am i a crackwhore?

[Flower]

You have some big decisions and having faced these very same decisions b4 I'm adding my 2 cents since you asked:)

 

First, While you should be "happy" where you go to school it is all relative. If you are so unhappy that it effects your gpa, then what's the point and visa versa. Your plans may very well change for whatever reason, more than once. I mean, ok you have made the decision to be an attorney and I think that is cool. I've been one for many years and the senior (ugh--hate that word) partner in my firm, but have been since it's inception when I split with others from a much bigger firm--where I was also a partner btw. The point is, your goals and aspirations change--my very worse subjects in law school turned out to be the area I now practice and love it, whereas the areas I got high papers in I could now care less about. No matter where you go, what profession you enter, what area of law you practice, the first several years will always be instructional and you will be low man on the totem pole, so those that have insinuated that it was only that way with big, prestigious firms were incorrect, or at least represent the exception to every rule. law school is no different. It is BASIC training and very hard work, much more so than undergraduate school I guarantee you, so go where you think you can survive, getting the best education you can, and where your surrounding are acceptable--IN THAT ORDER.

 

So while others here have said, if you don't plan on a prestigious firm, or don't plan to do this or DO plan to do that, then go Yale or go Tulane or whatever--I say this: YOUR PLANS WILL (not might) CHANGE probably while you are in law school, and then again once you get your first law-related job maybe even as a clerk while still in school, or after you have been an attorney for a couple of years. But they will change in most cases. This is something I tell new attorneys when I hire them, since I expect a high percentage of new hires to switch areas of law before they have been practicing for 2 years--and that's fine and the way it should be, since you need to be happy in the area of law you choose. BUT LAW SCHOOL AND CERTAINLY UNDERGRAD SCHOOL DOES NOT PREPARE YOU FOR MAKING LIFE CHOICES IN THE PROFESSION, and therefore, it is many times hit or miss, and the lucky ones find out where they really should be before they have made a lifetime commitment to an area of practice.

 

Why is this important to know for your decision? Because, almost all employers, with few exceptions, will choose the attorney from the better law school, all other things being equal. The better school that you go to means more choices if you decide later on, to make a change--firm, geographical area, area of the law, etc. I know this first hand, since I did NOT have the best academic record in undergrad and didn't get serious about school until my senior year in undergrad when it was almost too late. I went to a good law school, certainly not Ivy League, but in the top 30% nationally, and only then because my LSAT was so high, but still entered on academic probation which motivated me to work my but off--I finished in the top 5% of my class, after almost half had dropped or flunked out. But NOT having gone to a TOP SCHOOL caused me job problems early on--even finishing so high in class ranking didn't overcome.

 

Don't get me wrong, I had plenty of job offers, just not the ones I wanted. And that may also be a good thing, since it motivated me to start my own firm after training with a large litigation firm for 3 years, and that has actually worked out best for me, but not for everyone. It has allowed me to live where I want to, make a very good living and I receive a lot of job satisfaction.

 

While one poster said that the legal profession has the highest rate of dissatisfaction, and that may be true, for those of us who like it, we really like it. I think it is a very noble and rewarding profession. I'm a litigator and love it, shark jokes aside. I think international law would be a great field, but certainly one where you should be looking to go to the best law school you can, while still going where you will enjoy your surroundings so that it is only your education that you struggle with as opposed to where you are getting it

 

This all boils down to KEEPING YOUR OPTIONS OPEN not just for the short term, but for the long term. I bet there are a lot of Enron attorneys or attorneys that worked for firms that did Enron work that are now unexpectantly looking for jobs, and I guarantee you that the ones with better or best academic credentials including the school they went to, will fair the best. Your choice of a law school is a life time decision and you should treat it as such. With few exceptions, when you start at one, you either finish there or drop out, but you will not be able to transfer part way through.

 

Hope this didn't sound too preachy, but I regret not taking school more seriously in undergrad and not being able to go to a better law school, sort of the oppossite of your dilemma, but because I see it from the other side, maybe a valuable viewpoint. But for sure, I have never once regretted my decision to become an attorney and litigator. Even now, with most of my career behind me, and I have thought of moving to a different area geographically for a change of pace, and the few inquiries I have made are always met with the first question: "where did you go to law school?" and not about what I have accomplished in my own firm or what my clients think about me, or what my peers or judges I have been before think about me Those things are of course important, but it is the law school that can open doors easier, sorry to say.

 

Flower :*

[Guest DCeBOY]

thanks flower

no, you don't sound like you're preaching. and yes, your viewpoint is valuable to me.

 

what i've decided, so far, is to keep the options open. i'm DEFINITELY applying to yale (because it is the #1 law school in the country), NYU (best for int'l law), miami (yum), and tulane (yay). i plan on doing some research & investigating a few others as well. duek, ucla, & stanford have been suggested. does anyone have any others he thinks i should look into?

 

one other thing:

my very lowest practice LSAT score so far has been 178. do you guys think it would be worth the expense to take a prep course just to amke up 2 points? or, given my record and already kick-ass LSAT score, would i just be wasting time & money?

 

thanks guys. for the most part you've all been very kind & helpful.