• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Law School is a sham

But not everyone can get into a top school and not everyone who goes to law school wants to be a lawyer, says Charlotte School of Law Dean Jay Conison.

the LOL WUT picture seems appropriate here
 
DeaconCav06 said:
My five year reunion is in May and the number of people I know that have already stopped practicing law is ridiculous.
Click to expand...

I may join those ranks within the next couple of years. I genuinely love 50% of what I do. 25% is ok. 25% is fucking horrendous. That bottom 25% is soul crushing. And BigLaw life is not nearly as pleasant as it was 3-10 years ago. Even when I was billing 2500-2600 hours a year I loved every minute (ok, maybe not every minute, but most of it). It was fun and exciting. Now, morale is so low, among both partners and associates, that it's not nearly as fun. Everyone I know in BigLaw says similar things about their firm, so I know it's not just me. I'm talking to a much smaller BigLaw firm now about a possible move, but I don't know if that'll make a difference. I'm thinking a small botique firm would be the best, but breaking in there is very difficult since their whole concept is to remain small and focused.
 
BillBrasky said:
But not everyone can get into a top school and not everyone who goes to law school wants to be a lawyer, says Charlotte School of Law Dean Jay Conison.
Click to expand...

I know a lot of people that say the same thing, and I don't really understand it. A lot of people (my wife included) argue that LS teaches you how to think and is widely applicable outside of practicing the law. I think law school is simply a means to passing the bar. I don't think it taught me how to think. I think it was doing actual work once I graduated that taught me how to think as I do now. I recently went back and read some of the things I wrote in LS and it is amazing to me how completely different my writing was back then. It's like it was a completely different person.

If you don't want to practice law in some capacity, I wouldn't go to LS.
 
wfudkn said:
I may join those ranks within the next couple of years. I genuinely love 50% of what I do. 25% is ok. 25% is fucking horrendous. That bottom 25% is soul crushing.
Click to expand...

This is so true. I moved in house and basically got rid of the bottom 25%. My wife and relatives all comment on how much more pleasant I am to be around since I made the move. Unfortunately in-house jobs are scarce, and I can pretty much guarantee you that nobody from the Charlotte School of Law is landing one anytime soon.
 
Deacon923 said:
This is so true. I moved in house and basically got rid of the bottom 25%. My wife and relatives all comment on how much more pleasant I am to be around since I made the move. Unfortunately in-house jobs are scarce, and I can pretty much guarantee you that nobody from the Charlotte School of Law is landing one anytime soon.
Click to expand...

Actually, funny story about that. I went to a Bar luncheon today and the speaker was the chief in-house counsel for the Bobcats/Hornets. She was a 2012 graduate of the Charlotte School of Law. The entire audience was lke WTF, it made no sense why this girl was heading up all legal aspects of the team and its re-brand a year out of CSL. I don't know if they are just thrifty as hell, the NBA handles most legal matters for the teams, or if MJ is truly a managerial moron (or banging her, which may be a more likely option).
 
2&2 Slider To Leyritz said:
Actually, funny story about that. I went to a Bar luncheon today and the speaker was the chief in-house counsel for the Bobcats/Hornets. She was a 2012 graduate of the Charlotte School of Law. The entire audience was lke WTF, it made no sense why this girl was heading up all legal aspects of the team and its re-brand a year out of CSL. I don't know if they are just thrifty as hell, the NBA handles most legal matters for the teams, or if MJ is truly a managerial moron (or banging her, which may be a more likely option).
Click to expand...

was she hot?
 
Deacon923 said:
This is so true. I moved in house and basically got rid of the bottom 25%. My wife and relatives all comment on how much more pleasant I am to be around since I made the move. Unfortunately in-house jobs are scarce, and I can pretty much guarantee you that nobody from the Charlotte School of Law is landing one anytime soon.
Click to expand...

Part of me thinks in-house is the way to go, and part of me is skeptical, so I'd be curious as to your experience. What makes me skeptical is that I can't imagine actually working for some of my clients. As outside counsel they are awesome to work for, but I think once I came under their direct employ it would be a whole different story. I guess it's all about finding the right fit. And what makes it harder for me is that I would really prefer something within DC rather than in Norther VA, and that really shrinks the pool.
 
buckets said:
was she hot?
Click to expand...

For a lawyer, yes.

PIC_Allison_Purmort_copy-640x670.jpg
 
2&2 Slider To Leyritz said:
Actually, funny story about that. I went to a Bar luncheon today and the speaker was the chief in-house counsel for the Bobcats/Hornets. She was a 2012 graduate of the Charlotte School of Law. The entire audience was lke WTF, it made no sense why this girl was heading up all legal aspects of the team and its re-brand a year out of CSL. I don't know if they are just thrifty as hell, the NBA handles most legal matters for the teams, or if MJ is truly a managerial moron (or banging her, which may be a more likely option).
Click to expand...

That's absurd. Being a year out from law school myself, I would never ever trust somebody of those qualifications with that job.
 
The most mind-boggling thing about that is the 2012 and not the shitty Charlotte law degree. I think it is safe to say she is not involved in much substantive work.

And would bang.
 
Most companies I have seen people kind of leave in-house counsel alone because nobody really knows what they do anyway.
 
she undoubtedly "supervises" all of the external work.
 
wfudkn said:
I may join those ranks within the next couple of years. I genuinely love 50% of what I do. 25% is ok. 25% is fucking horrendous. That bottom 25% is soul crushing. And BigLaw life is not nearly as pleasant as it was 3-10 years ago. Even when I was billing 2500-2600 hours a year I loved every minute (ok, maybe not every minute, but most of it). It was fun and exciting. Now, morale is so low, among both partners and associates, that it's not nearly as fun. Everyone I know in BigLaw says similar things about their firm, so I know it's not just me. I'm talking to a much smaller BigLaw firm now about a possible move, but I don't know if that'll make a difference. I'm thinking a small botique firm would be the best, but breaking in there is very difficult since their whole concept is to remain small and focused.
Click to expand...

I spent the first four years of my career in BigLaw and have been in a 6 lawyer boutique (started by one of the partners I worked for in BigLaw) for the last 3 years and I can't express enough how much I think this is the way to go. Some practices lend themselves much better to a boutique practice. You can see it all over the country in my practice area (trusts & estates). While there are still some BigLaw firms with great T&E practices, the trend is definitely for them to move to boutiques. It's better for the lawyers and it's better for the clients. I can see the boutique not working so well in other areas that are much more labor intensive (i.e., things that require a lot of doc review) - you just wouldn't have the manpower to do it. But, the more shit work that can be outsourced, the more practices that will be able to move to a small firm model.
 
As much as it sucked at the time and as much money as it cost me getting screwed over by big law early on was the best thing that could have happened to me.

Granted, I would probably feel differently if I were in a different practice area, but as WakeLaw mentioned the trend seems to be moving toward boutique T&E practices and it is an area that lends itself to a smaller practice with a lot of focus on developing relationships with clients and their families.
 
I'm in medium law. I like it. But at my last gig, one of the partners was the single worst human I've ever met in my life. That was not good. I felt like I was working on a Somalian pirate ship.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top