sassa Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 I am trying to find out what is up with law school...considering going to one next fall after I graduate...is anyone actually in law school and knows the deal with what fields of law exist....what are the best law schools...what does each involve doing...etc....thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
£ddie Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 I'm an attorney (I can't believe it either ). There are so many fields of law it's ridiculous. It's just as specialized if not more specialized than medicine. For the best schools, check U.S. News and World Report. I think their rankings are a crock of shyt, but employers DO pay attention to them. I know this doesn't answer all your questions, so PM me with anything else you wanna know and I'll get back to you. Overall, it's not a bad gig, if you're in it for the money, the money can be awesome, if you're a tree hugger, you can change the world for the better. I don't have any regrets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
£ddie Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 This is just a sample of fields. Each field has subspecialties. For example, litigation includes personal injury, constitutional litigation, criminal defense work, etc. I do corporate finance work.Administrative Law Admiralty Agriculture Law Antitrust & Trade Regulation Banking Law Bankruptcy Law Civil Rights Commercial Law Communications Law Constitutional Law Construction Law Contracts Corporation & Enterprise Law Criminal Law Cyberspace Law Dispute Resolution & Arbitration Education Law Energy Law Entertainment & Sports Law Environmental Law Ethics & Professional Responsibility Family Law Gaming Law Government Benefits Government Contracts Health Law Immigration Law Indian and Native Peoples Law Injury and Tort Law Insurance Law Intellectual Property International Law International Trade Judges and the Judiciary Labor & Employment Law Law & Economics Legal Theory Litigation Military Law Probate, Trusts & Estates Property Law & Real Estate Securities Law Tax Law Transportation Law Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassa Posted September 24 Author Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by £ddie Government Benefits Government Contracts International Law International Trade Law & Economics Legal Theory Litigation Could you explain more about the above types...pm or whatever...I basically am considering law, but I would try to do a JD and a MA in International Public Policy/Peace Conflict Studies, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vixenfoxxy Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Admiralty law woot woot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshwa1 Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Securities Law is where the real cash is at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickhouse Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by joshwa1 Securities Law is where the real cash is at. Nah, you pretty much make the same money no matter what area of law you go into if you end up at a firm.I'm in law school, and my advice would be don't go to law school if you're not 100% sure that it's what you want to do. It's a LOT of loans to take out to not be happy with what you're doing.The top 5 law schools are Stanford, Yale, Harvard, NYU, and Columbia. In the city, the order is probably NYU, Columbia, Fordham, Cardozo, St. Johns, Brooklyn, New York Law, then Pace (I feel like I'm missing one there though). I'd check out on the US News + World reports for the most recent rankings. They're online somewhere. Also, if you don't get into a first tier school (in the city NYU, Columbia, Fordham), it's probably just better to take some time off and build up your resume before you try again. Unless you have connections, it's damn near impossible to get a job with a law firm or good public interest organization if you come from a lower tier school. Even some first tier graduates are having troubles with finding a job.Also, as far as types of law go, you probably will end up changing what type of law you want to do after the first year of law school anyway. God knows I never thought I'd end up doing tax law in a million years, but here I am. More important is to make sure that you can handle the hours and the massive quantities of mundane stuff you'll have to do in order to get to a little of the fun stuff. BTW, the legal job market is W-E-A-K right now, so if the economy doesn't start improving in a hurry, law might not even be the best option for a stable job. Right now there are both record layoffs and record law school applications, and if the trends keep up, we'll be seeing a lot more unemployed lawyers in the near future... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
£ddie Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by brickhouse I'm in law school, and my advice would be don't go to law school if you're not 100% sure that it's what you want to do. It's a LOT of loans to take out to not be happy with what you're doing....BTW, the legal job market is W-E-A-K right now, so if the economy doesn't start improving in a hurry, law might not even be the best option for a stable job. Right now there are both record layoffs and record law school applications, and if the trends keep up, we'll be seeing a lot more unemployed lawyers in the near future... Yeah I agree. A lot of people end up in law school because they "have nothing better to do." If that's you, I would skip it. Most that go to law school with the attitude will want to slit their wrists when they actually start practicing in a firm, which involves a lot of drudgery, a lot of hours, and a lot of stress.And the job market is bad right now. It's still probably better than for business school grads though. I personally don't know many people that graduated without jobs because my recruting class was the last one before the recession hit hard. Now it's tougher to get good jobs. Government jobs generally are still less competitive than big firm jobs, but even there it's tight. In 4 years hopefully things will be looking up. Just keep in mind that that your job prospects are determined primarily by the reputation of the school you go to and the grades you get.I'm fairly happy only because I worked at my firm for a year before starting full time, so I knew exactly what to expect. I can't complain about never being home before 9PM etc. cause I knew what the deal was beforehand. Do your homework, or you will be miserable if it's not what you want to do. It's a tough way to make a living. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
£ddie Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by joshwa1 Securities Law is where the real cash is at. If you ask me, the real money is in personal injury, toxic torts, medical malpractice etc. Ambulance chasers in private practice can make potentially millions a year. I know a personal injury attorney that plays golf most of the year, and earns his income by taking on a few cases, most of which settle. His last case he earned a $400,000 dollar fee suing a scaffolding company whose scaffold collapsed causing injury to pedestrians below. Not bad at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsb2002 Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by £ddie If you ask me, the real money is in personal injury, toxic torts, medical malpractice etc. Ambulance chasers in private practice can make potentially millions a year. I know a personal injury attorney that plays golf most of the year, and earns his income by taking on a few cases, most of which settle. His last case he earned a $400,000 dollar fee suing a scaffolding company whose scaffold collapsed causing injury to pedestrians below. Not bad at all. thats only true if you're both damn good and a bit lucky. you can go under real fast as that sort of lawyer. as a 2L, i'd agree with pretty much everything brickhouse said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asianvixen Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by bsb2002 thats only true if you're both damn good and a bit lucky. Goes without saying for successful practice in any area of the law. my boyfriend's a corporate lawyer close to making partner, it took some skill and some luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
£ddie Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by asianvixen Goes without saying for successful practice in any area of the law. Yeah I meant all other things being equal, if you take a look at a very successful corporate lawyer, and you take a look at a very successful personal injury litigator (provided s/he's not in the big firm oligarchy), the personal injury litigator will probably make more money. The most successful (in terms of dollars) corporate lawyers are at Cravath and Wachtell making anywhere from 2 million, to 4.5 million a year. The most successful peronal injury litigators can make much more that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilo Beauty Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by bsb2002 thats only true if you're both damn good and a bit lucky. you can go under real fast as that sort of lawyer. as a 2L, i'd agree with pretty much everything brickhouse said Law has nothing to do with luck. It's knowing your shit and knowing what cases not to handle. -iliana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgym Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 I just got a paralegal certification at Hofstra, but i feel that's how far i'm willing to go.Im not 100% sure about law school, so that's why im not getting in too deep. The only carrot i can see right now (besides money) is the opportunities a law degree can give you. A large fraction of people who get a law degree don't even practice law. They get into various other fields, since a law degree is a superb resume enhancer.So for now, im leaning more towards grad school, even though im not sure where that will lead to exactly either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tottallyoff Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by joshwa1 Securities Law is where the real cash is at. HAHAHAHAHHAHA. Thats really dumb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassa Posted September 24 Author Report Share Posted September 24 thanks everyone, for your comments. i basically have to make a decision about this in the next few weeks...law school was never something i really thought of doing until recently, i'm not even sure i'd want to practice law, and looks like at this point i would be interested in public international law...and i'm not even thinking about the money, but what would benefit me most in the future with my career..i also plan to get an MA along with the JD, in probably something in international public policy/peace & conflict studies/etc.guess law school must be a real headache, this is the impression i got from many of you...thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilo Beauty Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by sassa thanks everyone, for your comments. i basically have to make a decision about this in the next few weeks...law school was never something i really thought of doing until recently, i'm not even sure i'd want to practice law, and looks like at this point i would be interested in public international law...and i'm not even thinking about the money, but what would benefit me most in the future with my career..i also plan to get an MA along with the JD, in probably something in international public policy/peace & conflict studies/etc.guess law school must be a real headache, this is the impression i got from many of you...thanks again Why not go to graduate school for International Relations and then take the Foreign Service Officer Examination? Diplomats have much more credibility than lawyers. -iliana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunk Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 My dad is a retired diplomat. It's a great job, but positions are VERY limited. Helps to have language skills, go to a top school, and know the right people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassa Posted September 24 Author Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by iliana Why not go to graduate school for International Relations and then take the Foreign Service Officer Examination? Diplomats have much more credibility than lawyers. -iliana two reasons why i can't and won't:1) the exam was sept. 21. the deadline had passed and i couldn't get in.2) i want to travel/live/work abroad after i finish school here in the US. i don't particularily want to work for the US Foreign Service either. but i guess this isn't really valid, since i have no clue what to do with my life anyways... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilo Beauty Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by sassa two reasons why i can't and won't:1) the exam was sept. 21. the deadline had passed and i couldn't get in.2) i want to travel/live/work abroad after i finish school here in the US. i don't particularily want to work for the US Foreign Service either. but i guess this isn't really valid, since i have no clue what to do with my life anyways... I was the same way too. My advice is if you feel really lost in your future plans, take time off from school. Working in the real world helped me shape my goals. It's better to be a 29 year old individual starting law school because you really want to, instead of a 21 year old kid studying a profession that you really hate. (And being 100 k in debt, afterwards). Good luck.-ilianaP.S. The span for the foreign service officer examination is not too long. You could sign up for the next one if you really wanted too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickhouse Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by sassa guess law school must be a real headache, this is the impression i got from many of you... Nah, law school isn't a headache, being a lawyer is.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillizzy Posted September 24 Report Share Posted September 24 Originally posted by joshwa1 Securities Law is where the real cash is at. securities law IS where the real cash is at, only if you're the head dood...other than that, you are paid an okay salary...same with entertainment law...if you're not big, you don't get paid much...i've worked in securities law as an intern the past two years...it's fucking stressful and shit b/c you represent the company but i think it is well worth it...also it is arbitration law, its not courtroom shit so its not as exciting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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