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Why getting sued was a really good thing for me
At one point in my life (early 2000’s) I was set on the idea that I was heading off to law school. Then I got sued. It was an experience that I will never forget. I’m not going to go into all the details of what happened except to say that in the end I won and the victory was so sweet!
Going through the experience took all the desire I had to go to law school right out of me. Our company had in-house attorneys but we decided to hire an outside firm to handle the case. The lawyer from that firm was a freaking jerk. Yeah, sure the guy “defended” me but the whole time he thought I was guilty. When my opponents admitted in so many words that they had lied to get out of a contract with our company my lawyer was shocked (I could see it in his face).
Yes, I did tell my lawyer what I thought of him and that was sweet too.
During that ordeal I realized that I would not be happy as a lawyer and I decided not to go to law school. Then tonight I came across this article on why you shouldn’t go to law school. It was a great read. I really don’t have anything against lawyers and they definitely have their place. If you went to law school or you are my lawyer 
more power to you but I’d love to hear your comments on the above noted article.
I ended up going to MBA school and lots of people have directly and indirectly bagged on me for that. In the next couple of weeks I’m going to post on why I think Seth and Guy are wrong (well mostly wrong) about MBA school and why I am glad that I went.
More to come…
I’ve waffled back and forth on the MBA and then suddenly I found myself thinking about law school.
I have taken the GMAT, spent a ton of time visiting with schools that came to Utah and then never pulled the trigger. What to do, what to do . . .
Left by Russell on 11/29/2007Stay tuned, Russ. I’m working on a big “should you or should you not go to MBA school” post. I hope to have that up in a week or so.
Left by Chris Knudsen on 11/29/2007I’ve been wondering the same thing as Russ. I’ll look forward to your post, Chris.
Left by Richard K Miller on 12/01/2007Chris,
Again, sorry for picking up on this so late, but - as an attorney - I had to respond. Much of the article about attending law school is true - at least partially. However, it is so because most law school students have the wrong definition of success. Fortunately, I kind of screwed up in law school, which helped save me.
Most students in law school have the view that you have to work at a big firm to be successful. Big firms pay big salaries. They also have expensive office space, lots of staff and increadible office space. You also get the “prestige” of the big firm name.
The only way to pay big salaries is to works alot of hours. An acquaintance of mine recently applied to a firm that requires 2100 hours billed (that probably 23-2400 hours worked.) They own you.
They pay you well - but they own you. (Not all big firms are like this, but many are).
I screwed up in law school by not being at the top of the class at the end of the first year. While I finished top 5 percent, I came on too late and the big firms were not that interested in me. (There was a recession in the legal market when I graduated and several in the top 10% did not even have jobs). Thus I ended up in a small to midsized firm.
The author’s view of small firms is colored by his big firm litigation experience. There are plenty of small to midsized firms that pay well (not $120K plus to start - but a reasonably good living). Over the years, you build your reputation and your success is up to you. I have good associates and I work to make sure that they can find a financial/personal balance that works for them.
Contrary to the small firm attorneys are losers view in the article, I have numerous friends in small firms who are earning well of $300K per year. Many small firms succeed by helping smaller clients are may be more in tune with the business implications of their advice - as opposed to just the legal implications. Most smaller firms keep overhead low. Their clients do not need $50,000 conference room tables, marble stalls in the bathroom, or the most expensive office space in town.
Yes, working as a lawyer involves working with jerks. Sometimes it is the opposing counsel, the opposing party, or, occassionaly, your own client. (A few times it has probably even been myself). However, there are also a lot of good attorneys who do their best to be reasonable and are a pleasure to work with.
If you go into law with the right attitude and information, it can be a very rewarding career. However, do not expect it to be a thrill a minute. It involves hard work and takes dedication. You will never make 50 million selling your firm after three years, but they you will not work for 5 years for free only to learn that some new technology has just blown your business model out of the water.
Thus, go to law school if you are really interested - but because you have no idea what you want to do when you grow up.
Left by Rand on 01/02/2008