why do you want to be a lawyer?

[Kelly Li]

I am still not quite sure about why I want to go to a law school and to be a lawyer. I know it is a prestigious career, but life of a lawyer can be very tiring. I am afraid that lawyer job is not creative and boring.

So, why do you want to be a lawyer? Can I change my career even if I really become a lawyer one day? I mean, are there any other careers related to a law degree other than being a lawyer?

For me, My dream is to have my own restaurant, but to be a lawyer seems a more realistic choice  to me.

[smartandunique]

Hi-My dream is to be a staff attorney for a legal services organization.

The reason I want to be a lawyer is because I want to be able to help others, serve as a resource and I love politics and the relevance of the law.

I think you should follow your dream and make being a restaurant owner a reality.
Law school will always be there.

Good Luck.

[MikePing]

A law degree for the sake of having additional options is a very expensive (both in time and money) choice. 

You should follow your dream in the restaurant business. 

[haus]

I concur, law school may not be for you, at least not at this time.

If owning a restaurant is the dream, there are more direct means of accomplishing this than going to law school.

[FalconJimmy]

For me, My dream is to have my own restaurant, but to be a lawyer seems a more realistic choice  to me.

I agree, being an attorney is more realistic, but not because being an attorney is particularly realstic.  More because being a restauranteur is incomprehensibly brutal and the odds of failure are enormous.  At least if you go $100K in debt getting a law degree, you'll always have a law degree.  You can easily lose $100K on a restaurant startup and you won't have anything to show for it afterwards.

[haus]

I will agree with Falcon that the restaurant business appears to be brutal.

For all the people who complain about how bad the law profession is tough to find a great job if you do not come from one of the big name schools, when it comes to straight odds, new lawyers from most ABA schools stand a better chance at financial success then most first time restaurant owners.

In the end the odds are the odds, and what you want to do is what you want to do. Only the OP will be able to determine what is the right answer for them.

[priscilbrooks]

Follow your heart. You have to work hard no matter what. You can buy your kids FurReal Friends Cookie since it won't bite.

[Thane Messinger]

So, why do you want to be a lawyer? Can I change my career even if I really become a lawyer one day? I mean, are there any other careers related to a law degree other than being a lawyer?

For me, My dream is to have my own restaurant, but to be a lawyer seems a more realistic choice  to me.

Kelly -

Good points by all, and this is indeed an important decision--probably too important for a default career.  There's a book by Juan Doria that has probably the best section on this topic out there.  It's the provocatively titled Slacker's Guide to Law School.  Worth reading for a number of reasons, not least the question of whether one should go into law (and law school) half-heartedly.  Among the other reasons is in keeping your sanity if you do go.

Best of luck,

Thane. 

[Beags]

Complex answer:  To carry on a family tradition of having an attorney in a rural area, coupled with a sincere interest in the practice of law and a realistic view of a practice.  I grew up in the law, have worked in legal areas my entire life, and wish to practice it in my family's office with my great-uncle's simple motto of "Everyone deserves a lawyer."  Knowing the realities of practice, I don't have any grand desire to be a public service attorney, or own a big house...just a down-in-the-muck Sh*t law practitioner who builds a decent reputation and can feed his family while helping his clients as much as possible.  Prestige?  Please...like I said, I grew up with lawyers.

Less Complex Answer:  Divorces.  There's gold in them thar hills, and from observing my family's practice I've learned that not many attorneys want to take on these types of cases because they're emotional, heated, and get downright nasty.  I am, by and large, not that nice of a guy and kinda like the idea of being the backwoods pitbull in a case of who gets "the jeep" and who gets the "trailer".

Yeah.  Who wants to watch me run a good name into the muck in five years?

[FalconJimmy]

Less Complex Answer:  Divorces.

I originally wanted to work PI, but I'm slowly coming around to seeing the appeal of handling divorces.  I have owned a couple businesses in my lifetime and my philosophy is generally to try and find a sector where you can do the dirty jobs nobody else wants.  I can see how divorce fits that bill.

The other one I'm curious about is DUI defense.  Unlike a lot of criminal law, a lot of these defendants have money and really need as favorable an outcome as possible.