Pre-Law Preparation
IS LAW FOR ME?
Is law school for you? It depends. Law school used to be one year of pressure, one year of work, and one year of boredom. Now, given the glut of lawyers, it is two years of pressure and one year of work. Unless you want to be a lawyer, or you know how you want to use your legal degree, don't go to law school. There are many more pleasant (and possibly more productive) ways to spend three years of your life. In short, if you only start thinking about law school during your fourth year of undergraduate, you probably shouldn't go.
Kurt Hamrock, SMU BS 89, U.Texas JD 92
People choose to go to law school for a variety of reasons. Some feel that it is the path of least resistance, it is what most of their friends are doing, or it is good training for a number of careers. While there are no right or wrong reasons, some kinds of motivation hold up to the rigors of law school better than others.
Law school is requires an emotional, financial and time commitment from its students. If you aren't sure about spending the next three years in law school or making a life for yourself as a lawyer, the following commentary should help you determine whether law school is the logical next step for you.
When giving advice to pre-law undergraduates, law students urge them to be sure about their motivation for legal education before coming to law school. The first year, in particular, can be a wrenching experience. While most law students had outstanding undergraduate grades, many have to adjust to lower grades and fewer academic rewards for their efforts in law school. This can be especially disappointing since grades do have a substantial effect on opportunities in the legal job market. The fact that you are an excellent undergraduate student may or may not indicate success in law school. The kinds of writing and analytical skills emphasized in law school could be quite alien to your mind and your talents.
Because acceptable grades may be in short supply, you need to consider what other motivators will then keep your nose in the books and your enthusiasm sufficient to the task. Knowing that you want to practice law can help you endure or even like the three years. Finding outside activities which use or develop your skills--participating in trial advocacy and brief writing competitions, working on the school paper, organizing activities, taking part in internships, clinics, or part-time jobs--can open avenues for success. One former law student suggests:
Think of law as a trade-school skill, like being a plumber or electrician. If you can
break it down that far and are still interested in so much paperwork, that's as close as
you can get. My personal feeling is that you can't know before doing, that you have to
rely on your gut. Most commercial work is somewhat routine, not exciting. Don't glamorize
the practice (i.e., Scott Turow).
Gary Nugent, SMU BBA 88, Northwestern JD 91
Students who are unhappy in law school are often those whose temperaments aren't compatible with the law school atmosphere, or those who really don't have positive reasons for wanting to be there. Going to law school by default tends not to be very sustaining over the long run. Law students who have worked for awhile often feel more certain about their reasons for attending law school, which can provide added incentive for their studies.
The following are some pointers which may help you assess the compatibility of your own particular talents and learning style with the requirements of law school:
