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Business of Ferrets posted:Judging by your custom title, this might actually be a fit for you. Oh I have been drinking a disproportionate amount for years. I'm from a small town in Kansas, I've been choking down homemade moonshine and cheap rum since I was 15. And now I'm in Mongolia, where vodka is cheaper than water. That's not the part I'm worried about.
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Dec 3, 2012 11:02
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Don't go to law school. If you have accounting in your background, do that. it's just as awful as law but $200k cheaper.
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Dec 3, 2012 13:59
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HolySwissCheese posted:Don't go to law school. If you have accounting in your background, do that. it's just as awful as law but $200k cheaper. I wouldn't say I have accounting in my background. I worked as a manager/accountant at a retail store for a couple of years. I wasn't exactly crunching numbers, I just handled a lot of the intake and worked on ordering, bill paying, things like that. Once again, only have a BA in English.
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Dec 3, 2012 14:06
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Tequila Sunrise posted:I wouldn't say I have accounting in my background. I worked as a manager/accountant at a retail store for a couple of years. I wasn't exactly crunching numbers, I just handled a lot of the intake and worked on ordering, bill paying, things like that. edit it may be illegal to call what you did accounting like you did in your first post and maybe even your second post. don't try to be a lawyer because your state's bar examiners may read this post and fail you on your character and fitness. HolySwissCheese fucked around with this message at 14:12 on Dec 3, 2012 |
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Dec 3, 2012 14:10
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I get that you are not-so-subtly attempting to divert me from even thinking the words "law school", but let me reiterate that I'm not looking for, nor will I take, advice on whether or not I should decide to go to law school. I'm looking for some general information of law school studies and to get some help with my earlier questions.
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Dec 3, 2012 14:19
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Hey PCV guy: the answer to all your problems.
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Dec 3, 2012 14:26
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You said you have read the last 100 pages of the thread, in which it has been discussed dozens of times that only LSAT, GPA, and URM status count for law school admissions. This total lack of reading comprehension indicates that you should not go to law school.
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Dec 3, 2012 14:53
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diospadre posted:You said you have read the last 100 pages of the thread, in which it has been discussed dozens of times that only LSAT, GPA, and URM status count for law school admissions. This total lack of reading comprehension indicates that you should not go to law school. Understood, yet my specific issue had not been addressed and I wanted to know if my fairly unique work experience could have any bearing in admissions. That being said, you guys are mean and make me sad. I'm going to go read this FSOT thread.
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Dec 3, 2012 14:56
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What did I just say?
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Dec 3, 2012 15:06
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To answer your question directly, it will have little bearing. 95% of the decision will be made purely on your LSAT vs. GPA matrix. URM also counts. Your career background will most likely not come into play unless you're on the bubble. That's what diospadre was saying. It doesn't matter to the school that this is unique. Your past work experience does not translate into reportable law school numbers -- LSAT/GPA/URM status does. And reportable law school numbers equate to USNWR rankings, which mean more money for the school and continued tenure for the administration. The reason people are coming at you like this is that there are literally dozens of people in the previous iterations of this thread that have said the exact same thing as you. They're all unique special snowflakes, they don't want to hear whether law school is a good idea or not, they are gluttons for punishment, are multimillionaires and don't care about tuition, whatever. We've heard everything so far. And then their 2L year, if not earlier, they're broken shells. EVERY LAST ONE. Then we have to try and get them to make the right decision and drop out. Some do and I cannot recall a single one who has been unhappy with the decision. Most don't, and show up later bitching and complaining about how there are no jobs, and they're now crippled for life with debt/overqualification/wasted years of their lives, they hate the practice, and wish they listened to us. But of course, they didn't listen when we told them. The last thread was "Don't go, no jobs, die alone" and they still didn't listen. Because they were all unique special snowflakes. They literally said the same thing as you. You will not be different. It's really OK. We beat you because we love you.
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Dec 3, 2012 15:11
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Tequila Sunrise posted:a 3.2 GPA It's not a joke that your GPA and LSAT are basically all that matters. The rest is a tiebreaker. You have an okish but got great gpa and no idea what you have on the LSAT. That is the only thing you should focus on now, and you need to be aware that if you bomb it and you're looking at only lovely schools it is time to re-evaluate. You need to crush it with your GPA.
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Dec 3, 2012 15:39
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Diplomaticus posted:And then their 2L year, if not earlier, they're broken shells. EVERY LAST ONE. And I guess there is also about 5% of those people who enjoy law school, but who are not so grotesquely inhuman that they can have actual conversations with Real People about non-law things. And the non-law student will actually enjoy having such a conversation, because it will lack the typical "I Enjoy the Law!" law student's inhospitable mix of uncanny valley and rear end in a top hat. You will not be one of these snowflakes. beep boop Note: Tequila Sunrise has not said why (s)he wants to be a lawyer, and therefore has failed the first hurdle in gaining grudging acceptance from the thread to go to law school. Addendum: Any reason Tequila Sunrise gives as to why (s)he has "always been interested in a law career" will probably be insufficient in light of the third post.
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Dec 3, 2012 15:43
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What happens when, say, you start at an IP firm as a patent agent, and they want you to get a law degree from a certain school? Would a prestigious firm have enough pull to place a student into whatever school they want? Up to a certain rank only?
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Dec 3, 2012 15:47
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I have a friend who was in the peace corps who then went to law school. I transferred from the TTT (rank > 100) we were attending, and he will be graduating from there this year, last I heard without a job, and I'm pretty sure he's top 10-20% now. To reiterate: Your GPA & LSAT are the #1 factors for getting into a good law school. Your GPA is not particularly impressive. Your law school is the #1 factor (maybe #2 behind grades) in getting a good job. Tequila Sunrise posted:So, first off, is there a good resource I can just go start reading up on the kind of materials I would be studying as a Law Student? Old textbooks or something similar? If you are still a huge masochist, try getting some used Examples & Explanations books (Civil Procedure, Torts, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, and Constitutional Law are the 1L classes, Civ Pro gives lots of 1L's hangups so start there I guess?)
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Dec 3, 2012 15:51
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Zo posted:What happens when, say, you start at an IP firm as a patent agent, and they want you to get a law degree from a certain school? Would a prestigious firm have enough pull to place a student into whatever school they want? Up to a certain rank only? I have never heard of anything like this happening ever, and I am basically in the exact same situation as you (patent agent for ~2 years before starting law school).
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Dec 3, 2012 15:53
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evilweasel posted:It's not a joke that your GPA and LSAT are basically all that matters. The rest is a tiebreaker. You have an okish but got great gpa and no idea what you have on the LSAT. That is the only thing you should focus on now, and you need to be aware that if you bomb it and you're looking at only lovely schools it is time to re-evaluate. You need to crush it with your GPA.
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Dec 3, 2012 15:54
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God, have you not been reading this thread?! The only non--GPA-LSAT-URM things that matter are the big things like the Peace Corps, so you're out of luck.
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Dec 3, 2012 16:10
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^^^lol he is in the peace corp. That being said, yeah. It's a tiebreaker. Not a boost. It will help you get chosen over someone else with your exact same numbers, but it won't help you beat out anyone with higher numbers. I can't stress this enough. Its a little different from college admissions. You could start a fortune 500 company and cure cancer and it will still come down to your GPA and LSAT score. quote:about 6 years of High School and college debate Why do 0L's think this matters? insanityv2 fucked around with this message at 16:29 on Dec 3, 2012 |
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Dec 3, 2012 16:25
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insanityv2 posted:Why do 0L's think this matters? Surely it's because judges like when I read out long lists of facts too quickly to be understood.
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Dec 3, 2012 16:30
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insanityv2 posted:I can't stress this enough. Its a little different from college admissions. You could start a fortune 500 company and cure cancer and it will still come down to your GPA and LSAT score. To be fair, Stanford and Yale would probably love that. (Although you'd already have to have great scores regardless.)
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Dec 3, 2012 16:35
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Paramour posted:To be fair, Stanford and Yale would probably love that. (Although you'd already have to have great scores regardless.) Stanford, Yale and Harvard are the only schools that can afford to ignore the US news numbers somewhat because they're that secure. Even 4-6 can't.
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Dec 3, 2012 16:37
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I should probably feel a little guilty that this case law is good for my client: "The Shahar court recognized that Bowers might have a credibility problem enforcing such laws if he declined to revoke the employment offer to Shahar in the wake of her publicized 'Jewish, lesbian-feminist, out-door wedding.' Tucker v. Georgia Dept. of Pub. Safety & its Div., CIV.A. CV 208-33, 2009 WL 2135807 (S.D. Ga. July 15, 2009) HiddenReplaced fucked around with this message at 16:45 on Dec 3, 2012 |
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Dec 3, 2012 16:43
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Tequila Sunrise, my dear sweet flower, to add to the chorus answering your specific weirdo questions: No you shouldn't try to read or prepare for law school. Not because it's overly hard, just it's dumb and impossible to get ahead. Any reading you did now would probably do more harm than good. Peace Corp won't make a big difference. Oh, I'm sure you'll grow as a person and be miles ahead of other applicants in maturity and culture. But those intangibles are 1% of a dung beetle ball that's 98% made up of GPA + LSAT. The other 1% is literally just dung. There's a lot of online resources for the LSAT, so you could reasonably study for it in Somalia or whatever. To get into a good school you have to spank that thing and make it your bitch. Now regarding going to law school or not: Are you interesting in: 1. making big bux in biglaw like evilweasel; or 2. making zero bux in gov't or small town bullshit like me? If you want route 1, then you have to get a mortal combat fatality on the LSAT and go to a top tier school. If you want route 2, then you can get whatever on the LSAT and go to any piece of crap law school and HOPE you get a bad job with a 50k salary and 150k in debt. Your GPA makes route 1 seem iffy for you, and you'd know the instant you get your LSAT results if it's even a possibility. With your work and life experiences, you probably have a good ability to go route 2 and have a career in law. But that's 3 years of worthless school and six figure debt just for the chance. I'm happy with my choices and results, but I'm in the minority of my classmates. Would you be satisfied with handling divorces or DUI's in a random county of your home state, and making a teacher's salary? If so, then sign up. woozle wuzzle fucked around with this message at 16:53 on Dec 3, 2012 |
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Dec 3, 2012 16:50
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Meatbag Esq. posted:I have a friend who was in the peace corps who then went to law school. I transferred from the TTT (rank > 100) we were attending, and he will be graduating from there this year, last I heard without a job, and I'm pretty sure he's top 10-20% now. Yea, your work experience isn't that unique, Tequila Sunrise. I can think of three PC vets off the top of my head who were in my section at my T14, and I'm sure there are more. I'd be willing to bet none of them had a 3.2 GPA in undergrad, and I'm pretty sure all of them had post-PC work as well. Your other work experience isn't unique either, and since nothing but the PC is post-college it really doesn't matter at all. All that matters now, if you absolutely have to go and will literally die if you don't, is how you do on the LSAT.
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Dec 3, 2012 17:19
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EDIT: Actually, I have no idea what this post was supposed to add to the conversation. Surely there is a delete button or something...
Solid Lizzie fucked around with this message at 18:06 on Dec 3, 2012 |
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Dec 3, 2012 18:03
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Green Crayons posted:And I guess there is also about 5% of those people who enjoy law school, but who are not so grotesquely inhuman that they can have actual conversations with Real People about non-law things. And the non-law student will actually enjoy having such a conversation, because it will lack the typical "I Enjoy the Law!" law student's inhospitable mix of uncanny valley and rear end in a top hat. You will not be one of these snowflakes. POrotip to be one of these people: the only interesting things about your cases from class are the absurdities of the factual scenarios. How it gets resolved is not. For example: it is hilarious that there is litigation over exactly when you are married because someone dropped dead in the middle of a wedding once, and the bride-to-be claimed her share of the estate. This is funny! The legal doctrines involved are not. It is not interesting to discuss the details of how she is entitled to the estate, just the person dropping dead immediately after saying "I do" but before the priest declaring them married.
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Dec 3, 2012 18:11
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I would've hit bingo on my 0L card if Tequila Sunrise had also said "I just love the law." This thread has jaded me to the practice of law so much that I tell potential law students to not go. I was talking with a friend and heard that one of her friends wants to apply to law school to do international charity work or something like that. The first thing I thought was "That's a horrible life choice."
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Dec 3, 2012 18:31
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Plus, while I might be wrong, I think the Peace Corps is still seen as an amazing thing for somebody to have on his resume in general, so your job prospects outside of law school will be good while your job prospects in and after law school will be about as good as your school rank and class rank warrant, which makes law school an even worse investment than normal when compared to entering the normal white collar job market.
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Dec 3, 2012 18:49
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Lote posted:I was talking with a friend and heard that one of her friends wants to apply to law school to do international charity work or something like that. The first thing I thought was "That's a horrible life choice." This poo poo continues to baffle me. Why do people think they need law degrees to work for charity? See also, the UN, etc. E: Also also, the CIA, the FBI etc. I know they do have a number of legal positions but still... What is it about these Executive branch government positions that makes people think that a degree about the judicial branch is the most appropriate means to get there? insanityv2 fucked around with this message at 19:14 on Dec 3, 2012 |
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Dec 3, 2012 19:01
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Seriously. An MPA or an international development degree is all you need. A law degree will hurt you for that sort of thing, because you won't be able to stop seeing all the blatantly illegal poo poo that your charity does.
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Dec 3, 2012 19:08
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Lote posted:I would've hit bingo on my 0L card if Tequila Sunrise had also said "I just love the law." Tell her to call me. Also I miss you and let's get brunch.
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Dec 3, 2012 19:11
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Lote posted:I would've hit bingo on my 0L card if Tequila Sunrise had also said "I just love the law." Elotana posted:Being a lawyer because "I love the law" is like being a rapist because "I love women"
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Dec 3, 2012 20:06
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Stop fucked around with this message at 02:10 on Mar 14, 2013 |
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Dec 3, 2012 20:25
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insanityv2 posted:Why do 0L's think this matters? It gives a good answer for "why do you want to be a lawyer" when you're in interviews. I also knew what Lexis Nexis was sooner than my peers.
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Dec 3, 2012 20:54
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Most of this is cribbing from the OP or from specific posts in this thread. 0L Bingo Card choices: quote:
*I had a conversation with a guy that was going to SMU Law in order to be a sports agent. He was 30 and starting 3L. What do you say when the bridge is out and the train has no brakes?
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Dec 3, 2012 21:26
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Got a 117 on the MPRE. I've never been more ashamed of myself.
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Dec 3, 2012 21:47
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Lote posted:Most of this is cribbing from the OP or from specific posts in this thread. That was fun to read. I like your game. Somebody who's not doing semester-end assignments turn this into bingo cards.
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Dec 3, 2012 21:58
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Omerta posted:Got a 117 on the MPRE. I've never been more ashamed of myself. That's why you should take the MD bar (or Washington).
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Dec 3, 2012 22:22
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This is probably a bit of a pipe dream on my part given I'm only just graduating/the general legal market, but I want to ask anyway: does anyone have any experience/feedback/insight/whatever about becoming a planned giving attorney (at any point in one's career)? Bonus if this involves the DC area at all. I really dig the charity side of estate planning and would love to be involved in that.
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Dec 3, 2012 22:25
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Diplomaticus posted:That's why you should take the MD bar (or Washington). Washington requires the MPRE starting next summer so you better move fast on that one.
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Dec 3, 2012 22:44
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