Harvard Law School: The World's Nicest Prison

Harvard University School of Law

There is a saying: a prison is still a prison, even if it is the world's nicest prison.  Another saying states that "a law school is a law school even if it is the world's nicest law school."  So, the question becomes, is Harvard law school the world's nicest law school?  It seems to be the most popular law school to those who do not realize that Yale is US News and World Report's most high ranked law school.

I am sure that many law students that don't get into a top school wonder "what is Harvard law like?"  "How would my life be different if I went to Harvard University School of Law?"  What opportunities would exist if I made it onto the "Harvard Law Review?"  I know that I have sometimes wondered that.  Perhaps I would have made it into a big law career.  Perhaps in a year from now instead of looking for jobs, I would instead be rolling in the wealth.

Remember, the world's nicest prison is still a prison.

But life is a lot more than money, and it seems that the more I think about it, big law is something that I don't want.  In fact, a life of big law seems more like a prison sentence.  Recently I heard an individual talking about a friend of his from Fordham Law School who landed a BigLaw job.  He was excited at first, but as time went on, he began to feel that he was no longer a free person.  Shortly after being hired, he stated many times, openly, that he hated the job.  In fact, he said it was not uncommon for him to overhear co-workers have to call their families late at night and tell them that "daddy or mommy would not be home to say goodnight."  Is that the life I really want to live?  That's the question that I ask myself.  While the money would be nice, it is what is often called "golden handcuffs." 

Many people are not frugal once they land a job that pays $125,000 and up.  They think that the "world is their oyster" and spend themselves into a lifestyle that they have to maintain.  Once one buys an expensive car, house, amasses credit card debt, etc. etc. they will be trapped.  No matter how much money one makes, it is not worth being trapped. 

I was told about individuals who work in big law that have to ask to borrow money for lunch from other associates.  That is how overextended some people are.  Why spend so much money to show an image?  Is having an outward image that important?  I tend to not think so.  There is something to be said about frugality and living under one's means even if rolling in wealth.

A fool and his money are soon parted.  In fact, many biglaw associates don't make it, either because they find that they are not cut out for the job, or because they are let go when the economy changes.  When a lifestyle of this type changes, disaster ensues.  Financial ruin becomes the soup de jour and woe to the person who has to rebuild a life that has been torn apart by such a life alteration.

Of course, I would love to say I went to Harvard Law.  It seems like a pretty decent school.  Of course, there are still some who will come out of the school and not do great.  But a loser at Harvard Law has more options than a grad from a school such as, say, "Thomas Cooley Law School."  Even my school, which is pretty decent, does not even come close to the prestige that emanates from Harvard. 

A while back I did write an article entitled "Law School as Prison" which, for some reason, is my most popular post.  Many people seem to consider law school as a prison.  Many people do not seem to particularly enjoy three years of reading books, learning 'bout crooks, and professor's evil looks.  Many people don't enjoy shelling out over $100,000 for the honor of perhaps being called "your honor." 

"The law professors are the guards.  They torture you with long readings and calling upon you randomly in class, hoping that you will stumble, so they can waterboard you.  I have been waterboarded three times during my first year.  Trust me, it was not fun.  The professors often claim that they love the law, and their jobs, but me thinks that they love their big paychecks, which, after the warden, is probably the next largest.  If you get 'good behavior' you get an extra 1-3 points.  Whatever the hell that means."

Like prison, one gets better at law school as time passes.  For example, I can now take a law school exam with my eyes closed.  I know how to tell if I will be called on well in advance.  In fact, I believe that is part of the reason why 1Ls are terrified (they are the new inmates) and 3Ls are complacent (they are the ones that are neck deep in the system).  The LLMs are lifers.  No doubt about that. 

Sometimes I feel that I have been in school for far too long.  In fact, I have been in school for about 8 years.  That's way too long for me.  I took a break to work in fast food for about two years in which I was able to make decent money (for fast food).  Although it was menial work where I felt like a slave, it was a paycheck.  Now, I find myself stretching student loan checks to get by.  I miss making money.  I miss being productive.  While I sometimes try to enjoy the whole schooling thing, the truth is, I want to start saving money.  I want to start paying off my loans.  I want to start being able to put money towards property.  I want to live.  Being in school was fun for a while, but now I crave some kind of change.

Of course there is also the fear of feeling like a slave again.  I don't want to end up feeling like garbage when I go home at night after a long day at work.  I believe that's how biglaw would make me feel.   Sure, I would be making a lot of money.  Sure, I would pay off my loans quickly.  But, I would rather work a public interest/government job for 10 years and pay back my debt that way, and work in a job where people were not overextended because they were working for money.  I realize that not all public interest jobs are like this, but of all my internships and work experiences, jobs that were in the public sector or non-profit have been the best places to work for, especially as far as employee morale.  The places that were driven by profit were the worst.  You are seen as a number, not a human.  I have worked for places where I didn't even have a name!  I was just some four or five digit number.  I never cared for that then, and I would not care for it now.

I have been at many points in my life where I have felt trapped.  I think biglaw would feel like a trap to me.  In fact, I think that I am lucky that I did not go to a school that may have got me into biglaw.  Call me crazy, but some good has come out of me not going to a place like Harvard.  Sure, I would have had a nice big ego and have been popular with people who thought at one time that I was a loser.  But, I don't need to prove my worth to anyone else.  In fact, I am glad to have got to a point in life where I can accept myself for who I am, and believe in myself enough to not lament my future.  Looking back on past blog entries, I realize that I have not always been that kind of person.  I have changed a lot over the past few years.  In fact, law school has done me some good in getting me to question who I am and what I want to be.  There is never anything that is wholly negative in life.  There is always a lesson to be found.  Sometimes the things that we think we want can end up to be a disaster for us.  If I had got into Harvard and went into a life of big law, I think that would have been an epic fail for me: A real law school disaster.