It is not uncommon for a typical law school class to consist of students citing a variety of reasons behind their decision to pursue a legal education.  For better or worse, those reasons commonly include the following.  Some students have a strong social sciences background, but an unclear use for their undergraduate liberal arts degree.  Others are already in the work force, and feel that a  law degree will help advance their career.  Some students see law as a useful tool to use in advocating for causes in which they strongly believe.  Others are drawn to the intellectual challenge presented by the thought of working through complex legal issues on a daily basis as an engaging alternative to less thought-provoking employment.  Still others simply desire to attain the societal prestige and financial benefits that may accompany a career in law. 

These are common examples, but the number and variety of reasons for pursuing a legal education in reality can be equally as large as the number of law students at any given moment.  That is because, at core, a decision to pursue a legal education is a personal one.  There is no 100% correct answer or fits-like-a-glove pre-set path for you to walk between now and your dream job as an attorney.  A path in law, both as a student and as a practitioner, is a largely self-driven one.  You must take responsibility, even now, for the choices you make to guide your education, and ultimately your career.  One thing is certain, even at this early point in your process:  the more unclear you are about your reasons choosing to attend law school, the more difficult that heavy academic and financial commitment will become for you, and the greater the likelihood that you will not be fulfilled by your choice.

That is why before you begin your legal studies, if you begin them at all, you should devote considerable mental energy to learning about the profession and deciding why a legal education would be a sensible step for you to take toward achieving your personal and professional goals. 

Think of this inquiry not as a daunting burden to get 'over with' as quickly as possible, but rather as an exciting exploration of both the legal profession and of yourself as a potential candidate.  Even if you ultimately conclude that law school is not the right choice for you, your decision not to pursue a legal education, and by extension your decision to instead pursue other interests, will be that much more comfortable, well thought-out, and exciting. 

Careers in Law

Ideally, law school should be a means to some end.  Yet, surprisingly, applicants often lack a clear conception of what lawyers actually do on a daily basis, of what areas of law and types of practice settings there are to choose from, of how dramatically the quality of life as an attorney varies among practice settings and even geographic locations, and of the advantages and disadvantages to each of the career choices all lawyers must make. 

Your overriding theme, from the time you read this sentence forward, should always be the following:  “The more I know about the practice of law, the better a decision I can make regarding my interest in pursuing a legal education.”  Always keep that theme in mind. 

Practically speaking, how should you translate that theme into action?  Simply put, you should take an active role in learning about the legal profession and critically assessing whether or not what you encounter during that evaluative process fits your interests, your goals, your skills, and your view of your professional and personal life in the future.  You can do so in several ways. 

First, you should speak to as many lawyers as possible and learn about what exactly they do, where and how they do it, and how they actually feel doing it.  The attorneys you approach can be Wesleyan alumni/ae (as discussed further below) or not.  What matters more is that you seek out and learn from as many attorneys as possible, asking them about:

• The subject matter of their practice;
• Their practice setting and its benefits/challenges;
• The role they play within their organization;
• The most common demands on their time;
• The tasks they perform on a daily basis;
• Their "typical day";
• Their quality of life and level of job satisfaction;
• How they came to their job and where it fits into their overall career path; and
• Things they wished they had known earlier.

Second, you should take the initiative to see and experience, to the extent possible, the different forums and settings in which attorneys work and practice law.  The forums and settings that you should aim to experience or learn about include, but are by no means limited to, the following: 

• Large law firms;
• Small law firms;
• Government, including administrative agencies;
• Courts;
• Corporations;
• Public Interest Organizations; and
• Schools or other academic settings.

Finally, you should make sure that your research does more than simply scratch the surface of the legal profession.  It is one thing to learn that most law school graduates begin their careers at a law firm.  It is another thing altogether to come to understand the implications of such a decision, for example, the high likelihood of a lateral job transfer within the first five years of practice.  At each step, try to move past the depictions of the legal profession to which you have become accustomed through our popular culture to reach an understanding of what a career in law really involves, both on the risk side and on the reward side of the equation.

Final Thoughts

A legal education can be one of the most challenging, rewarding intellectual endeavors of your life, and a career in law can be exactly the right choice for an individual to achieve his or her personal and professional goals in life.  Law is a powerful tool of governance, social change, and economic opportunity.  However, for some, including many qualified applicants and excellent students, law school and the practice of law is an absolutely unfulfilling path marked by an unclear purpose and a poorly-formed set of expectations. 

The key to making the best decision possible for you is information, and the key to gaining the information you need to make an informed decision is to take an active role in the thought process that must precede any decision to attend law school.  For you, that thought process begins now.  Best of luck!

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