I'm not sure I'd go to law school today, if I had to make the decision. Though I probably still would. I have loved the challenge and though it can sometimes be scary as hell, it's also exciting. I love understanding issues on a level that I never did before law school and being able to immediately see the hole(s) in an argument and exploit it all the way to next Tuesday. And I can fix even complex problems very effectively.
My decision to go to school was made in April of 2008, before the bottom dropped out of the market, and after 12+ years of public school teaching. Once you've committed by taking out that first student loan, you'd better be all in, and I was. One month into law school, Lehman Brothers failed and I thought "oh fuck. What now?" Work harder, that's what. For me, it has worked out in large part because I put as much effort into networking as I did into law school. No kidding, as soon as I was admitted but before I even started law school, I started attending my city's bar association events (eligible as a student).
I spent the summer before school started sitting in a U.S. Magistrate judge's courtroom watching the action. During the first semester, Judge later recognized me at a bar association function. We talked and Judge agreed to take me as a summer clerk in 2009 even though grades weren't out yet for the fall semester (though I'm sure if mine had stunk up the joint, the offer would have evaporated). That's just one example out of many.
By contrast, many of my fellow students had no idea the bar assoc. existed. Their expectation was that the career services office would line up their interviews. Also, many of them spent lots of time partying. As a 40+ year old student with a lot to lose, my attitude toward that was "go ahead . . . I'll eat your lunch at exam time."
I suppose my overall point is that because of the economy and oversupply, law jobs are scarce right now (and for the foreseeable future). But, just like in any very competitive field, you can create advantages for yourself and be the exception. I worked part-time for a firm during my third year of school (2010-11) and for the first year out. Then I moved over to the BigLaw firm where I am now and where I interned in summer 2009 (after the clerkship). My debt is very high but with more hard work and the wisdom of MMM, I'll be just fine within a few years but will also have many more options ahead of me than I could ever have had as a teacher. On balance, well worth it.
Luck is when preparation and opportunity meet. That's a truism that too many people forget, no matter their profession.
