See Jane Get Rich

I got my credit card bill today that had my final law school tuition payment.  Ironically, after I wrote my nice big check I came across Who Should (And Shouldn’t) Go to Law School.  It is no surprise that the supply of lawyers have exceeded the number of legal jobs available and it has only gotten worse with the recession.  With the advent of the recession, law firms are fundamentally changing the way they do business.  It is safe to say that some, if not all, of the changes will stick around for the long haul.  There is a renewed conversation online about the perils of the legal profession since the main stream media (in the form of NY Times) has started writing about the troubles of the legal profession most recently in No Longer Their Golden Ticket.    Sarah Waldeck of Concurring Opinions in her post Who Should (And Shouldn’t) Go to Law School, advocates for students to be careful about their decision to pursue a law degree.  In fact, she advises current pre-law students to only pursue a degree if they meet three narrow circumstances.

Only go to law school next year if (1) you have always dreamed of being a lawyer; or (2) you are accepted by a very prestigious institution; or (3) you are offered a full scholarship.

Dream I don’t know about “always” dreaming about being a lawyer.  I wanted to be a lawyer towards the end of middle school.  I was never the argumentative kid everyone said should go to law school.  So, I wouldn’t meet #1. 

Prestige I go to a pretty good law school.  It is not an ivy league school, so, I would fail to meet #2 since I don’t attend a “very prestigious” law school. 

Full Scholarship No, full scholarship here.  I attend a private law school and that costs a lot of money.  They don’t just give out full scholarships to anyone.  I was able to bring the cost of attendance down with a school fellowship plus multiple outside scholarships.  The highest outside scholarship being $10,000 and the lowest scholarship amount being $500. 

Did I make a terrible mistake by going to law school? Read the rest of this entry »