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I'm just graduating from a good but not awesome law school (T25). I did well and I landed the job I wanted - a federal 40 hour-a-week position in an administrative agency I really like. The pay is decent and becomes pretty good after a few years. Benefits are excellent, etc...
But I'm an outlier, even at my school. And there are 200 law schools, with 175 of those being below us in prestige and job prospects. My first year roommate did just about as well as I did, is quick-witted in general (and so I'd guess he is good in interviews) and yet he's been struggling to even get contract work. To explain further, he graduated a year earlier because I did a dual-degree.
Several of my best friends (graduating now) have no certain job lined up once they pass the bar. A few will be working on one-year fellowships with no job guaranteed after that.
Law school itself can also be extraordinarily stressful and frustrating. When I left law school for a year to do my MPA (at an Ivy), I was amazed at how totally stress-free tate master's program was in comparison to law. In law school, I had panic attacks, vomiting fits, etc... I have never been the kind of person to feel stress that way, not even remotely, but the time pressure and competition in law school can be really rough. I mean I had a good private sector job when I was younger and the stress was absolutely zero in comparison.
And yes, if you work as an Associate at a medium-size or large law firm, your life will be hell. That's the flipside. The students I know who have been working for a year or two at BigLaw or MidLaw firms have seen their relationships crumble and already have begun wondering "when it ends."
But, if there is a niche like Family Law that you want to practice, and you want to work for a small firm or open up your own shop... then go to a school that gives you a full ride (or even a full ride + boarding if you get lucky). If you want to work for a government agency and have the chance to sleep or go on vacations, then there is at least a small hope.
However, realize that it is very difficult to swing it on your own, that government jobs have become very competitive, that firm jobs are even more competitive (though the work-life balance is non-existent), and that you may not be able to land any of these jobs even if you work hard and do well and network well. It is ROUGH out there. It's a calculated risk at best.
I went to law school because I wanted to learn a profession. I wanted to develop a set of skills that could be used to help other people and perhaps make the world a slightly better place. I found that the law fascinated me, although I'm not sure that I would use the word "passion."
I also went to law school for what I believed would be some degree of job security. I seriously considered academia but did not want to deal with the uncertainty of funding and the tenure process.
I don't feel that I am entitled to a "mid six figure income." I would be satisfied making $50,000 to $100,000 per year. But this Ivy League undergraduate who graduated at the top of his law school class cannot find ANY work. Not legal aid, not with the county attorney's office. NADA.
I take great offense when those who were lucky enough to enter the law before the economic meltdown assume that those who are not successful somehow feel "entitled."
I'm making $214 per week in Unemployment Payments. I'd like to make enough to buy a new suit.
Don't wait until you are 29 if that is what you really want to do. It is a mistake to choose a profession because of the entrance requirements, the difficulties, or the earning potential because those things can be changed by you.
Some people make a good and satisfying living studying insects. If you really want to do something, learning to do it isn't hard, make it part of the enjoyment. The money comes from doing it well and creating a demand for yourself and you abilities and knowledge.
First off there is some terrible advice in this thread. I mean terrible advice. As an US Army vet and a recent law school graduate I hope I can clear somethings up for you. First I need a little more information. Do you have a UG degree yet? If you do what was your GPA? Was it a science degree? If you haven't started college yet and are set on law school I'd advise you to start practising the LSAT and see if you can get in the 170s consistently.
I personally believe anyone can. I started with a 159 and increased my score just by studying and drilling when I was in Iraq. If you can get your score that high, go to the cheapest undergraduate school you can and take the easiest major you can. I don't care if it's english, poetry or humanities. Study something that you can get a 4.0 in don't use your GI bill for this. Law school is much more expensive and as a Vet you (may) qualify for the GI BILL so almost all of the T-14 is free, check on the VA yellow ribbon website to make sure. The T-14 is the top 14 law schools in America.
This is what you should be shooting for. But since you are going for free you can expand that list to include schools like UCLA, BU, BC and Texas if you're ok with living and working in those areas after graduation. Most of my friends who are vets out do their numbers. Meaning they get into schools that are better than their number suggest. Law school is a numbers game. You have to have a certain GPA/LSAT mix. Don't let the age thing get to you. I will be 32 when I graduate in a few days and I got over 25 job offers from some of the best corporate law firms in the world. But because I'm like you and won't have any debt I was free to choose where I wanted to go and turned down corporate law for a career that paid less but will make me happier.
There are a lot of lawyers and if you were thinking about going to some of the terrible law schools I'd advise against it but getting a law degree from Harvard, Northwestern or Cornell is not the same as getting one from Thomas Jefferson, Ava Marie or Cooley. You have a great chance of getting a law job from the former and almost no chance from the latter. Plus you actually have real world experience which many of the K-JD crowd don't have. Here's some websites for you to look at when making your choices.
A forum for law school applicants (they will give you much better advice since almost everyone on the forum is in law school or going to law school): http://www.top-law-schools.com/
Everyone else has touched on most of your other questions so I will just answer this one question that wasn't answered clearly. An Attorneys salary is usually misconstrued to be higher then what it is. Don't get me wrong, the median salary is VERY high when compared to most other occupations but you should not expect 100K straight out of law school.
According to the official stats the median pay is 113K. The lowest 10% earn less then 54K. So a realistic salary to expect out of law school would be in the 45-70K range depending on where you practice, area of practice, whether you work for private/government etc.
HLS14 that's a great post. With links, no less. I was distressed that up until your contribution, everyone had ignored the fact that the OP was in the Army. Praline's suggestion is also interesting. If you have to do an undergrad degree, too, why not a foreign language? Even being bi-lingual in Spanish helps tremendously in the job market. I know someone who majored in audiology and minored in Spanish and she is super in demand because of her Spanish. I also know an IT major who minored in Chinese about 15 years ago and she's rich now.
My experience is that any real-world, practical experience sets students apart. I worked in the corporate world for a couple of years before going for an MFA and my job experience helped me so much while I was back in grad school, just in terms of attitude. I wasn't just a "forever-student." I was on an adventure. It also enabled me to get a job with the university, which gave me a small income in addition to free tuition. Lots of the people in my program who came there directly from undergrad were paying steep fees to be there. Meanwhile, the university was paying me. Age is a real asset in that respect.
So my bit of advice would be to interview with a couple of the schools that would be your top choice. Ask for an appointment with someone in the admissions office. Also be very certain of your VA benefits before you talk with them (they might be clueless about that part). Find out clearly what the financial situation would be for someone in your position. Are there scholarships or grants (not pay-back loans) you'd be eligible for? Work/study programs? You need to be careful about what your financial obligations would be because family law isn't the most lucrative. But it is an area where there will be jobs available, especially if you can handle the stress of something like CPS work or other government agencies or private organizations that address families in crisis. (Also, what kind of legal jobs are there within the VA system or with various National Guards?) Those jobs will be available when robots are doing corporate law.
Army and retail won't get you much in the job market. Army, retail, and a law degree might help. Best of luck to you!
Here are a few more stories. A friend of mine was a Chem E major from MIT graduated late 1990s. Worked at a genetics firm in Palo Alto for five years doing some sort of process management. Went to BC for law, was apparently the best she could get into at the time. I think it was ranked 26? Got a job at biglaw IP firm in Manhattan in 2007, worked 80 hours a week. The economy was so bad the firm folded in 2010 which was funny as the reason she went into patent law was job security. After about eight months of half heartedly job searching and whole heartedly husband searching, got another job remotely working part time for an IP firm in Minnesota (?). Was able to still live in Manhattan because husband search paid off and she married an investment banker. Had to convert to Islam, though. Not sure how much she gets paid now, but at her first firm she got paid $105K first year plus bonus.
My cousin majored in Poli Sci at UW Madison. Went to lousy law school in MN, William Mitchell. Has $180K in debt. Worked for four years as a public defender in northern suburbs, made about $70K. Now works downtown Minneapolis evicting people from their foreclosed homes. Not sure how much she gets paid but took the job because it pays more than the public defender gig.
Other cousin went to UChicago and then volunteered at some sort of women's crisis center for 3 years, then went to Yale. Now lives in Bay Area doing humanitarian law at another non profit. She gets paid about $40K. Not exactly sure what her story is, but am guessing she's doing the bleeding heart humanitarian thing to build up her background to get into politics. NO IDEA how she is staying afloat on her salary. Must be receiving family money. Her dad is relatively rich but not that rich, and is subsidizing her brother's life almost entirely already.
Depends on the job, those median salaries don't really help you because the pay is so different between jobs. do you want to do corporate law? If you do your starting salary will most likely be 160K (plus 7500 bonus) going up to 280K (60000 bonus) by your 8th year. If you work in a big city (NYC, DC, Chicago etc.). There are some that pay more. The firm I summered at starts you out at 220K first year. There are also special bonuses if you clerk. 1 year of clerking is normally 50K bonus, 2nd year is 70K if you make it to the Supreme Court (very very very rare) the bonus is between 250-350K. If you are in a smaller city (St. Louis, Indy, Miami) there is more variance but the starting salary is about btwn 110-145K. These are at the big corporate firms. These firms are the likely outcome for many of the top schools. If you want to do family law, it's different. I'm assuming you mean advocacy work (like children rights) and not like divorce law. The salary's fluctuate between districts and what they can afford. From what I understand it's normally sub-50K. There are also BIGFED jobs i.e. State department, DOJ, SEC. they pay in the 60K range initially but these jobs are much harder to get than the 160K jobs. The bad thing about biglaw is that people burnout quickly. The money is great but they work you all day. Not many people can handle it. That's why Fed jobs are in such high demand.
Also someone mentioned learning a language makes you very desirable for "international law." This is a little misleading. There is very little true international law and you normally have to have years of experience to do it. Now there are many law firms who have offices internationally. In these offices you will be doing NYC corporate law for foreign clients. You still have to pass the NYC bar. It's the same job you'd do in NYC except you'll be in China or London. Language skills count but unless you're fluent, and I mean technical fluent you won't have an advantage over a native speaker with worse grades.
Personally I think there are too many lawyers due to a number of factors. Civil cases have declined to say the very least.
If you are in the military and can get them to pay for at least most of it then why not? Maybe go for a JAG position. If you went towards that at least there'd be some demand beyond a given state.
Law like other professions is licensed BY STATE. Last year I became a public notary and I went to a a lawyer to get a signature. He told me he'd love to move his practice to RI as it's a lower cost of living. BUT to pass the bar exam again would be insane.
Eventually I think states have to make agreements rather than constantly competing with these things. Who for example would get a teachers license in Wyoming? But if we combine that with North and South Dakota and Montana and Idaho then you'll get more.
Like HLS said bigfed jobs can be harder to get but at least it is a bit of insurance because the federal government has operations all over the country and the planet. I'm not saying that you'd end up with a supreme court case but if you have access to the federal government I'd use it. Security clearance, GI Bill and of course being able to travel.
Even staying domestically the amount of Federal land is huge.
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