Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Never-Never Land, aka 0L Message Boards

For the sake of my blood pressure, I am going to stop looking at 0L message boards. I don't know why I do it. Boredom, I suppose.

I can't tell if they are being arrogant and assuming that the bleak statistics quoted by the scamblogs are true but just won't apply to them, or if they simply do not believe the statistics and think that the scambloggers/posters are mere trolls. When I was a 0L, I suppose it was a little of both. I assumed that the scambloggers were embellishing, but I also assumed that even if the numbers were true I would find a way to be successful at it. Ah, starry-eyed optimism.

Maybe the best advice to give prospective law students, rather than "Don't Go!" is just "Wait." I think that this is the advice that would have had the biggest impact on me when I was applying. No one likes to be told that they will not be able to succeed at something, even if it is true. Maybe we should be telling the 0Ls, "If you have a job in this economy, keep it. Wait a little longer. If you still have a burning desire to go to law school in three years and your circumstances allow for it, then go." I am willing to bet that a very high percentage of people who take that advice will end up reconsidering, and end up rejecting, the idea of law school.

17 comments:

  1. I waited instead of going right after undergrad. I worked in boring ass law firms as a paralegal. Watched some friends go to law school, and they told me first hand the bleak news. I did more research, found the scam blogs, and now there is no way in hell I'm going to Law school. I am 25 years old, and only have credit card debt from things I was actually able to enjoy.

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  2. I fear "Wait" might be misinterpreted as "Wait and See." And they will see, once they realize they are in the 50% of their class, and employers are throwing their resumes right into the trash bin.

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  3. Sadly, it's like watching a train wreck - morbid, but you can't look away.

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  4. I dropped out of law school after the first day because I knew the job outlook after graduation was poor. Unfortunately, my cousin still has the intention of taking the LSAT, applying to law school, and becoming a lawyer for the six figure salaries... Oh yeah, he has a BA in Communications with a 2.3 UGPA.

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  5. I commented over on shillingmesoftly- I was a couple months away from attending a tier 1 school but decided not to go thanks to blogs like yours. Fortunately I like math and computers so I'm going to try to get a degree in data and database analysis.

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  6. I'm a college professor. Trying to talk a woefully unqualified student who has dreamed of being a lawyer all of his life out of going to law school is like trying to keep a golden retriever from leaping into a lake. It can't be done. They have tunnel vision. They usually hate to read and can't write coherently, but they love to argue so naturally they think they will be great lawyers. If only TV didn't glamorize the profession so.

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