Is a law degree worth it: >in general? >if you go to a

Easy way to answer that question.

>Did you do high school or college debate?
>Were you good at it?
>Did you use shit tier style methods like speed reading which basically exist to exploit the time limit and dropped argument rules of structured debate but would never persuade a jury in real life?

You will have a pretty fucking good idea if you could thrive in Law if you can answer the above in a satisfactory capacity.

>Universities

If you plan to practice within your own state only then you're fine with a degree from a smaller college. If you plan to go elsewhere and/or shoot for a top firm you need a degree from a top law school.

Brother is a lawyer.

I have lots to say but Im going to bed.

Law mostly sucks IMO.

work as a temp in a law office for a few weeks to see if you like it first

>>1071716
>>1071729

Outside of traditional legal professions (trial lawyer), is there any worth to having a JD? I know there are a bunch of routes to take with it.

>>1071741
Not really...

If you have a JD its pretty much just good for being a lawyer. Not much of a fallback type degree.

odd how I was just thinking about this throughout the week

we should gettogether OP, [spoiler]and fuck[/spoiler]

>>1071716
>>Did you do high school or college debate?
Meaningless. Half of all lawyers do corporate law, real estate, family law, wills & estates or any of the dozens of disciplines that have nothing to do with advocacy.

>>1071741
>Outside of traditional legal professions (trial lawyer), is there any worth to having a JD?
Absolutely, 50% of all law graduates are doing something other than practicing law within 5 years after graduation. While that's partially a negative reflection on the profession, I admit, its also an indicator that having a law degree opens other doors.

Source: lawyer for 20+ years and still active

(PS. What's with all the stupid people giving bad advice on /biz/ lately? Worse than usual.)

>>1071760
Yeah its definitely an asset to have a JD for some business stuff here and there, but getting a JD if you are not sure you wanna be a lawyer is a huge mistake.

>>1071767
It's an expensive dalliance, if you're truly clueless as to your career goals. I'll grant you that.

But say you're interested in real estate development, but not sure you want to make that a career. Or maybe you need more time to develop expertise. Getting a JD might be a smart move. You can do real estate law, and keep yourself fed while you decide whether stick with practice. If you jump to the business side, you can still serve as your own counsel and avoid a lot of fees, or at worse, be much smarter about avoiding pitfalls that will ruin your deals.

Apply the same logic to investment banking, lending, finance, and even general entrepreneurial pursuits. There's a ton of synergy, regardless of whether you continue using your JD actively or not.

>>1071760
>>1071789

Do you have anything to add regarding the quality of law school and how it relates to success? How much better is it to go to a top 10 or a generally recognized school over a local/state one?

>>1072099
>How much better is it to go to a top 10 or a generally recognized school over a local/state one?
Aside from the direct benefits of attending a higher quality law school (better education, better law review opportunities, better placement departments, etc.), the benefits of attending a higher ranked law school for employments opportunities can be broken into two categories:

1. The better the law school you attend, the worse your class rank can be without changing your hireability. Someone in the top 1/3 of T14 schools might be considered in the "top tier" for hiring, but at a lower ranked school, you'd need to be in the top 1/8 or better to get the same consideration.

2. In terms of getting an interview, top tier law schools will get your foot in the door anywhere, while lower tier law schools may limit you to local and regional (but not national) firms. Getting interviews is the key to getting jobs in law. Going to a lower tier school is going to make it very difficult (but not impossible) to get an interview at top firms (especially out of your area) because they just don't recruit from those schools.

Location matters too, a lot. Local firms (even top tier local firms) will be more flexible at law schools in their city, versus candidates from across the country. If you know where you want to practice, you should try to attend a law school in that area (within reason). As an example, its probably easier to get a law job in Milwaukee if you graduate from Madison than if you graduate from Duke, despite Duke being the better law school.

>Do you have anything to add regarding the quality of law school and how it relates to success?
Once you get into practice, there's a bit of a reset. Law school doesn't really teach you how to practice law, so everyone's on equally unsure footing when they start regardless of the name on their degree. On the other hand, those who get into good law schools tend to have the qualities that also make good lawyers.