I need some solid advice/help

[bold-aslove]

Here's my story:

I'm a 24 year old minority from the NY Metro Area

I have a 3.6 GPA

I took the LSAT in June and scored a 149 

I have 5 years of work experience in finance, including companies like JP Morgan, i'm a licensed Mortgage Banker, real estate licensee, and series 6 and 63 holder

I have 3 very solid LOR's from my professors.

I'm a philosophy major, set to graduate in the Summer of 2011.


Here's my dilemma; do I have a chance of getting into a decent law school such as Pace University, New York Law or anything else decent around my area?
I know I should retake the LSAT but the thing is, I have no time to study.  I could retake it in June, but of course I wouldn't be able to go to school until 2012.

So as is, with my above scenario, is there any hope for me?  Is it even worth going through the application process?

I really appreciate any feedback, I've gotten so many mixed opinions and am losing my mind.

thanks

[smartandunique]

go to the cleo scholars website. Look for the summer institute. They are taking applications now.
Good Luck

[bigs5068]

You can apply right now with your score and retake the February or June LSAT. Let the schools know you are planning on retaking and they will not reject you. They may even accept you right now a minority with a  3.6 & 149 gives you a shot at some schools. Lawschoolnumbers.com will give you a realistic picture of what your chances are.

If I was you I would try to go to CUNY based on it's LOW tuition. I think CUNY is only 10k a year, which is a phenomenal deal. While NYLS is 40k or more and it is 6th place in it's own market. Not that NYLS is a bad school and I knew plenty of people doing well from there, but it is certainly not worth 90k more to go to NYLS than CUNY. At least in my opinion.

[nealric]

Here's my dilemma; do I have a chance of getting into a decent law school such as Pace University, New York Law or anything else decent around my area?
I know I should retake the LSAT but the thing is, I have no time to study.  I could retake it in June, but of course I wouldn't be able to go to school until 2012.

The general consensus is that neither Pace nor New York Law are decent law schools. Their job placement is absolutely terrible, but they are some of the most expensive schools in the country. They are notorious one-way tickets to document review hell. If you don't know what document review is, read this blog a bit: http://temporaryattorney.blogspot.com/

As Bigs suggested, CUNY is a much better option. It's cheaper, and with its public interest mission, is likely to have ties to jobs that will qualify you for 10-year income based loan repayal.

Law school will still be there next year. I strongly advise you to take the LSAT at least two more times unless you blow it out of the water the second time. You should be study 200-300 hours at MINIMUM total before you take the LSAT again. You don't necessarily need a high-priced course, but you need to be tearing that test inside and out until it becomes second nature to you. YOU HAVE TIME TO STUDY. An hour a day is all you need. This isn't just about getting in, but can also be about thousands of dollars in scholarship money. The LSAT is the single most important part of your law school app. 5 points can be the difference between getting rejected and getting in with a big scholarship.

[bold-aslove]

Perhaps I should look into CUNY a bit more. 
My interest in Pace stems from their claim to have a strong international law program, as well as ties with the UN.  (which is where I would love to work one day)

great advice, i really appreciate it everyone.

[bigs5068]

So many students fall into that trap. Odds are you are not going to be working for the U.N. I do not want to say it won't happen, but to spend 100k and 3 years of your life because somebody from Pace worked at the U.N is not a good idea.   The best way to work for the U.N. would be to have  proficiency in another language or some kind of international experience. Going to law school in White Plains, New York is not going to give you either of those things. I cannot tell you how many people at my school want to do international business law. There are jobs doing that, but the odds of someone from a tier 4 or any recent law graduate getting those jobs are about the same odds a varsity high school basketball player in a big city has of going to the NBA. It is somewhere in the realm of 1-2%. The only difference is the high school basketball player is not paying 100k and spending three years of their professional life for that 1 to 2% chance. 99% of those players love the game of basketball.  I do not think 99% of law students love the law and that is why there is so much resentment in the legal field. I still do not understand why anyone attends law school if they do not want to be a lawyer.

Bottom line is go to law school if you want to be a lawyer. If you want to work for the U.N. and that is your real dream then learning another language and getting international experience by working abroad etc is the way to do it. Or being in the military, but being a U.N. Lawyer is probably not going to happen even if you went to Harvard. Sorry if that is harsh, but it is the reality. It can happen, but are you willing to spend 100k and three years of your life for a 1% chance that you might possibly get some type of legal job in the U.N? Especially considering there is a less expensive and even profitable ways to end up working for the U.N?

[Hamilton]

Agree with bigs, working at UN or in international law with a T4 degree would be a real stretch.  Think long and hard about spending over $100K on a law degree.  The job market for lawyers stinks and law schools are pumping our record numbers of lawyers.  Seriously do your homework.

[bigs5068]

There is that, but you can succeed as a lawyer. The costs are outrageous, but CUNY is priced very reasonably. If you want to be a lawyer then things can definitely work out. If your goal is to work for the U.N. it could happen with a law degree. However, there are  a lot more efficient ways than going to law school to get employed by the U.N.  If your goal is to be an international lawyer then you do need to go to law school. However, the odds of you actually ending up as an international lawyer for the U.N. are not high.  It is kind of disappointing to hear that, but it is true.

If you go to law school in New York the odds of finding some type of legal work in the New York area are high. If you attend law school in New York and would be happy being a lawyer in the area then go for it. You will also keep that that less than 1% chance of working for the U.N. Less than 1% is more than 0 and it is always good to have a dream.  One thing you really need to do is actually expose yourself to the legal field. If you have never worked in a law firm or in the legal field you should definitely expose yourself to it. You may love it you may hate it, but it is important to know whether you love or hate something prior to committing a 100k & 3 years of your life.

In regards to the Nearlic post if that lawyer is charging $400 an hour and only paying those lawyers $32.00 an hour couldn't these lawyers file a class action against him? It seems like they would have a great case and could even get experience by fighting him. I am always baffled that attorneys who are licensed by the bar sit and complain on blogs about how unfair things are. They are lawyers so they should do something if they are getting screwed around. The reason nobody pays these type of people is because they are incapable of defending themselves from getting screwed. If these lawyers cannot defend themselves who in their right mind would want someone who cannot defend themselves representing them?

[nealric]

In regards to the Nearlic post if that lawyer is charging $400 an hour and only paying those lawyers $32.00 an hour couldn't these lawyers file a class action against him? It seems like they would have a great case and could even get experience by fighting him. I am always baffled that attorneys who are licensed by the bar sit and complain on blogs about how unfair things are. They are lawyers so they should do something if they are getting screwed around. The reason nobody pays these type of people is because they are incapable of defending themselves from getting screwed. If these lawyers cannot defend themselves who in their right mind would want someone who cannot defend themselves representing them?

These people are living close to the edge financially. Suing the temp agency would mean they are blacklisted from future doc review jobs and have no means of supporting themselves. But I wasn't referencing the specific incident, but the general conditions in doc review. Low end legal work in NYC often isn't much better than the doc review sweatshops. NYC can be a truly terrible place to practice law if you can't swing biglaw or a good public interest job.

[bigs5068]

Yea I have dealt with it out there it sucks. Reviewing contracts in a windowless basement with a bunch of other people on the verge of suicide and making 20/hr with no benefits is awesome!!!! Thankfully it only lasted two weeks before I found something better, but that was the most depressing thing I have ever done. If someone is ripping you off that bad you have to do something. If they want to ever succeed as lawyers you need to stand up for yourself. That is just how I feel about it there is always an excuse for not doing something. If you are a lawyer and some is paying you $30 and then going to a court of law and asking for 400 seems outrageous. You would have your pay stubs and the transcript from the court. It would be pretty easy to prove bad faith and if you are a lawyer getting screwed over you should do something about it.