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I graduated from law school in 1984. An experience that happened thirty four years ago is probably not very relevant. Nevertheless, I would do it again. What people need to understand is that very few law school graduates will actually land a high paying job with a big law firm. You need to look elsewhere in the profession to succeed. I went in solo practice in 1988 after a stint with a small law firm and a short time as an assistant attorney general.
I learned that I was uniquely suited to sole practice and I've always had clients and I've always been able to make a pretty good living. I suppose what was unusual is that I was not very well connected. I didn't have a large family. I didn't graduate from a prestigious law school. What I had was an interest in my clients and when I could talk one on one to people with a legal problem, I could virtually sign up every single person. People tend to succeed in any field where they are interested and make an effort.
Law can be a good investment for the right person. However, what is important is that one be realistic. You may have to work for yourself after seven years of college. There may not be any available job opportunity. I would say it all really turns on key quality: Drive. How determined are you to be a lawyer? If you are extremely determined and willing to struggle and sacrifice some than go for it. If not, you best find another career.
I graduated from law school in 1984. An experience that happened thirty four years ago is probably not very relevant. Nevertheless, I would do it again. What people need to understand is that very few law school graduates will actually land a high paying job with a big law firm. You need to look elsewhere in the profession to succeed. I went in solo practice in 1988 after a stint with a small law firm and a short time as an assistant attorney general.
I learned that I was uniquely suited to sole practice and I've always had clients and I've always been able to make a pretty good living. I suppose what was unusual is that I was not very well connected. I didn't have a large family. I didn't graduate from a prestigious law school. What I had was an interest in my clients and when I could talk one on one to people with a legal problem, I could virtually sign up every single person. People tend to succeed in any field where they are interested and make an effort.
Law can be a good investment for the right person. However, what is important is that one be realistic. You may have to work for yourself after seven years of college. There may not be any available job opportunity. I would say it all really turns on key quality: Drive. How determined are you to be a lawyer? If you are extremely determined and willing to struggle and sacrifice some than go for it. If not, you best find another career.
This was a whole lot easier to do in 1984 than it is today. The market is just so over-saturated with lawyers. The 80s were really the heyday of lawyering. It's gotten harder since the early 90s.
Think TOP 10. Not 100. (Again, unless you're going for free or part time while working at a good job where you can utilize the MBA.)
If you want to go into i-banking, private equity or work at a top tier consulting firm (e.g., Mckinsey), yes you need to go to a top 10 school.
If you are looking for a good career at a large corporation, not necessarily. There simply aren't enough graduates from top tier schools to fill all the vacancies. Much better career prospects from going through an MBA vs law school, if you're not at a top institution. Why do you think so many attorneys go the corporate route?
If you want to go into i-banking, private equity or work at a top tier consulting firm (e.g., Mckinsey), yes you need to go to a top 10 school.
If you are looking for a good career at a large corporation, not necessarily. There simply aren't enough graduates from top tier schools to fill all the vacancies. Much better career prospects from going through an MBA vs law school, if you're not at a top institution. Why do you think so many attorneys go the corporate route?
It mostly depends on whether you have a good job/a job already lined up. If you're looking for an MBA program to get you a decent job, as in you quit a job, go to school and then expect them to be a great placement service for you, you'll be sorely disappointed.
But yes, it is true that an MBA doesn't hold you back as much as a JD, as it does have broader applicability.
It mostly depends on whether you have a good job/a job already lined up. If you're looking for an MBA program to get you a decent job, as in you quit a job, go to school and then expect them to be a great placement service for you, you'll be sorely disappointed.
But yes, it is true that an MBA doesn't hold you back as much as a JD, as it does have broader applicability.
I disagree. I went to a top 30 MBA program (good school but not top 10) and changed careers in the process. I had 3 job offers to choose from two months before graduation.
Out of curiosity, any lawyers out there know how good the job market is for someone with a bachelor's and a paralegal certification? Are paralegal jobs increasingly being taken by those holding JD's, or is there the same bias which the corporate world holds that someone with a JD will jump ship too soon once they have some experience? I was initially dismissive when someone else suggested the paralegal cert up thread, but it could make a lot of sense for someone who doesn't have a firm footing in a professional track and is looking for a living wage job. Definitely less risk in terms of money and time than a JD for those who are interested in law but not sure if the investment in a JD is worthwhile. I know a few people that flirted with law school, went the paralegal route first to test the waters then ran far, far away from law.
The other issue with middling lawyers having difficulty landing jobs is the grunt work that junior associates used to handle while they were paying their dues is increasingly either being offshored or handled via automation / e-discovery. Perhaps even the cruddy temp document review work will become less available over time.
It would have been interesting if the OP set up a poll as to whether a JD is worthwhile - maybe with parameters for someone that is wishy-washy (ie, not necessarily passionate) and was an average student in undergrad. The results would probably be 95% no. If the same question were asked for becoming a non-MD medical professional like a physical therapist the results would probably be 95% yes.
My friend runs a small commercial litigation shop and can not find or keep his paralegals because there are not enough of them and when he hires them they inevitably get a better offer elsewhere within a year or so. And he pays them pretty decently.
The point being that paralegals are in demand, but it’s one of those jobs where you can only advance to a certain level. For all it’s faults, you aren’t capped in growth prospects as a lawyer. But paralegal is a safe option and will probably be a growing field in the future as doc preparers become more mainstream.
The point being that paralegals are in demand, but it’s one of those jobs where you can only advance to a certain level. For all it’s faults, you aren’t capped in growth prospects as a lawyer. But paralegal is a safe option and will probably be a growing field in the future as doc preparers become more mainstream.
There are lawyers with actual JD's, who tire of the $20/hour "doc review" jobs with no benefits and try to apply for paralegal jobs. They don't get the job.
The left-hand of the graph reflect salaries of $40,000 to $65,000, which collectively accounted for not quite half of reported salaries. The right-hand peak shows that salaries of $180,000 accounted for almost 16% of reported salaries.
If you're not in BigLaw making six figures, you're eking along at starting salary levels for undergrads.
If you're not in BigLaw making six figures, you're eking along at starting salary levels for undergrads.
Yep.
So if you're not going to to a T14 school, you'd better have some way to pay for your education other than taking out loans. However, if you are going to a T14 school, a 25th percentile wage of 180k is not unusual, as I and others have pointed out and the naysayers have continued to deny despite actual evidence. Moreover, if you look at a few years worth of reports, a trend becomes apparent - starting salaries have been on a very nice upward trajectory for several years. If there were no demand, the 25th percentile wage wouldn't be the same as the median and 75th percentile wage, and the wage wouldn't be climbing significantly every year.
The point being that paralegals are in demand, but it’s one of those jobs where you can only advance to a certain level. For all it’s faults, you aren’t capped in growth prospects as a lawyer.
Only in the sense that you could become a partner in a lucrative firm and bring in new clients that bring in a lot of money. But there are plenty of people who end up becoming career associates or staff attorneys. The work never really changes, and there isn't much 'moving up.' Even if you decide to go out on your own, the work becomes mostly the same -- you've got to bring in clients and you do pretty much the same stuff for decades.
So, as far as growth potential, it isn't really that much less for paralegals than it is for attorneys. The only difference is that attorneys have the option of making more money by bringing in their own business. But not everyone does that or even wants to do that, and even if you do, while you might manage associates who are working on the cases you've brought in, at that point it is basically a plateau -- you're not doing anything substantively different after that.
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