Attorneys only, please?

Question

I'm considering going to law school. I have been a paralegal for three years now and I just am not as satisfied as I think I could be. I'd like to do less of the b.s. work and actually be able to be challenged. Simply pushing paper all day is mind numbing. My college professors all said I should go to law school...I just wanted some experience before I made the commitment.

I just want to know...if you had it to do all over again...would you? Do you think your profession has negatively or positively impacted your marriage or personal life? I may just be traumatized because I've seen workloads destroy home lives. Any advice and words of wisdom?

Thanks!

To clarify, I have worked at both a very large firm and a very small boutique. I have done tort, civil litigation, appellate and family law. As far as the U.S. not needing another attorney, to some extent I agree. Some people are not worthy of the title. However, it would not be a favor to the country if every talented person gave up on a profession because of the market. Cream always rises. I wouldn't sell myself short that way.

Answer 1

If I had to do it all over again, yes I would.

Going through law school is a difficult and stressful time, and I've heard people say that having twins is less stressful than getting through the bar. Not having had twins, all I can say is that getting through the bar, for me, was worse than having all four wisdom teeth pulled out. And I actually enjoyed the bar process, compared to what most of my classmates felt.

But the study of has has given me a greater perspective on the way this world works, and how to function in it. I've had some experience in litigation, and know that I'll never go into that as my primary practice. But helping people understand the law, and understand their options, is a good feeling. And one I wouldn't trade.

As far as law school itself, here's my brief advice. Use the time to learn the skills of lawyering. You're already familiar with many of the concepts from your paralegal training. Read the cases, not just for the concepts, but to practice extracting the structure of the law from source material. That will be invaluable on the bar.

Find out what your teachers want on their finals, as far as essay format and level of detail. Write sample essays for them. If you can tailor your essay writing to what each teacher wants, not only will you have developed an essential skill for the bar and for later practice, but you'll end up with better grades.

And when you pass the bar and get into practice, remember that you can choose the environment you want to work in. The associate-mill of larger firms is only one option. Talk to career services at your law school. There are many different paths once you graduate.

Good luck, counselor (to-be).

Answer 2

Honestly working as an attorney you do a lot of work. You are challenged but it can wear on you and your personal life. It all depends on how you handle yourself and if you take work home with you. You also have to consider what area of law you are going to handle and what type of case load you want to take on.
All of these factor in a lot.
I have met attorneys that would do it all over again and I have met others that wish they had gone a different direction.
My question for you is do you work in a large office or a small firm?
I also know that there are many paralegals that almost run their office. These are in smaller offices where the Attorney relys heavily on them though.
So you may want to work at a smaller firm for a while before you jump into 4 more years of school for a career you may not even like.
Attorneys do a lot of paperwork, when you first get out of school you either have to be a Harvard Grad or you start at the bottom. Once you have experiance you move up and dont do as much paperwork. So either way you will be doing paperwork for a long time to come.

Answer 3

Here's the deal. At present there are a whole lot more attorneys than are really needed in the US. Look through your local Yellow Pages if you don't believe me. Very difficult to get hired with a firm these days (although not impossible) and you will start at the low end. All your questions aside, the one thing the US doesn't really need, is another attorney. The market is thoroughly saturated. You might want to look around at some other firms and see if they have a paralegal opening that offers more diversity. You would find this more near on in a big city. And as for the workload, yes, it can be intense. Depending on your age, I would consider this carefully.

Answer 4

I am not an attorney, but I thought my comment may be helpful in your decision. I worked as a paralegal for 9 years. I started just like you did in just wanting some experience because I had always dreamed of being a lawyer. The longer I stayed being a paralegal doing all the b.s work my passion for becoming a lawyer vanished. I started to dispise the work and attorneys altogether. The attorney I worked for has been in practice for many many years and it can tear a family apart (he was divorced twice). I dont know what kind of personalities that the attorneys at your firm have but I know the ones at the firm that I worked for were hot headed, mean and nasty. In the years that I have worked in the law profession I have seen that most attorneys are evil. As the years go on they have no respect for clients and they loose all respect for staff. And it seems like the paralegals do all the work anyway so you may be even more bored being a attorney. Not unless you are going to be a attorney that does most of the work load.

But the point that I really want to get across to you is if you still have that passion to be a attorney even after all the pushing paper than go for it that means its in you. The paper pushing burnt me out and discouraged me but it seems to make you strive for more so I say go for it.

GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FUTURE, ESQUIRE (SMILE)

Answer 5

Would do it again. Email me if you want to discuss further.