Reality Check – Are you still going to law school for the right reasons?

I decided to write this after reading a couple of comments from a prior post.  The first was someone stating that their career path towards law school began way back in college, many years before actually attending law school, and the seeds of a legal career were sown six years (or more) before actually graduating from law school.  The second was someone pointing out that we have just a month or two left to dissuade the incoming class of 1Ls, many of whom will be making the worst decision of their lives.

And as to the second point, I can’t underestimate its importance.  There is more than enough time to get off the law school path and save yourself a couple of hundred grand in wasted tuition and three years of your life which would be spent better doing almost anything. Forget how many commitment letters you’ve signed, and don’t even get started thinking about “sunk costs” into application fees, LSAT registration and preparation, and so forth.  You can still decide against law school.



Furthermore, deciding to not attend law school at this late stage would actually sting the law school establishment.  You’ve lost your seat deposit (and gained the rest of your life – a bargain when you think about it), while the school has just lost at least $30,000 (1L tuition) that it was counting on, perhaps even a full $150,000 or more (three years of tuition, fees, on-campus housing, bookstore profits, and all the little things that add up over time.)  Those kinds of losses make law schools panic, because that money is already spoken for and has to come from somewhere.

As to the first point, now is perfect to reevaluate exactly why you’re going to law school.  Maybe this is a decision you made years ago, perhaps even four or more years ago.  Perhaps you are someone who chose political science as a major back in 2009, thought that law school was where you’d end up, and haven’t really thought about it since then.  Well, think about it now.  This is your last chance to escape without spending tens of thousands of dollars in tuition.

You’re still not past the last exit off the highway to Mistakesville, but it’s coming up in the next mile or so.

So you have your law school acceptance in hand, you’re going to look for an apartment soon, buy books, sign loan paperwork, and move to a new city.  You’re all set to go.  All your ducks are lined up, you’re ready.  You’re about to spend, over the next three years, a hundred times what it’s cost you to get to this point.  But take one last step back.  Think about this for a moment.  Why are you going to law school?

Or let me rephrase that.  Why are you going to law school now?

• Prestige?
• Money?
• Stability?
• Versatility?
• Want to help people?
• See yourself practicing XYZ law?
• You have a scholarship?
• You’ve got into a top tier school?
• You like arguing?
• You want to use your brain?
• What else can you do with your degree?

I will not rehash the solid evidence that discredits every single one of those issues – every single one! – so why are you going to law school?  In this day and age, where so much is known about the law school scam, where it’s clear that this is not a movement that can be dismissed by claiming we’re all losers or nuts or whatever else you’d like to call us, why are you going to law school?

Please, I’d really love to hear comments from those who legitimately think they have a good reason to go to law school.  And there are some good reasons.  I’m not going to hand them to you on a plate, but there are some good reasons to still go to law school.  So what are they?  What makes you different?  Why will this bet pay off for you?  I’m serious about this – if you have a good reason, please explain in the comments section below.  I, for one, will not criticize anyone who is going to law school for the right reasons.

But even to those who are going to law school for the right reasons, I’d ask the following question: why now?

Why attend now, when the system could well be on the brink of huge changes, very favorable changes for law students?  Tuition costs may be slashed.  Student loans may be reformed (yeah, unlikely.)  Legal education may well be altered to shorter programs, cheaper programs, more practical programs.  Enrolments may plummeting and schools may close, making you chances of getting a legal job easier in the future.  Why buy at the top of the bubble?  Why not wait it out a year or two?  See what happens?  And in the meantime, try something else?  Is there a legal issue so pressing and urgent, one that needs you right away, that really can’t wait for a year longer until you arrive to save the day?  Take a step back, take some time to think, and perhaps you’ll find yourself paying half the price for your degree next year as you would this year.  There’s no rush.

The point of all of this is to urge those who are about to go to law school to stop and think.  Check yourselves.  Are the reasons that were valid two, three years ago, are they still valid?  Is your analysis of the market still good?  Do you still want to do this?

I write extensively towards the end of Con Law that it’s never too late to get out of law school when you see the writing on the wall and know that it’s not turning into that dream job you’d hoped of.  Right up until your last year of law school, it’s always to your advantage to stop paying and leave, get out early, cut your losses and move on.  But that can be started now, before you’ve really spent too much on law school.  It’s very cheap to quit before you start.  So do yourself a favor and think about it.  Thinking is free.  Set aside a few hours to really go over whether you want to attend or not.  Keep it at the back of your mind over the next month.  And if you decide to not attend, it’s really no big deal at all.  Law schools – trust me – will be ready to take your money next year, the year after, and the year after that.  You’ve nothing to lose by thinking about it.

Incidentally, how much is a seat deposit these days?  The week before law school starts, how much are you in the hole if you withdraw?  A few hundred bucks?  What’s the damage?  I ask because an interesting little Kickstarter project might be raising the cash to “buy out” 1Ls – give them their seat deposits back if they don’t want to go to law school.  Just a thought.  I know this site is not one for activism, but it might generate a little publicity.  How much are you in the hole in terms of non-refundable cash that the law school is holding?  And would you be interested in getting that cash refunded if you pull out of law school right before the orientation?  What can we do you get you out of this law school seat today?

Charles Cooper is the author, along with Thane Messinger, of “Con Law: Avoiding...or Beating...the Scam of the Century (The Real Student's Guide to Law School and the Legal Profession)”, in addition to being the moderator at Nontradlaw.net and the author of “Later in Life Lawyers”.  He can be contacted at charlescooperauthor@gmail.com.