he will get a job in the field and if that is what he wanted to do it should work out.

Bottom line education is a risk and yes Harvard/Stanford will open more doors than Timbucktu State.

No offense BIGS, but if a computer science grad went into nearly as much debt as most law school grads, then I'd feel like you'd have a better argument. Its a lot easier to swallow making $50,000 a year when you don't have 6 figure debt weighing you down.  Those loan payments don't wait until you've "grown " in your profession and are making more money. Having to work a few years for a salary that will not allow you to comfortably service student loans is a legitimate concern for most law school students.  For this reason, Going to a bottom tier school where you're employment prospects will be lower, and if you manage to land a job you'll likely be working for peanuts, is simply not a wise decision for most ppl. When I look at some of your posts I sometimes get the feeling that you see the world through rose tinted lenses.

[Sheshe]

My sincere apologies to the OP for not quite staying on topic 

[bigs5068]

Many undergrads  require you to go into as much debt. Often times it takes 5 years to get a bachelor's in computer science for example, that is 2 years of lost income not to mention that undergrad tuition is quite high. I know the majority of people in law school had their parent's pay for everything in undergrad so they don't realize the expense of it, but it is approximately the same amount as law school debt when you consider the time.  I do agree law school is outrageously priced and it makes no sense at any school how they charge that much, but the law school tuition is not a hidden secret, it is readily available and you assume the risk when you enroll.

[smartandunique]

I need a JD to practice law. It would be a nice to have a fancy degree and I agree it would make me more marketable but at the end of the day I need a legal education to get me where I want to be. I'm not interested in BIG Law or clerking. Besides being poor isn't really a new condition for me.

[bigs5068]

Exactly, but believe it or not there are people so naive particularly in law school that they believe they are entitled to some kind of special treatment for sittng through 3 years of classes.  When they have to actually do work and not have things handed to them it blows their mind, and instead of actually putting forth any work to help themselves out they will go on to websites like this and complain about how unfair everything is.

As you said being poor is not a new condition to a lot of people, but if you enroll in law school you will notice an absurb amount of ridiculosy spoiled people who have no clue about dealing with sh**. There are plenty of people that are hard-working etc, but I would say 20-25% of people I have encountered in law school have never worked a day in their life, and just complain when everything gets moderatly difficult in law school. Law school is the easy part, being a lawyer is 100x harder.


It sounds like you have the right attidue, and if you want to practice law go to law school. End of story, U.S. News Ranking etc is b.s. for the most part and believe it or not any ABA school will teach you the law. Negligence, Consideration, RAP, etc all have the same rules whether you learn them at Harvard or Cooley.