Why do you want to be a lawyer?
March 4, 2013 Leave a comment
By Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law
Too many people go to law school with goals that are not necessarily, in my humble opinion, conducive to being happy, productive member of the legal community. Before considering spending money to become an attorney, no matter the path, young people in the United States should ask themselves, “Why do I want to be a lawyer?” Law can be a difficult profession, not at all like what you might see in television and the movies. One thing that prospective attorneys do not often realize is the profession requires that you put your own needs firmly below that of the client. Because the law often draws the ego-driven, this can cause much unhappiness, particularly in younger lawyers.
I have been thinking of how to express my feelings on this topic. I have given advice, both solicited and unsolicited to people before they go to law school, and even some in law school. I think one paragraph in an article that arrived today in the California Lawyer put it as succinctly as possible. These are the words of Dan Grunfeld, a partner at Kaye Scholer LLP. I have never had the privilege of meeting Mr. Grunfeld, nor have I ever had any cases with his current firm. However, his essay “A Lost Generation” which appears at page 16 of the March 2013 California Lawyer. Mr. Grunfeld writes (in the paragraph I mentioned earlier:
For their part, would-be lawyers should think twice before even applying to law schools. The legal profession can be noble and rewarding. Yet it is also demanding, and not immune to the same economic forces that have thrown so many other industries into turmoil. Law school hopefuls should apply because they want to become lawyers, not because they can’t figure out what else to do – and especially not because they see it as an easy path to a lucrative career.
Do not go to law school if your sole goal is to make money. There are a lot of better paths to make money. Also, you have to have a commitment to being a lawyer-to helping people (in the broadest sense of the world) with their problems and in turn by helping society resolve issues and make things happen within the bounds of the legal framework that makes the United States such a great country.
The information you obtain at this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established by reading or commenting on this blog. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.
Michael Reiter, Municipal Attorney with Milligan, Attorney, Beswick, Levine & Knox LLP Blog 