Calling all lawyers

also dont be scared I meant THREAD not THREAT haha

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the market is over-saturated, don't be surprised if you end up working as a starbucks barista.

>>1551980
ive read articles that say thats a myth...i guess the best thing to do is to pass law school with great grades + have interning experience?

>>1551980
Starbucks has some of the best part-time benefits of any company in existence, tho.

if you still want to do something, become a patent attorney:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/1437231-becoming-a-patent-attorney.html

>>1551987
you have any experience in the area?

>>1551988
Personally, I do not, but I have worked with patent attorneys in the past as part of my work. In a nut-shell, it requires a lot of work (one I worked with has a PhD in a STEM field), but in return you enter a field that is in high demand and pays well.

>>1551993
i wouldnt be able to make it - incredibly poor science ability. im more analytical than technical, i've heard theres incredible cash in taxation law which is what i'm leaning towards

>>1551995
For tax law, you'll need to get an LLM in addition to a JD. And there are only a couple schools that offer that, like Univ. of Florida

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>win a lawsuit thanks to my lawyer for the ownership of a house
>we agreed on giving him 15% of the house money
>32K dollars

>>1552141
Been a lawyer in Australia for a long time. Market here is over saturated. When I started, my State pumped out 120 graduates a year. Now, it is over 800, with only around one third of graduates expected to actually qualify and work as a lawyer.

This post gets it as to how to practice law lucratively. Find an area where you can increase your client's wealth enormously, charge them around a third of the increased wealth you generate the client. Client and lawyer both very happy. But, it is extremely competitive.

>>1552885
I don't understand why people go in to law without connections in place before you start your degree.

Australia fag here as well, there was this girl that got very good grades and in her 3rd year of law she transfered to engineering simply because she couldnt get an internship anyway at a law firm and freaked out.

Don't know why she chose engineering after doing all those law subjects

>>1552894
Similar to my early experience. Big commercial firms were only interested in you if you had either the very best grades, or a connection that could bring valuable work to the firm.

I failed miserably on both counts. I specialised in Criminal Law. Although my fees are quite low compared with other areas of law, I can run my practice with very low overheads and my profit margin is enormous.

Also, criminal law is totally recession proof.

>>1551984
>ive read articles that say thats a myth...i guess the best thing to do is to pass law school with great grades + have interning experience?

Which articles?

It's said there's more people in Law school right now than practicing lawyers

Another Aussie reporting in. Recent grad. Market here is terrible without connections. Got my job by spamming firms with targeted letters. Pay is nothing great unless your in a top tier, or plan on starting your own business. Once you get your first in the door at a firm, there are more opportunities as most firms like someone with a bit of experience, or someone they know

here's how it works

if you're going to law school to make money, there's still a track, but it's a narrow fucking track
google "law bimodal salary distribution" and you will see how narrow a track i am talking about

if you will be financing law school with debt, you have about a dozen schools to choose from—i.e., schools where the vast majority of students who want biglaw get it
take and retake the LSAT until you can get into one of these schools, preferably with a sizable scholarship

if you cannot get into one of these schools, then i am sorry to say this, but you should reconsider law school
there are lots of schools where top third gets biglaw (i'm thinking fordham, emory, wustl, usc, gw, many others) but you simply cannot count on being top third. i was a big shot going into law school, completely confident in my abilities and expecting top 10%; got spanked—/below/ median my first semester even though i spent every waking second in the library

so. if you're going to law school, DON'T. unless you go to one of the rare schools where biglaw is a foregone conclusion. and even then, maybe don't.

>>1552921
money in criminal law good?

>>1553164
Private clients are rare - they usually don't have any money, that's why they're criminals. I take legal aid briefs and prosecuting briefs. Can bill up to 10k a week for jury trials. Some weeks, I earn zilch.

My dad was a criminal defense attorney for about 20 years, about 10 years ago he started doing more family law stuff. The crime rate went down, it was slim pickings. He retired last year. The money was never good, his private work paid even less than the public defender work that was $20/hour.

>>1553203
It's better than that here in Australia. As I said, can be as high as $10k for a 5 day jury trial. With low overheads, that is very good money.

Ausfag studying law (at a non-G8) who just scored a clerkship with a top tier here.

The advice I give first years is to start working early - seek work experience from the get go, engage in every extra-curricular opportunity you can (comps/law student association/externships), and try to get into firm programs ASAP (like the Mallesons Insights or Allens Dive in Day programs). You do that, get decent grades, and aren't socially retarded, and you'll be fine.

>>1552894
>>1552921
Agree that connections make the whole process far easier, but I made it here without knowing a single lawyer going in. If you don't have a distinction plus WAM (75+), you're more likely than not to be cut at first instance. After that, it's all about the extra shit you somehow do on top.

But that's just Big 6/some commercial mid tiers. There's a fuck ton of other opportunities out there if you're switched on and willing to work though. Just might not find work for a couple of months following graduation.

Can't speak for other jurisdictions, but it definitely isn't as bad here as people make out.

Any US lawyers working as a PD or DA/Prosecutor?

Experience/money?

Thinking about it down the line in my career?

Have you taken the LSAT, yet? If you haven't, it's hard to tell whether you should go on or not. Honestly, if you get anything below 160 you'll not only make for a shit law student, you won't even get into any school worth going to.

>is it as lucrative as some make it out to be?

Depends a lot on your grades and your area of practice. If you're working government work or employment law or criminal defense, you will be making a really low salary. If you work transactional for a big firm or corporation, you'll be making good money.

>>1551980
Certain areas of practice are oversaturated. Personal injury, for example.

>>1551984
>i guess the best thing to do is to pass law school with great grades + have interning experience

Of course, but law students with good grades are a dime a dozen. Even good grades and clerkships aren't enough to ensure a good future. Strive to get on Law Review, as it's one of the few things about law school that is worth it.

>>1553164
No.

>>1553316
>PD or DA/Prosecutor? Experience/money?

Some of the lowest-paid lawyers anywhere. Public defenders in many states are contracts that they literally just give to the lowest bidder. In states like Utah the public defenders work for less than 40k a year.

>>1551993
>>1551986

A patent agent told me its a good idea to become a patent examiner first. If you spend enough years at the USPTO, you can bypass that exam and practice an an agent... but I dont know why you'd ever want to leave that place. The salary and schedule flexibility is amazing.

Think I'd have a chance as a recent grad from a BioSci major?