Are You Law School Material?
If you're a college undergraduate approaching your senior year and have no clear idea of what you intend to do once you have your undergraduate degree, you may be trying to decide between graduate school and getting started on your career. Perhaps the thought of law school has crossed your mind, but before you start down a path which will entail three more years of intense and expensive education, you should run down a checklist of what law school and a career as an attorney require, and decide how well you would measure up. First, take a long hard look at what you think it means to practice law, and then find out how your imaginary picture compares to law practice in the real world. Forget about the John Grisham novels and movies, or the antics of James Spader and William Shatner of "Boston Legal." Most law practice is neither fast-paced nor glamorous, and the "trial of the century" occurs exactly once everyone hundred years. Don't go to law school thinking you'll be a participant when it does.
Second, it is entirely possible that you could spend your entire career as an attorney without being involved in a trial. Depending on the type of law in which you decide to practice, your courtroom experiences may be few and far between. If you are more inclined to doing research and like the scholastic aspects of the law, such a career maybe ideal. But if you would prefer to mix things up in an adversarial role, make sure you have the abilities to think on your feet and deal with demanding clients. You will be able to determine, once you are actually in law school, where your strengths lie, but make sure beforehand that you have some. You can get a handle on your reasons for wanting to become an attorney by listing the things about the profession which you find appealing. If you think that the poor are underserved by the justice system and that their numbers are unfairly represented in the prison population, you might enjoy a career as a public defender. If you'd like to help people recover from their financial mistakes, or keep them from making any, perhaps bankruptcy law or estate planning would be a good choice. But don't make a commitment to law school unless you have a fairly good fix on an area of law in which you'd be happy. Third, decide if you have the competitive nature reqiured to get accepted at, and succeed in, an accredited law school. You'll have to score at least 250 on the LSAT, and the really top law schools usually look for scores above 160. You can't pass the LSAT by memorizing facts; you have to be skilled at logical reasoning. You'll also need excellent writing skills. Finally, and most importantly, talk to some attorneys, or if at all possible, try and get an internship at a law office for a few months. While going to law school will give you a terrific grounding in legal principles, it's not the best place to learn about the minutiae of day-to-day law practice and how much paperwork is involved. Working in a law office will not only clarify if a law career is right for you; it will also provide you with an opportunity to cultivate relationships and to get the recommendations which will also be needed when you apply to law school. |
