This may turn out to be a long post, or it may not. I'm speaking from the heart, partly because I need to get out so much after all this time and all this experience, and partly because I want to give all of you law school hopefuls, and there surely will be many among you, the god honest truth.
I. What Law School is and What it Isnt.
While both medical school and law school share a prestige, or rather, being a lawyer and being a doctor both carry a degree of prestige, there are fundamental differences between the two. I introduce to the topic of medicine only to juxtapose it against the legal sphere, to make clear the difference that exists and to make clear many fallacies surrounding law school.
Getting into medical school is incredibly difficult. Getting into law school is comparatively easy. What, you say? Hear me on. The medical establishment has wisely organized their admissions process, providing on some level, a general equivalence between the medical schools of this country, where a student attempting to get into one medical school stands a chance of acceptance not TOO different than at another medical school. Of course, there are "better" schools than others, with admission spots at Harvard and Hopkins being harder to obtain than at a school in the Midwest, for example. HOWEVER, there is a base competency required; a base performance on both the MCAT and undergraduate experience that is required to get into even the "worst" medical school.
This is not the case with law school. While entry in to Yale, Harvard, and their ilk are EXTREMELY competitive, there are schools that will allow entry with nothing more than a showing of a graduate degree and the most minimal of LSAT scores. I'm talking 40th percentile scores. Scores that would make anyone question whether the profession was even appropriate for them.
What does this mean? Getting into law school isn't a privilege. Getting into a GOOD one is. Remember this, because the employers out there, who are the ones who seek to hire new law school grads, do.
II. Getting a Job out of Law School Isn't Easy
Before I start, let me say that I have a job at one of the top ten law firms in the country. I say this for 2 reasons: (1) to dispel any assumptions that my rant is due to the fact that the legal industry passed me by, that is, I'm suffering from some "sour grapes" effect. On the contrary, I was courted by most of the prestigious firms in this country, and ended up at one of my choice. I STILL find disgust in the process, perhaps becase I have been given the opportunity of insight than most.(2) I want to use my own experience as an example of how difficult the legal hiring process is, and how difficult it is to get a job when one is not in the inner circle of law schools.
I attend what is called a 2nd-tier law school. A school that is in the 2nd tier of the USNEWS rankings. However, I could have very well attended a school in the 1st tier, but outside the top 14 schools and have had the same job-hunting experience. Why? Because the reality, folks, and this is what NONE of these place are willing to tell you is this: the legal profession is still an old boys network with the VAST MAJORITY of legal hiring coming from the top 14 schools in the nation. The Ivys, those with law schools obviously, and a handful of others that have made it into that elite circle. After that, the ticket to into the prestigious jobs in the legal industry, often called BIGlaw (yes, this industry is full of self-aggrandizing hierarchy and labels to follow) is only obtainable, as with me, by being at the top of one?s class.
A HARD EXAMPLE: one of my best friends in the world attends NYU, #3 on the USNEWS list of law schools. At his school, 90% of the students are employed with jobs in NY that pay the standard ?BIGlaw? salary of $125,000 a year plus bonus (usually $15k). At MY school merely 10 blocks away? 90% of the students HAVE NO JOB, with only the top 10% of our class offered the same jobs.
Now what does this tell you? That the worst of that school is better than or equal to the best of ours? Clearly not, since those who have transferred from my school to his after the first year are all still at the top of the class there. What it says is this: an old boy?s network remains in the hiring process. Unless you go to the top 14 schools ? and don?t ask me why its 14, since that seems to be how it played out - getting the best jobs in the legal community is hard work.
Now, you ask, DigDug, why are you complaining, since you have one of these jobs? Why? Because 90% of my hardworking friends at my school ? those who are easily capable of doing the work at any of these firms, especially since all of the firms make clear that they are going to teach you how to do it ? have NOTHING.
But what about the smaller jobs, with less pay, you say? Well, here?s another tidbit of information. In the NY legal community, at least, there isn?t a smooth gradation in job opportunities. There are TONS of opportunities at the BIGlaw level, the $125k level as I said, but after that, the next big run of opportunity is at the $40-50k level. There isn?t much in between! Most of the smaller firms that could have offered salaried in between have merged or dissipated.
As you?ve suspected, my writing has deteriorated since the alcohol has taken effect, but know this:
Think long and hard before going to a law school that isn?t well-known. There is truth to the fact that a regional school, that is, a school that is known in the region it exists, can place you in job in that area simply because of the loyal alumni that practice there. However, be cognizant of the fact that if your idea of going to law school is to be rich, or at least make a good living, you might be in for a rude awakening. To put some numbers to the situation, my two good friends at school are both unemployed, and have $100k of debt from law school. What are they supposed to do?
CLIFFNOTES:
1. I am writing to dispel notions that lawschool is a ticket to riches.
2. To be clear, I have an excellent job, so I'm not ranting because I feel I've been fvcked by law school.
3. Law school hiring is very much limited to the top schools.
4. If you are thinking that law school will provide a ticket to wealth and security, think again.
I. What Law School is and What it Isnt.
While both medical school and law school share a prestige, or rather, being a lawyer and being a doctor both carry a degree of prestige, there are fundamental differences between the two. I introduce to the topic of medicine only to juxtapose it against the legal sphere, to make clear the difference that exists and to make clear many fallacies surrounding law school.
Getting into medical school is incredibly difficult. Getting into law school is comparatively easy. What, you say? Hear me on. The medical establishment has wisely organized their admissions process, providing on some level, a general equivalence between the medical schools of this country, where a student attempting to get into one medical school stands a chance of acceptance not TOO different than at another medical school. Of course, there are "better" schools than others, with admission spots at Harvard and Hopkins being harder to obtain than at a school in the Midwest, for example. HOWEVER, there is a base competency required; a base performance on both the MCAT and undergraduate experience that is required to get into even the "worst" medical school.
This is not the case with law school. While entry in to Yale, Harvard, and their ilk are EXTREMELY competitive, there are schools that will allow entry with nothing more than a showing of a graduate degree and the most minimal of LSAT scores. I'm talking 40th percentile scores. Scores that would make anyone question whether the profession was even appropriate for them.
What does this mean? Getting into law school isn't a privilege. Getting into a GOOD one is. Remember this, because the employers out there, who are the ones who seek to hire new law school grads, do.
II. Getting a Job out of Law School Isn't Easy
Before I start, let me say that I have a job at one of the top ten law firms in the country. I say this for 2 reasons: (1) to dispel any assumptions that my rant is due to the fact that the legal industry passed me by, that is, I'm suffering from some "sour grapes" effect. On the contrary, I was courted by most of the prestigious firms in this country, and ended up at one of my choice. I STILL find disgust in the process, perhaps becase I have been given the opportunity of insight than most.(2) I want to use my own experience as an example of how difficult the legal hiring process is, and how difficult it is to get a job when one is not in the inner circle of law schools.
I attend what is called a 2nd-tier law school. A school that is in the 2nd tier of the USNEWS rankings. However, I could have very well attended a school in the 1st tier, but outside the top 14 schools and have had the same job-hunting experience. Why? Because the reality, folks, and this is what NONE of these place are willing to tell you is this: the legal profession is still an old boys network with the VAST MAJORITY of legal hiring coming from the top 14 schools in the nation. The Ivys, those with law schools obviously, and a handful of others that have made it into that elite circle. After that, the ticket to into the prestigious jobs in the legal industry, often called BIGlaw (yes, this industry is full of self-aggrandizing hierarchy and labels to follow) is only obtainable, as with me, by being at the top of one?s class.
A HARD EXAMPLE: one of my best friends in the world attends NYU, #3 on the USNEWS list of law schools. At his school, 90% of the students are employed with jobs in NY that pay the standard ?BIGlaw? salary of $125,000 a year plus bonus (usually $15k). At MY school merely 10 blocks away? 90% of the students HAVE NO JOB, with only the top 10% of our class offered the same jobs.
Now what does this tell you? That the worst of that school is better than or equal to the best of ours? Clearly not, since those who have transferred from my school to his after the first year are all still at the top of the class there. What it says is this: an old boy?s network remains in the hiring process. Unless you go to the top 14 schools ? and don?t ask me why its 14, since that seems to be how it played out - getting the best jobs in the legal community is hard work.
Now, you ask, DigDug, why are you complaining, since you have one of these jobs? Why? Because 90% of my hardworking friends at my school ? those who are easily capable of doing the work at any of these firms, especially since all of the firms make clear that they are going to teach you how to do it ? have NOTHING.
But what about the smaller jobs, with less pay, you say? Well, here?s another tidbit of information. In the NY legal community, at least, there isn?t a smooth gradation in job opportunities. There are TONS of opportunities at the BIGlaw level, the $125k level as I said, but after that, the next big run of opportunity is at the $40-50k level. There isn?t much in between! Most of the smaller firms that could have offered salaried in between have merged or dissipated.
As you?ve suspected, my writing has deteriorated since the alcohol has taken effect, but know this:
Think long and hard before going to a law school that isn?t well-known. There is truth to the fact that a regional school, that is, a school that is known in the region it exists, can place you in job in that area simply because of the loyal alumni that practice there. However, be cognizant of the fact that if your idea of going to law school is to be rich, or at least make a good living, you might be in for a rude awakening. To put some numbers to the situation, my two good friends at school are both unemployed, and have $100k of debt from law school. What are they supposed to do?
CLIFFNOTES:
1. I am writing to dispel notions that lawschool is a ticket to riches.
2. To be clear, I have an excellent job, so I'm not ranting because I feel I've been fvcked by law school.
3. Law school hiring is very much limited to the top schools.
4. If you are thinking that law school will provide a ticket to wealth and security, think again.