Truckin' my way through law school.

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Breaker Breaker, this is Law Rig, anyone else out there?
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Just finishing up this law school run.

Many people wonder why I am still in law school, given that I don't know that I want to practice law.  It is a question I am asked regularly enough that I thought I would let the world know exactly why I am still truckin' my way through law school.

First, I would like to say that when I entered my first year of law school I was a starry eyed 1L who thought law school was the most amazing thing in the world.  I honestly loved briefing cases, learning the 'black letter law' as they called it, and immersing myself in my studies.  I did very well in my first year of law school, as a result.  However, I did not make law review, which was one thing that upset me, and it was part of the reason I grew somewhat complacent during my first semester of being a 2L.  However, even at that time I had no aspirations of quitting law school.  And I knew I was in deep.



I continued to trudge my way through law school, and in the middle of that same semester, I started making this blog.  At first I thought it would be a fun way in which to express my distaste for certain parts of law school.  Some things had begun to annoy me greatly (as is the case with many things in life).  Further, I started to notice other similar blogs about law school.  Some were from kids with rosy glasses and others were from people like Nando, who I stumbled upon.  I read most of his blog entries about different law schools and began thinking about law school a bit differently.  Further, I noticed that my law grades had plummeted.  I began to ask myself some hard questions such as "do I want to do this?"  Further, I did not find my legal internships as enjoyable as I once imagined.  They were nothing like what I saw in the show "Perry Mason" (although I knew they would be different).  I was merely a slave boy working for free.  It was all rather depressing.  However, I figured I would continue through my second year, as I had a lease on an apartment and to quit law school would mean I would be evicted, and that I would not only have dropped out of school, but have an eviction on my record. 


In my second semester of the 2L year I did much better than I did in the first semester.  My grades were somewhat respectable.  That made me feel better, even if it was somewhat meaningless.  It at least showed me that it wasn't me as a person who was a dolt.  And although my grades will not land me a job, I realize that they can at least help my self-esteem, which is worth perhaps more than money.

Now I am about to enter my third year.  A "rising 3L".  I could quit now.  However, I would have to find a job immediately, as I am still paying a small fortune for rent here in New York.  Either that or I can finish the game.  One more year.  I will have the JD, the option to take the bar, the option to do something as far as legal work.  Further, my debt right now is very large.  One more year isn't going to be much of a change as far as it being 'manageable'.  As it stands now, I will have to do IBR (Income Based Repayment) whether or not it's $150k or $200k.  On top of that, I don't mind leaving the US after law school.  I have spent some time in Asia and Europe, as well as Central America, and I know that I could be happy in any of those places.  I have planned on retiring outside of the US for a very long time now.  If I had to leave sooner, I would not bemoan the fact.  Further, I have considered leaving to teach English outside of the US after law school.  Although it's not a glamorous job, it's something I would not mind doing.   In fact, the prospect excites me.

Having weighed all the options for myself, I think the best course of action is to finish.  If I was a 1L still I would have probably dropped out and at least did something else.  However, I am too far in for that now.  So, I shall finish the game, down the boss, and maybe get a little bit of loot, even if it's merely a piece of paper.

Law School: The Best Remaining 3 Years of Our Lives.

 
Today I was thinking that law school may be the best three years we have left.  The days are sometimes long and painfully boring.  There is much worry regarding finding a job or not finding a job.  And, some of us are so devoted to school that we have no lives outside of the walls of higher learning.  However, what lurks in the future makes for a sobering reality.  Law school may be some of the best days we have left.

Law school can be depressing...

What comes after graduation?  Depression over not finding a job?  Desperately faxing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of resumes to employers who snort upon opening them, discarding them in the trash in a frenzy?  Explaining to family that law school doesn't equal success.  Explaining to non-legal employers that our law degree was merely a setback?  Explaining to the pastor that the reason I cussed during church was because that job I interviewed for three weeks ago was a no go?  Explaining to the dog that I can not afford to feed him, so he is going to have to go get his own dinner outside tonight?  Explaining to the roaches in the apartment that I can't afford to kill them?  Explaining to a would be girlfriend that I can't afford to take her out on a dinner date, but the food stamps that my career services office helped me procure afforded me some very delicious T.V. Dinners.  Explaining to the bus driver that I will swipe my bus pass twice after getting the job in which I am going to interview for to make up for not having a valid one this time.  You get the point...

Another thing to keep in mind is that there's no summer vacation or spring break (which is coming up next week) in the real world.  A law student is wise to cherish every moment of that spring break (some actually study during it), as it will be one of the last large breaks one will have for a while (other than the unemployment break, but unlike spring break, we don't really look forward to that one). 

Today I heard laughter coming from the table behind me and I wondered what could make the person seem so jolly.  Was it that she got a job offer from a big firm?  Was her law review article published the closest to the front of the Journal of International Law?  Did her boyfriend buy her a brand new puppy?  Laughter, while common now, will grow to be less common as the years progress.  Laughter, to a graduated lawer, is something that begins to die out, go extinct, and even outlawed.  They say after taking the bar exam, all laughter is cut in half.  After finding your first job, it is hard to even smile. 

In one of my classes today we were asked about the time value of money.  The professor asked how much we would value $100 in a year from now.  One person said $106, another said $110, and another said $200.  The professor asked the student who said $200 how much he would view $100 in three years from now.  The student said $250.  The professor said, "why not $300?"  The student said, "I am a 2L and next year I will be a 3L, and I will have a job so the delay in getting the money will not matter to me as I will be making a lot of money."  Enjoy it while it lasts.