To Go Or Not To Go (to law school) - THAT Is The Question...

By W. Adam Hunt

The following excerpt first appeared in my book: Surthriving Law School (and beyond...): An essential guide to surviving and thriving on your legal (and life) journey

Every lawyer I know has a pretty strong opinion when asked by an aspiring law student the age-old question: “Should I go to law school?” The following are my candid thoughts on that momentous decision. For what it’s worth, I always used to say: “No matter what, don’t go. It’s a terrible waste of money that you’ll inevitably regret. Seriously, save yourself.” My response now is the much more nuanced question: “What do you want to do?”

When you ask most lawyers about going to law school, they tend to answer based on what their experience has been versus relating it to what you want in life.

Here’s the thing. When you ask most lawyers about going to law school, they tend to answer based on what their experience has been versus relating it to what you want in life. This is where my question comes in. There are usually many different paths to satisfy a given career goal. And if you’re not exactly sure what you want to do, it’s probably worth figuring out the answer before choosing a path that potentially involves massive amounts of student debt (see this recent WSJ article for more on that).

Find Your Purpose

I believe the key is to approach the question about whether to attend law school from your purpose and/or passion versus just something you think might eventually get you closer to your goal (or just more money than you’re making now). Merely being interested in a topic, industry, or field (whether it’s technology, the environment, or banking) does not mean you will actually enjoy practicing law in that particular area. At all.

I believe the key is to approach the question about whether to attend law school from your purpose and/or passion versus just something you think might eventually get you closer to your goal (or just more money than you’re making now).

When someone tells me they are interested in a given field, it always prompts me to ask: “What is it about that type of law that specifically interests you?” Or sometimes I just ask again: “But what do you actually want to do?” Because if the answer is something along the lines of “I want to be involved in the [fill in the blank] industry,” then getting a law degree isn’t necessarily the right career choice. While you may have strong interest in a particular topic, you need to have better clarity in what you actually want to do in life.

Let’s say your dream job is working in show business. If what you’re picturing is working with movie stars or being part of the creative process, then going to law school is unlikely to help. Why? You could wind up taking a job as an entertainment lawyer where much of your day is spent drafting and revising agreements—albeit agreements for films and/or television shows. A better choice might be skipping law school altogether (at least for now) and getting a job that doesn’t require a legal degree, but one that does involve much more exposure to the creative process. That way, you won’t have committed to the potentially overwhelming costs of law school only to find out that being a lawyer is not actually your desired career path. If things don’t work out, going to law school will still always be an option for you down the road.

[I]f you’re not quite sure what you want to do with your law degree, then it’s important to consider whether there is a more direct way to do something you’ll love for your livelihood. Ask yourself if there are other job options that could be just as satisfying or impactful.

If you think your true calling is standing before a jury making a closing argument in a major trial, or drafting a brief that gets filed with the Supreme Court of the United States, then of course going to law school is a necessity. But if you’re not quite sure what you want to do with your law degree, then it’s important to consider whether there is a more direct way to do something you’ll love for your livelihood. Ask yourself if there are other job options that could be just as satisfying or impactful. What about working in politics for a candidate who wants to change the immigration laws, working for a think tank, or doing research at a university? The possibilities are endless!

Further thoughts: As stated in his article, “Free Yourself from What You Should Be Doing,” author Andy Molinsky has these wise words to consider:

“But when your compliance system systematically overrides your personal passion, that’s when it’s critical to examine on a broader level whether you’re living the life you want to lead. […] And by identifying and escaping your compliant zone [a sense of what you ‘should’ but may not want to pursue, e.g., in ways expected by your parents, your extended family, or your culture], you can discover your ‘true’ self—the part of you that reflects your authentic passions and interests and leads to a more fulfilling life.

Additional Resources: For anyone out there who still isn’t quite sure what your “why” is yet, try downloading the free Finding Your “Why” worksheet on my Surthriving Law website. Author and optimist Simon Sinek also has a great live online course that I highly recommend (it's called Start With Why).

Try Before You Buy

The unfortunate reality is that the actual practice of law is simply not that fulfilling for many legal professionals (just look at some of the statistics and stories). If you’re not sure what being a lawyer is actually like, then I highly recommend taking a year or two to work at a law firm or with lawyers in some capacity before going to law school. This will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the actual work they are doing. You should also talk to as many practicing lawyers as you can, read what the guest contributors in this guide have shared, and find mentors to advise you.

As an undergrad, I worked as a file clerk for a midsized firm in Los Angeles, and did a brief stint for a sole practitioner, which is a law practice run by a single lawyer. I also worked at an internet start-up with many burned out ex-lawyers who helped design online compliance training courses. In addition to some much-needed spending money, these jobs gave me an invaluable opportunity to see, hear, and speak to lawyers about their jobs on a regular basis.

One of the biggest takeaways for me was how many of the lawyers who went straight from college to law school wished that they had taken some time off in between to explore other interests. And pretty much everyone who had taken time off to pursue other interests said they were glad they did, even if they ultimately ended up going to law school like I did.

I used my time off before law school to try everything, from working in the California legislature and on a presidential campaign in Iowa, to starting a business. I even worked at a local pub on nights and weekends. By exploring these other options, I felt more confident that applying to law school was the right career choice for me, and I wasn’t left wondering how those other career paths might have turned out. When it came time to interviewing for positions after law school, these extra years of experience also came in handy. If there is anything that you might want to do more than or equally as much as law, the time to go for it is before committing to law school.

The Actual Practice of Law

My experience working at one of the largest and most prestigious law firms in New York City was that much of the work is incredibly unfulfilling at best, and soul crushing at worst. Like me, many (if not most) junior attorneys at large law firms start their legal careers reviewing massive amounts of documents, either doing “doc review” as litigation associates or “due diligence” on the corporate side. Regardless of what it’s called, for most people, it’s not particularly enjoyable (especially when you’re doing it at midnight!), let alone rewarding from a career perspective since it usually means sitting in front of a computer screen reviewing hundreds of documents a day. Even when I progressed to more interesting and engaging work assignments, there was often still very little interaction with anyone, aside from more senior attorneys asking for status updates and assigning me more work. The pressure to bill hours is also always present, which can make it difficult to prioritize even basic personal wants and needs outside of work, which was the case for me. Even so-called “lifestyle firms” are dependent on billable hours to keep the lights on.

It’s certainly not all bad. For example, the documents that you’re reviewing can be extremely important in a litigation. It was also interesting to learn about the client’s business and industry through doing doc review. Of course, the biggest perk is the pay. Current salaries for first-year associates at the largest law firms have reached astronomical levels ($200,000+ in recent months). Just having the opportunity to do this type of work, for this amount of money, carries a huge amount of privilege and opportunity that is foreclosed to many law school graduates (or most people, for that matter). I also have many good friends and mentors who still practice law at law firms, from small ones they started to BigLaw, and greatly enjoy what they do for a living. And I learned a ton during my years at large law firms—it ultimately just wasn’t the right long-term fit for me on my career journey.

Important note: There are many other types of legal careers that do not involve large law firms (see the “Beyond BigLaw” guest contributions in Part VI of my book Surthriving Law School (and beyond...) for additional perspectives on some of those possible career paths). But due to the enormous cost of attending law school, many graduates find themselves in a position like I did—pursuing jobs that they hadn’t planned on in order to repay their student loans.

At the end of the day, even if you are fortunate to land a high-paying BigLaw job, you have to ask yourself what is the point of making exceptional amounts of money if you are spending almost all of your waking moments—including nights and weekends—at work, reviewing documents. If you’re a “people person” like I am, spending day after day devoid of any meaningful human interaction can quickly become problematic from a mental health and well-being perspective.

Keeping Costs In Mind

If you do decide to go to law school, please remember that you don’t have to choose a school that requires taking out huge loans to attend, and you don’t have to accept every loan that’s offered to you. Strongly consider attending schools which offer a scholarship or that have lower overall costs of attendance. Keep in mind that the more debt you graduate with, the less flexibility you will have in choosing a job. Moreover, there is absolutely no guarantee that taking on large amounts of student loan debt to attend law school will result in being able to secure a high-paying job that will allow you to actually repay those big loans. To the contrary, many law school graduates unfortunately find themselves in much lower-paying jobs than they had anticipated. This can have significant negative impact on both financial and mental well-being, including delaying saving for retirement or emergencies, having the ability to make a down payment and/or mortgage payments, or constrained lifestyle choices (e.g., where to live, travel, and/or vacation).

For all of these reasons, it is extremely important to fully evaluate all of the potential risks—along with potential benefits—when making your decision of which law school to attend. It could very well be that things like a global alumni network, strong international programs, the overall campus vibe/aesthetic/environment and strong sense of community outweigh the potential financial downside. Just be very aware and intentional about your decision.

The Bottom Line

Often the people you approach for a conversation about whether to go or not to go to law school have a goal to talk someone either out of or into making one of the most significant decisions of their lives. I’ve had this conversation with a lot of people and this is my general advice: Figure out what it is you actually want to do first, then figure out if law school will help you accomplish that goal, or if there might be another path that is more directly tied to what you truly want and enjoy in life. No matter what, make sure to use the tools outlined in Part I of this guide as a foundation for whatever lies ahead.

About The Author

W. Adam Hunt worked as an associate at a Vault Top 5 law firm following his graduation from Northwestern Law. He has held various in-house counsel roles since 2014, and is passionate about helping law students and legal professionals achieve greater well-being in their own lives.

*100% of all proceeds received by the author from sales of this book are being donated to SEO Law, a program of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing supplemental educational and career support to young people from underserved and underrepresented communities.