Lawyer, Law School, BigLaw FAQ

[bluemagic]

Originally Posted by mafoofan

This isn't true. You can go to a no-name college and still get into the best law schools. They really only care about your GPA, LSAT, and race.

You can go to a no-name college, but there is in fact a (very small) bump for going to a top college.

 

[TheFoo]

Originally Posted by bluemagic

You can go to a no-name college, but there is in fact a (very small) bump for going to a top college.

Very, very small. If you look at the number collected over the past few years at places like LSD, it's obvious that the schools stick close to a GPA/LSAT formula. When I was applying, Columbia was particularly predictable.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by FLMountainMan

No, not really. Read up on the subject.

Well, I'm pretty sure I understand how you get from A to B, but you've left out some not entirely obvious steps/assumptions along the way (which does make it read like a non sequitur).

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by crazyquik

Alternatively, don't plan to graduate from the University of Alabama (which is a fine law school) and then work in San Francisco or NYC at a 160k firm (although a Cout of Appeals clerkship would make that move a lot easier). For the majority of law schools (and firms), hiring is regional. Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham, and perhaps New Oreans would be the larger markets that Alabama would serve.

That's not just true of firms. When I graduated from law school, I considered clerking for the late Stanley Mosk, then a Justice on the California Supreme Court. He told me that he preferred to hire clerks from top-tier California schools, maybe Harvard or Yale as well (the ambiguity lies with my memory, not with what he said) because he had a sense of what it meant to be at the top of one's class at, say, Stanford or Boalt, but not what it meant to be at the top of one's class at Virginia Law School. (Which I thought was surprising and unfortunate, since Virginia has an excellent, well-regarded law school.)

 

[Swag22]

Well since Kai said he is an in-house lawyer I sent him a PM, but he has yet to get back to me..So I'll post what I said to him for anyone who has any help regarding IN-HOUSE law:

Ive been doing alot of research and such about being a lawyer and things like that, and in one of your posts on the board I read you were an in-house lawyer. Right now, I'm a senior in high school and I'm doing a lot of career exploration. At first, I was interested in working BigLaw, until I was more informed about that stress, slave hours, etc. My next and current interest, in-house, was what I wanted to know about. Could I trouble you into letting me in on the life and salary of an in-house lawyer(what time you get to the office as opposed to when you leave, starting salary, work-life balance, etc) Also, what kinds of corporations are favorable to be hired at for an in-house position?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[RedLantern]

My BA prof told us a lot of stories about being in-house council. Didn't sound like too bad of a gig (maybe a bit boring at times but to each his own) but he did say that they were always really* busy (like sleeping at the office busy) around the holidays with trying to get things done before the end of the year so he missed out on some important stuff.

 

[rjakapeanut]

Originally Posted by mafoofan

This isn't true. You can go to a no-name college and still get into the best law schools. They really only care about your GPA, LSAT, and race.

this is true. i intend on going to university of new orleans and after that tulane school of law here in new orleans.

as long as your GPA and LSAT scores are good enough you probably get in. race plays a part. i'm white though.

 

[FLMountainMan]

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

Well, I'm pretty sure I understand how you get from A to B, but you've left out some not entirely obvious steps/assumptions along the way (which does make it read like a non sequitur).

Fair enough. I kept it short because didn't want to threadjack too much, but I should've just avoided the comment entirely.

 

[FLMountainMan]

Originally Posted by rjakapeanut

this is true. i intend on going to university of new orleans and after that tulane school of law here in new orleans.

as long as your GPA and LSAT scores are good enough you probably get in. race plays a part. i'm white though.

Seriously! Can white guys ever catch a break?

On topic, I think more and more JD's are going to be working in areas outside of law. I wanted to be a prosecutor pretty badly. However, being a stutterer, I wisely chose a different career path. I still use my legal training a lot, though, and I'm glad I did it.

 

[RJman]

Originally Posted by FLMountainMan

Seriously! Can white guys ever catch a break?

The writing is on the wall, my White Brothers... and the answer is not affirmative.

 

[TheFoo]

Originally Posted by RJman

The writing is on the wall, my White Brothers... and the answer is not affirmative.

Oh please. Try being a Yellow Fellow.

 

[Tardek]

Originally Posted by Swag22

Well since Kai said he is an in-house lawyer I sent him a PM, but he has yet to get back to me..So I'll post what I said to him for anyone who has any help regarding IN-HOUSE law: Ive been doing alot of research and such about being a lawyer and things like that, and in one of your posts on the board I read you were an in-house lawyer. Right now, I'm a senior in high school and I'm doing a lot of career exploration. At first, I was interested in working BigLaw, until I was more informed about that stress, slave hours, etc. My next and current interest, in-house, was what I wanted to know about. Could I trouble you into letting me in on the life and salary of an in-house lawyer(what time you get to the office as opposed to when you leave, starting salary, work-life balance, etc) Also, what kinds of corporations are favorable to be hired at for an in-house position? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks
I work in-house (full disclosure: I am a final year law student working as a paralegal, not a lawyer). My job is pretty cushy. My corporation hires two solicitors and myself (one solicitor used to be a paralegal, but through grace of being older than me and graduating she now earns more money and thinks she's the queen of space and time when she isn't drunkenly hitting on me), as well as various support staff. Essentially, I work for an association whose members generally have very similar legal queries every time they call - but there is quite a bulk of them. My job is to take calls from them and deal with their problems as they arise. This is a free service for members, but one of the more valuable services the association offers. Because of the similarity in calls, I can deal with them off the cuff 95% of the time. My job becomes very easy (downside: monotonous) and I would say that I am an expert in my field. I get renumerated fairly well, at an amount that I would consider equal to most biglaw paralegals - a benefit that would taper and end if I chose to work here after graduation. I get free and unlimited internet access, a nice chair, a nice office, and I choose to largely remain ignorant of office politics and just be nice to everyone. It's a good life, but if you want a job where you feel you are really achieving things and taking mankind forward, you should not consider a job as an in-house counsel. Downside: all my superiors are incompetent and keep all the cushy assignments for themselves and their facebook buddies.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by Tardek

I work in-house (full disclosure: I am a final year law student working as a paralegal, not a lawyer).

My job is pretty cushy. My corporation hires two solicitors and myself (one solicitor used to be a paralegal, but through grace of being older than me and graduating she now earns more money and thinks she's the queen of space and time when she isn't drunkenly hitting on me), as well as various support staff.

Essentially, I work for an association whose members generally have very similar legal queries every time they call - but there is quite a bulk of them. My job is to take calls from them and deal with their problems as they arise. This is a free service for members, but one of the more valuable services the association offers.

Because of the similarity in calls, I can deal with them off the cuff 95% of the time. My job becomes very easy (downside: monotonous) and I would say that I am an expert in my field. I get renumerated fairly well, at an amount that I would consider equal to most biglaw paralegals - a benefit that would taper and end if I chose to work here after graduation.

I get free and unlimited internet access, a nice chair, a nice office, and I choose to largely remain ignorant of office politics and just be nice to everyone. It's a good life, but if you want a job where you feel you are really achieving things and taking mankind forward, you should not consider a job as an in-house counsel.

Downside: all my superiors are incompetent and keep all the cushy assignments for themselves and their facebook buddies.
I think this is a gross overgeneralization. I've never worked in-house, but I have plenty of friends who have. And, of course, as outside counsel I have worked closely with in-house folks. I think the experience varies widely, depending on the industry and the particular company. Some in-house jobs are clock-punching drudgery. Some are great. All things being equal, I think in-house jobs in highly regulated industries tend to be more rewarding, since you're more likely to be seen as an integral part of the business process.

 

[Swag22]

No one has really answered my question about the lifestyle, work-life balance, daily hours etc??

 

[RJman]

Originally Posted by Swag22

No one has really answered my question about the lifestyle, work-life balance, daily hours etc??

If you are this bad at reading comprehension and research you should not become a lawyer.