Should You Come to Law School?

Preface: This letter was prepared for a real person.

I write to answer your question whether to come to law school. My reply is specific to you. A generic response is not useful. I have met you as an individual, through your mother. That means I have your best interest in mind; since I no longer head a law school, I am not employed to recruit you. I also recognize that you come from a home in a well-to-do neighborhood, and you are about to graduate from one of the best universities in the nation.

You’ll learn, if you matriculate with us, that lawyers like to speak with prologues, addenda, caveats, and disclaimers. That tendency is to be careful, not confusing. 

It’s important for me to set out up front that I am not trying to sell you on law school. My fame in this domain, such as it is, is for stating that the critics are right.

From our conversation, which I couldn’t continue because of jet lag, I know you know that for the past few years bloggers, the mainstream media, and even lawyers and judges themselves, have described legal education as a scam and a sham, which will ruin your life and leave you destitute, while those of us in the legal academy are contemptible con artists who treat you as a mark. “Haters” will tell you nobody should go to law school. 

Yet you remain interested. That’s good. We need smart, ethical people such as you to join the profession. 

Otherwise, we will be sorry as a society, for the disappearance of a foundation of democracy. The claim that lawyers, and thus law, serves no function whatsoever is dangerous regardless of your political opinions except for anarchists and fascists.

Everything depends on law. It is what has made our nation a model. A diverse population needs a set of agreed-upon standards to hold together. Without law, we would have war or worse.

Now let me share a law professor’s customary worldview. It depends. That is more than a phrase to frustrate laypeople. It really depends.

Here is the wrong reason to go to law school. People — the proverbial though anonymous “they” — used to say everyone should enroll in law school. They would urge new college graduates who did not have a sense of what next to prolong their higher education with a dose of Socratic dialogue through the case method. You can do anything with the degree. It’s a great credential and skill set. Etc.

I would concur if the Juris Doctor degree were free and instantaneous. Or if you were wealthy, with three years to spare.

But law school is a major undertaking. The tuition is what a mortgage would be. There are opportunity costs that become apparent as you age.

Law school is not, and never should have been pitched as, a default or fallback. Let me be straightforward about that.

The training is excellent. Most graduates of most schools initially try their hand at legal practice. (That isn’t true in every jurisdiction. Law as an undergraduate degree in some nations can be similar to other liberal arts majors.)

So the right reason to come is that you want to be a lawyer. You need to comprehend what that means. I refer to the day-to-day work you would do after you graduate, more than the content of the classes or the glamorous though imaginary depiction of lawyers on television. (There is another fine reason for law school: if you have a clear plan for using the experience, such as entering a family enterprise where you will be a lawyer-businessperson.)

Most importantly, law is a service profession. Nobody mentioned that to me when I was in your position. They said “profession.” That is cleverly self congratulatory. They omitted “service.” That concept instills humility.

You represent others. That requires you put their interests above your own. If you want to make as much money as possible — and I’m not judging (or, in the colloquial, I’m not being “judge-y”), this occupation is not for you. Someone with the ambition of accumulating capital should consider other options. Excluding pro bono matters (or if you take the rare, risky course of becoming a contingency fee plaintiff’s attorney), the more high end you are the more likely your clients will be wealthier. After all, they have to be able to afford your fees — which you yourself likely won’t be able to. You will earn enough. But the donors of huge gifts to their law school alma mater are those who branched out, such as by becoming real estate developers. 

The assignments you will receive will call on you to be creative. They will be challenging. You will help people do deals, resolve disputes, manage complex regulations, and solve problems through a specific discipline. There is no heavy lifting involved.

Our era, characterized by the smirk, dominated by snarkiness, doubts any idealism. Lawyers in particular are suspected of standing for nothing besides crass self-interest. You, however, have the confidence necessary for an advocate and counselor. You believe in the possibility of justice. You hope to change the world. You are convinced that to do so you can rely on words.

As to the prospect of gainful employment upon graduation, I will be realistic. Even in boom times, the so-called “BigLaw” firms consider the top of the class from the top law schools and the best from the better regional schools. The majority of lawyers do not work on Wall Street or in Silicon Valley. The blue-chip firms boast client lists of major corporations and high net worth natural persons. If you cannot abide the notion of working for a petroleum company or a billionaire, look elsewhere. 

Being an associate is terrifically demanding and stressful, being a partner nowadays even more so. They do not give you that amount of money to relax, or to ponder philosophy.

You have mentioned pursuing the public interest. That isn’t easy either. Those jobs are coveted. Hiring is at least as competitive as for the swankiest firms. That’s a consequence of supply and demand. There are many more candidates than can be supported by the causes you care about.

There also is an ongoing need for affordable lawyers. The market has not adjusted to deliver services for ordinary folks.

From your background, I surmise you enjoy reading, writing, and public speaking. You assert yourself. You enjoy analysis and argument. All of that is necessary. You need not be aggressive to be a member of the bar. But you cannot well be reluctant about the tasks that constitute lawyering.

While I have your attention, allow me to make an argument to test you. People who do not care for details as lawyers will react negatively to my claim without considering it beyond the following superficial sentence.

I would say everyone should receive legal education. . .

But I am not saying they should pay for a J.D., the degree needed to be licensed. I mean all of us, in a self-governing system, could benefit from a bit of law, perhaps a single course or even a certificate program, from the doctor to the engineer to the artist (who cares about protecting her intellectual property). Society accepts my proposal, implicitly. That’s why we have high school civics as a mandatory subject in many places, to ensure that smidgen of information is imparted on how laws are made, how the branches of government are supposed to have checks and balances, and why rights matter. (For what it is worth, I would insist people have some math and science, too, not to mention humanities, as a core of higher education, to ready them for the role of engaged citizen.)

Finally, you could infer from the circumstances that this is arguably the best moment to apply to law school for a person such as you, who is doing what they are destined to do. The dire situation of almost all law schools is a boon for almost all law students. Your chances of being admitted are much increased. The financial aid packages represent a reversal in market power between the school and the student. 

Everything I have said above applies to all of higher education. We live in a competitive, dynamic global economy. There are no guarantees; there never were, but some people made understandable assumptions. Go to law school if you have researched the risks and rewards. Do anything you are contemplating as a college senior with an awareness of the range of results and other consequences.

That’s my advice for you, my friend.

This essay originally appeared at The Huffington Post.