Lawyer, Law School, BigLaw FAQ

[Fuuma]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

Hippy? Lulz. I am a corporate management consulting tool. I make more than you.

Your career should not be about ROI, it should be about how happy it makes you.

So you fucked up?

 

[MetroStyles]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

So you fucked up?

I never said I did things right. There is still time though. The first step is being lucid about it instead of delusional like the vast majority of poasters here.

 

[odoreater]

Originally Posted by theincumbent

^The law is no place for idealists unless you are a trust fund baby. Facking hippy.

And yes, I do believe it is a bad investment when considering the amount of debt the average law school graduate incurs. Very few, if any, industries have taken the slash and burn mentality that is now set in the minds of BIGLAW all over this country.

This is bullshit. I'm not a trust fund baby (and not an idealist either), but I left biglaw (at least what passes as biglaw in NJ) where I was making 150k per year to open my own firm so I can do criminal defense cases. I now make a small fraction of what I made in biglaw, but I live a much happier and fulfilling life. People who don't have the balls to seek out happiness are always going to be miserable.

 

[RJman]

Originally Posted by odoreater

People who don't have the balls to seek out happiness are always going to be miserable.
Sig'ed. ROI this, smallTTTimers.

 

[LuxeStyles]

Who says seeking money or BIGLAW isn't also seeking happiness?

 

[odoreater]

Originally Posted by LuxeStyles

Who says seeking money or BIGLAW isn't also seeking happiness?

True, there are some people who are very happy to be doing biglaw. But, they are few and far between. The majority of people who are in biglaw are in it for the money or the prestige.

 

[MetroStyles]

Originally Posted by LuxeStyles

Who says seeking money or BIGLAW isn't also seeking happiness?

Seeking happiness is your first mistake. If you seek it, you will never find it. You will always be projecting into the future and there is no happiness in the future, only in the present.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

Seeking happiness is your first mistake. If you seek it, you will never find it. You will always be projecting into the future and there is no happiness in the future, only in the present.

Wherever you go, there you are.

We need a :buddha smiley.

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

Wherever you go, there you are. We need a :buddha smiley.

 

[yerfdog]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

I like how you guys are determining your careers based on ROI.

oh come on, I didn't say that was the only reason I went to law school. But you'd be dumb to not factor that in when you're making a 3 year, $75K+ investment.

 

[theincumbent]

Originally Posted by odoreater

This is bullshit. I'm not a trust fund baby (and not an idealist either), but I left biglaw (at least what passes as biglaw in NJ) where I was making 150k per year to open my own firm so I can do criminal defense cases. I now make a small fraction of what I made in biglaw, but I live a much happier and fulfilling life. People who don't have the balls to seek out happiness are always going to be miserable.

I think we are talking about two different things.

You are talking as an attorney who has had success in Biglaw, and chose to start your own firm. This is after presumably paying down much of your debt while making that 150K/year.

I am talking about current graduates and soon-to-be graduates who will not be getting the Biglaw offers that existed two years ago, but simply do not now. I have many friends and classmates who had offers on the table for the 160K jobs that are now being revoked or "conditioned." All the major firms are reducing their summer hiring - some more than 50%.

When you add up the enormous loan debt incurred it is a very difficult time for a grad who is not earning that 160/year.

 

[MetroStyles]

Originally Posted by yerfdog

oh come on, I didn't say that was the only reason I went to law school. But you'd be dumb to not factor that in when you're making a 3 year, $75K+ investment.

I think it would be dumb to not factor in what you want to do as a career (30+ years) when deciding which school you want to go to.

 

[crazyquik]

Originally Posted by samblau

On a per student basis it would be cheaper to hire top-partners at Vault 10 firms to teach than it is to go to law school. Something is wrong with that. Here is my quick math:

Not sure why anything is wrong with that. Vault 10 firms hire from the T14 plus a few other schools. There are more top-partners in NYC than there are top of their field securities, corporate, mass torts, bankruptcy professors at top schools (the kind that have published 100+ articles in top law reviews and now publish case books and treatises). They also often do consulting for major corporations on the side. If/when they leave academia, they would be able to command similar pay to BIGlaw partners, because they are the ones that taught the Biglaw partners.

Similarly, just look at the Delaware Chancellory court. Most of them were biglaw partners; Bill Allen now teaches at NYU Law and Stephen Lamb just stepped down to start a new office for Paul Weiss in Delaware. Top flight professors are harder to come by than biglaw partners.

Originally Posted by LuxeStyles

Who says seeking money or BIGLAW isn't also seeking happiness?

BIGLAW and seeking happiness are mutually exclusive.

 

[yerfdog]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

I think it would be dumb to not factor in what you want to do as a career (30+ years) when deciding which school you want to go to.

yeah that too, also a major factor. but not the only one.

 

[MetroStyles]

Originally Posted by yerfdog

yeah that too, also a major factor. but not the only one.

Fair enough, dog. Good luck in your career!