Will You Encourage Future Law Students?

We will all continuously encounter future law students throughout our careers. Think of all the attorneys we have annoyed over the last few years, desperately trying to network and make professional connections. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to be annoyed by future and current law students. When a non-attorney approaches you and mentions that they want to go to law school, we all have an automatic response. And I think our immediate response is fascinating because it's genuine and can tell us exactly how they feel about their career.

 

So, what’s yours? Or, rather, what do you think your go-to response will be?

 

Before I started law school, I got some interesting responses myself. I come from a family with no attorneys, never knew any attorneys, and I’d never even used an attorney’s services before. But I got a job in the mail room at the first law firm that would hire me, which gave me the opportunity to get to know several attorneys. I spoke with 4 of the firm's partners about my having already applied to law school. Two of them gave generally positive remarks. They congratulated me right away, and fondly recited their own law school journeys. It was lovely. It reassured me that I was making the right decision in my life.

 

The other two responses I received, both from very experienced corporate attorneys, were less reassuring: At the mention of law school, their response was: “Why!? Don’t do it!”

 

And they were serious! They actually urged me to reconsider going to law school and spoke with me for quite a while to try to convince me to take some other career option. Working with these men, it was painfully obvious that they hated their jobs. Eventually, both of them, after explaining all their gripes about the legal profession and trying to scare me off, admitted that being an attorney can be a rewarding career, and I ought to go to law school if I really want to and can afford it. But it was the most reluctant endorsement one could possibly give. I walked away feeling much less sure that I was making the right decision in my life.

 

I really hope I’m never those guys. I feel bad for them. Law school has been no joke, we all know that. But overall, I love learning, and I loved law school, so I will always encourage people to do this.

 

So, fellow future mentors: What is your immediate reaction when someone says they want to be a lawyer? Will you be a “congratulations” or a “don’t do it”?