Should you go to law school?
maybe but I've got some questions for you to think about
Recently, I’ve gotten approached by a few friends asking about what the law school process is like. I know that this is sometimes an indication of economic downturn but I (and others) imagine a lot of the interest revolves around our current political climate. My first instinct is to tell them not to go to law school and I realize that probably seems harsh or dismissive but I’m serious.
Law school is not for everyone—going to law school changes the way you intake information, analyze everyday interactions, it even shifted my own responses to the world that I thought I understood at 31. For example, I was an emotional responder to anything that happened in my life the first thirty years of my life. After law school, my logical and emotional responses compete for attention which then feeds into some of my executive function glitching so I freeze for a little bit while trying to make decisions.
If you’re in a spot where you’re asking “should I go back to law school?” I want you to sit and seriously consider a few things first. I sort of winged the whole process of LSAT to admissions to bar prep to getting licensed which, while all great learning opportunities, did not make for easy transitions throughout each step. I’m not here to question anyone’s dreams but I am here to make sure you know what you’re getting into. Mostly so that during the hardest times where you want to drop out you can’t say no one warned you.
So first, why do you want to go to law school?
Not because you’re expected to or you want to make money or you’re bored. If those are your reasons for going, then you do you bud. I won’t stand in your way because I met a number of classmates who were in school for those reasons. Plenty of those lawyers make fine money doing fine legal work. Some of them were even the kind of people who went to law school because people in their life told them they were good at arguing. They aren’t. They are, however, still lawyers.
But if you want to be in law school? If you want to change your brain, understand the world different, find new tools to make change happen, give up three years of “normal” life, if you want to take on the stress and anxiety and new levels of hellish academia and financial burden, if you want to read and write and think for most of your day with little to no breaks, then maybe law school is a an option!
Next, let’s break the question down a little more:
Do you want to change the way you think?
I don’t even mean on a surface level, I mean going to law school changes the way you think. It’s similar to learning a new language in that you need to be immersed in the legal world for the first few months and then you can start to stretch your vocabulary and practice the language. My contracts professor told us on the first day that once we understood basic contract, tort, and criminal law theories, we would see them everyday in the real world. The everyday contractual interactions you make without knowing them? I think about them. Interactions with a vending machine are contractual with an offer, consideration, and acceptance. How easy it is to accidentally kill someone while operating an electric scooter without a helmet. Whether that delivery driver is taking a detour as they go through the drive-thru while in their employer’s van.
Can you get comfortable being uncomfortable?
A great professor told our class that our first lesson was to get uncomfortable. That means asking for help, asking questions, speaking when you’re unsure, getting clarifications, seeking advice, not having a clear understanding… can you figure law school out when it gets uncomfortable and hard? When it’s too late at night and frustration builds, can you dig deep and figure out next steps without throwing a tantrum? Can you feel the uncomfortable when it comes up—when you get cold called and forget how to breathe for a few seconds, can you push past that and figure out an answer? Can you listen to professors or panelists talk about some gruesome details that are important to reflect on? Can you sit in a room with people who have vastly different opinions than you and still listen when they’re talking? Can you calm your system enough to raise your hand and speak honestly when calling out casual racism from professors or classmates? All real world examples from my experience.
Are you ready to be locked in debate with yourself, your support system, the world?
I don’t mean argumentative, I mean in debate. When I try to decide even a small life decision I have to weigh all of the consequences, constantly. I find myself asking questions about everything now and need to fully understand concepts, which isn’t always the easiest way of communicating with other people. Some see this as push back or challenging (sometimes it is) but mostly it’s me trying to understand the full picture and the details involved. Yes, it’s exhausting!
Are you ready to write and read and research as your actual job?
Reading cases and opinions, statutes and legislative comments. Writing memos and drafting analysis. Using library tools and online resources but also having to find the obscure references somewhere out there. That is my favorite part of the industry though, the writing. I’ve been a writer for a long time but learning how to write legally is almost like art. There’s a formula for the actual writing, yes, but there are legal terms of art that feel like magic to use in a sentence.
Can you handle the emotional, mental, and physical tolls it will take on your body?
I’ll be honest, I started anti-anxiety/depression medication my second semester which helped tremendously but I was woefully unprepared for how my sensitive little heart would take to the legal system. Criminal law classes were particularly hard some weeks reading about horrible acts in cases and then having to analyze what happened and why. If you can find routine, a support system, and stability during law school I think you’ll have a much better time than I did. Taking care of yourself in all aspects is incredibly important while tackling the legal system.
Can you afford it beyond just the financial aspect?
Affording it doesn’t mean paying out of pocket. I mean can you afford to take the time out from your regular life and dedicate three plus years to study and exams? Can you afford the exam to get into school? The exams to become licensed? Can you afford taking unpaid internships? To live near your school? Can you get student loans? Plus, most important of all, can you get scholarships or grants?
I mean this with my whole heart: do not pay full price for law school. It is worth it financially to do well on the LSAT so that a school will give you money to attend. I may not have gotten a full ride but I saved a bunch just by hitting a threshold on my LSAT that my school deemed appropriate. I had friends who had either mostly or fully funded scholarships from all walks of life. Seriously, don’t pay full price. Make them pay you to study with them.
And finally, do you want to go to law school for some do-good reason or do you follow the idea of see-a-need, fill-a-need? Great! Don’t let people diminish your ability to see a problem you want to change and then taking actions to see such change! Not everyone goes into the legal field with dollar signs in their eyes; some of us want to see/be/make change. It’s an expensive route to take for making change like that but if that’s your goal, I won’t be the one to dull any of that shine. I’m cut from that same cloth.
If you read all of that and are still like, “hell yeah, Kaylee, I’m gonna do it” then I say HELL YEAH back!! My intention is to give you the full picture of what it might look like going back to school as a non-traditional law student. If you’re ready to take on the challenges, the profession is ready to welcome you. Or at the very least, I am. It’s a challenge from the onset but if becoming a lawyer is written on your heart, you gotta follow that.
Happy to chat specifics to any and all friends here. With or without law school, we need you in this fight.
-Just Kaylee