Problem is that it takes a couple of years out of law school to figure out which of the truth, “paper” or “talking” you have ab aptitude for and enjoy.
Real world experience can show one that the initial interest was wrong.
Agreed. As mentioned earlieR, I never thought I’d be in court much.
In one discussion with classmates about future plans, I said I didn’t bunk
I’d be a litigator - not competitive enough. She laughed and said “Yku wouldn’t be able law school if you weren’t sompetitive. You just don’t know yet where.”
I’m truly happy for you, and do not doubt you one bit. Without being too specific, could you tell use what type of law you practice in what fora and what size/type of firm?
Also, what is your honest opinion as to your fellow Canadian lawyers’ level of job satisfaction? Not just litigators in situations similar to yours. But other litigators - public and private, sole practitioners and members of large firms, “paper” lawyers (as others have referred to them)…
I was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1992, and have been in practice ever since. My father and both of my grandfathers were lawyers, but I was fortunate in that nobody in the family arm-twisted me into going to law school. I didn’t even seriously consider it until I was already in college.
I’ve since found the practice of law to be tremendously rewarding. I love the law and really enjoy being involved in its interpretation and application. I like helping people and I’m keenly aware of the role of the rule of law in preserving freedom and democracy.
Starting out, I didn’t particularly enjoy private practice. The small firm I worked at really didn’t have enough work to keep me busy, or the kind of cases that interested me. I next took a job with Legal Aid in a rural county, where most of my work was on custody disputes, utility law and helping victims of domestic violence get protection orders; that was much more to my liking. Then I was appointed an assistant county prosecutor in a much bigger county, and I *really *liked that. I was there for six years, with stints in child support and Juvenile Court, but most of my time was in the felony trial unit. My cases ran the gamut from drug offenses to sex crimes to felonious assaults; I sat second-chair on some murder cases that I still remember well.
Due to some political changes in the office, it then became clear that it was time to seek greener pastures. I applied for and was appointed a magistrate in a big-city municipal court, and have been here ever since (going on 20 years now). People, sometimes angry and combative people, bring their cases to our court and I get to decide, after giving everyone a fair hearing, what’s going to happen. I handle criminal, civil and traffic cases, as needed. I rule on motions and objections, and advise the judges of our court. I actually get to see to it that justice is done, which I find extraordinarily satisfying. Several times I’ve been thanked by people I ruled against, because they knew that, win or lose, they’d had a fair hearing. Most mornings I look forward to going to court. And when the bailiff says “All rise,” people actually do!
When asked by people considering law school in the U.S., I tell them that the law schools are twice a year churning out many more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young lawyers than there are jobs available for them. No one should go to law school these days unless they’re (a) passionately interested in the law, and/or (b) pretty sure they’ll have a job waiting for them when they graduate and pass the bar. Tagging along with lawyers in the particular area that interests you, asking lots of questions of lawyers who are willing to talk, or even getting a job as a staffer in a law firm or government office, will show you more about the practice and help you decide. And you should definitely sit in on some law school classes - you may find they’re so stunningly boring that there’s no way you want to endure a whole three years of them. I teach legal advocacy to undergrads and am always drawing distinctions between Hollywood and reality. No one should go to law school with any easily-avoidable misconceptions about what the practice of law is actually like.
If you do go to law school, I encourage you to get involved in clinical programs, if they’re offered. It’s the chance to do interesting, hands-on legal work out in the real world, supervised by faculty members who are themselves lawyers, and learn some of the nuts and bolts of actual legal practice that’s usually not covered in the classroom.
Anyone who reads this thread and is considering law school is welcome to PM me.
I haven’t.
Typically three in the U.S.
Say hi to her for us!
I recently paid a plumber over $300 to replace the valve stem on a shower faucet. Not including the $89 the wanted for him to simply show up. Took him 10 minutes.
Yeah, plumbing is the way to go.
I have you beat on that one - new shower faucet. I bought the part but wasn’t confident enough to install it. $350 and 15 minutes into the appointment, it was done.
The capper was that I didn’t even get a real plumber. I got a plumber’s assistant. That is like showing up in a dark alley and getting an assistant crack whore that doesn’t tell you in advance that she charges $1000 an hour.
Until you turn 50, and your hips and knees aren’t what they used to be! 
I’ll wave at her picture for you next time I go by.
What, and reveal my secret identity?!? *
The ones I hang around with after hours seem pretty content and enjoy talking law. Government lawyers, private lawyers, some corporate types. But I don’t go around asking folks if they’re happy, so who knows?
One fellow I knew, senior to me and a good mentor, was very reluctant to retire from his litigation gig with the government. His line sounds similar to yours: admin law, judicial reviews of admin law, etc. Very well-respected at the bar and by the bench. He told me towards the end of his career that he enjoyed going to work every day. What really intrigued him was the balance between letting governments agencies carry out their statutory duties, while ensuring citizens could call them to account through the courts.
We certainly have programs like “Lawyers concerned for lawyers” to help lawyers who are going through different life crises. Alcohol and drugs are not uncommon. Whether that’s higher than average for other professions / age cohorts, I couldn’t tell you.
- Small province, small city, small bar.
There have been several studies over the years indicating that American lawyers are more unhappy in their work than those in other professions, and are particularly at risk for substance abuse: Why Are Lawyers So Unhappy? - Above the LawAbove the Law
I’ve seen those studies, but I sometimes wonder if it’s causation or just correlation.
I’m happier now than I’ve ever been, but fundamentally I’m not a happy person. My brain seems hard-wired to look for the cloud around every silver lining–to find the most negative possible interpretation of current events and imagine the worst-case outcome. I think it’s an asset in my work, though, and I see similar personality traits in my fellow lawyers at somewhat greater frequency than in the central population. Maybe being a lawyer makes one miserable, but what if miserable human beings are just drawn to the law? If that’s the case, you might as well put your catastophizing talents to good use.
You aren’t paying for his time. You are paying for him to know how to replace the valve stem.
I’m surprised nobody has linked to this yet: Don’t be a lawyer
LMAO over the ending!
One more minor anecdote that recently bubbled up thru my grey matter after 30+ years.
When in law school, I took a Negotiations class. A small class - approx 32 students. Each week you would do a mock negotiation, where 2-person teams would engage in various negotiations. You would want to maximize your interests, and wouldn’t know the other teams specific interests.
The issue arose whether, if you had maximized your interests and had some additional things that you could give to your opponent at no cost to yourself, would/should you.
Take a guess - out of 32 students, how many thought you should?
Me. No one else. Every other student felt that succeeding as a negotiator meant not only maximizing your client’s interests, but also screwing over the opponent as much as you could - maximizing the DIFFERENCE between the benefit your side achieved compared to the other side.
Not saying ALL US attys act this way. But I suggest you would be a fool if you claimed that a significant portion of them did not.
BTW - if you find yourself in law school and realize you don’t like many of your fellow students? Heed that sensation, because those are going the be the people you are working with - and against - throughout your career. Not meaning to imply lawyers are bad people, just that the career as practiced in the US tends to attract/develop certain traits and behaviors.
And I suppose most people have heard that law school “makes you think like a lawyer.” To some extent it does. I’m not saying it is a bad thing to think like a lawyer (at least to some extent.) But it might not be best for all people. You should think carefully whether that is something you desire for yourself.
I’d recommend a bright person do what they have a real passion to do. Because that’s going to be real achievement for them personally and this is what it’s all about.
From my professional experience, the people who don’t do very well at their jobs are the ones who got steered into getting a degree in something they really don’t have an interest in and didn’t know what they wanted to do. It is far more important they find that thing which is for them than simply getting credentials from some place highly rated.
My entire 1L class was sharing this video on Facebook at one point.
I think I hit the jackpot. My region (northwest Ontario) has nice lawyers. Visiting Judges regularly comment on how nice our bar is. Visiting counsel regularly comment on how nice the lawyers that they have opposed are. We figure it is because there are only a few hundred of us (covering a couple of hundred thousand square miles), so folks in a given type of practice will keep encountering each other throughout their careers. Since what goes around comes around, we have a lot of collegiality going around. It makes for an enjoyable, challenging and satisfying career rather than a frustrating and abrasive one.
Very funny (although I don’t agree with it).
Everyone should study law. You’ll pick up a lot of life skills. Few people should choose to practice law as a job. I found my niche in law but I was lucky, and I’m about to get out of it for something more lucrative.