It's true people, going to law school and being a lawyer can make you evil. Lawyers are a cult of type-A, overinflated egotistical people who thrive on being right. We connive, plot, strategize on how to be the best, overcome any objection and bill you to death.
Best advice: DO NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL, IT WILL MAKE YOU EVIL. It will also make you boring, and pessimistic. I know I should be touting my profession from the rooftop, saying come all ye, join the throng of the few, the proud, the lawyer, the noble profession. But I tell anyone who even mentions law school to not go.
I know it sounds awful, but I think its because most people have no clue what they are getting themselves into. You should not go to law school if you: 1) are weak; 2) like to sleep; 3) don;'t know what else to do; 4) everyone in my family is one; 5) they make a lot of money; or 6) hate to read. (These are just a few, I can list for days).
Law school is something you have to commit wholeheartedly to. You have to understand it will warp your sense of reality and force you to think differently. Also, law school does not teach you to be a lawyer, just to "think" like one. If you think for one minute there will be a lovely "right" answer for you to IRAC every time, you are mistaken my friend. You will have to make up law on occasion, draw inferences where there are none to be seen, spend hours on end rewriting a paragraph so that you make the language clear enough, but not too clear as you must CYA in case the court does not go your way. You will labor hours over research only to find there is no answer and hey, they don;t need it anymore and your time is not billable.
You will find that most people are well, dumb. Yes dumb. People do dumb things and you will be expected to fix them. People who you went to high school with will see you are lawyer on Facebook and automatically think you can help them out or give them a discount. I work for a firm people, I do not control my rates or my billable requirements and I do not work for free.
Yes, law school makes you evil. It brings out your inner b!tch and hardens you. You know it has fully happened when you drive in your car and scream to the person who cut you off, "go ahead and hit me, I will sue you." Of you totally chew out some poor car salesman for wanting you to sign a blanket power of attorney to turn your lease car in... hello, you do not need that, just a limited one dude and DO NOT CALL ME SWEETHEART!
I may be blonde, I may be pretty, but beware: I know a lot more big words than you do and I know how to properly use them.
UGH, I HATE being called sweetheart of dear by men I don't know. GROSS!!
ReplyDeleteI guess I'll wait for my sissy to turn evil, drat!
xoxo
AHAHAH! I totally agree with this post :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, love the last part: "I may be blonde, I may be pretty, but beware: I know a lot more big words than you do..." That's what those sleazy car salesmen get for trying to take advantage of a young woman. The last time the hubs and I went car shopping, the salesman tried to talk me into a MINIVAN. A freaking minivan! And this was before I was pregnant or even thinking about children. Ugh. Sorry to go off on a tangent, just love that you said that!:)
ReplyDeletePS: Having worked in the law profession for the last 3 years, I can agree with you that most lawyers are, well, jerks. But I absolutely don't believe that you are one of them!!! Don't think you could be evil if you tried:)
This is the realest post ever. And so true.
ReplyDeleteIs it bad that I haven't even gotten bar results back yet, and I already question if I made the right career choice? At this point, if I had to do it over again, I never would have gone to law school. I hope my opinion changes in the future.
ReplyDeleteHaha! I can totally second all of this post's statements. Sometimes, I am being approached by someone seeking to get into law school and I have to hold back to not completely crush their self-esteem, because some of them really should just not do that to themselves. Stop wasting your own time and move on to something different. I believe that there are some misconceptions to our profession, I personally don't feel boring (agree though that my job is a lot of times), but it takes a certain personality to make it through law school successfully and to take on the responsibility of our job. Great post!
ReplyDelete“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” - Ernest Hemingway
ReplyDeleteDear Lord, this. I've told everyone to run from law school. Everyone you've ever hated in your entire life is squished into one building with you. That's enough to turn around and never look back.
ReplyDeleteDuly noted - I will NOT go to law school. :)
ReplyDeletePerhaps you should think of doing pro bono work. It might reignite the passion you once felt of why you decided to go to law school, to help people. Part of going to law school is to learn skills in order to help the community and educate them on their rights. It might seem daunting or time consuming to take on an extra case, but it could just change your current perspective on your career.
ReplyDeleteJust a friendly suggestion :)
i just got accepted into law school yesterday and someone passed your blog along to me :) the good news is - i passed all the "you should not go to law school if..." ... i've been a teacher for the past 6 years, this will be a career switch for me, and i've been thinking about it probably for 10 years, but 3 years seriously! everywhere i turn everyone says dont go dont go, but i have to think some of y'all like your jobs, right? :)
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