Law School?

I plan on applying to law school, and I have a good GPA and LSAT score. Also, I just enjoy school in general and am interested in legal theory. However, I am not particularly interested in being an attorney. I would like to specialize in environmental law, if possible, and am wondering what job prospects I would have in this field outside of being an actual lawyer. I was thinking perhps non-profit or government work. Would these jobs be worth the investment of law school?

I am a licensed attorney, but no longer practice. Most of my law school friends no longer practice either. The reason? First, there are not nearly as many attorney and alternative legal positions out there as law schools will tell you. Remember, schools want your money so they will tell you almost anything to get you in. Second, my law school friends got burned out at their jobs. For many, the legal field means long hours (I averaged between 65-75 per week), little respect and the feeling you sold your soul. Plus, that decent salary does not look nearly so good when you divide it by the number of hours worked.

Before going to law school I would absolutely do two things. First, intern at a law firm practicing the type of law you want to do (for environmental you will need a strong background in the sciences). Second, take a law school style course in undergrad to see what is expected of you.

For me, I knew that I was not passionate about the law. I wanted to make money and help people, plus I had a general interest in law and politics. This was not enough. I hate to sound pessimistic, but I have found that the legal field has little to no interest in helping people. My advice would be to follow your passions. If you view the legal field as a golden parachute, believe me, there's a high likelihood you will find yourself $100k in debt and doing a job you hate. There are plenty of other areas of study that will allow you to make more money with less hours. Getting a JD will give you useable skills, but the price is too high. Ask yourself this, putting money aside, what would you love to do for a living? Talk to people in that field and find out what degree they would most respect.

Good luck!

P.S. Law School really is hell. You pretty much have no life outside of studying for three years. Best part, no matter how much you study, the professors will always get the better of you. Check out Scott Turow's book "One L" to get an idea of your first year.

not everyone that goes to law school becomes an attorney. Law school is a valuable resource in other fields such as what you want to go into. I think the jobs would be worth the investment if its something that you feel passionate about. If you are interested in money then non-profit isn't the way to go, only do that if you are passionate about the non-profit

I would day it would say law school would give u a different ways of analyzing, and would definitely emphasis you understanding you job prospect. In other words i can only work towards you advantage and not against you. Secondly not most law school students attend law school to become attorneys but also to become familiar and understand the practice of law, that would better serve their needs in their work. I have plenty of friends who have law degrees and passed their bar exams and have nothing to do with law, yet it has helped them in their current careers.

I do not recommend law school if you do not intend to practice law. Generally, law school will not increase your prospects with non-legal employers unless you're an accomplished attorney seeking to work in some legal capacity.

Most people will not heed the warning because going to law school is cool and prestigious. The JD is the not jack--of-all-trades degree people label it to be. It may work if you did a joint degree like a JD/MPA for public interest or government work. Personally, I think you would be better off getting work experience and getting a feel for what skills you need to develop to achieve your goals. The JD is not going to give you an advantage if you don't want to practice law. You need experience and you'll be starting from ground zero in most alternative legal careers out of law school. The JD will not earn you anymore money if you don't practice law. Save yourself stress and debt by just applying to the employers that interest you.

Law school is really tough and stressful, and unless you REALLY want to finish, you aren't going to enjoy it. That said, A LOT of people do other things with their law degrees.