Wondering if getting a job during law school is a good idea?
Thinking about keeping your job and going to law school at the same time?
Today I will discuss the pros and cons of jobs during law school, and at the end of
the video, the bonus law fact discusses the time that Satan was sued in an American court.
Hello lawlings, this is Professor Beau Baez.
I frequently get asked about getting a job during law school, or taking on a significant
commitment that is not law school related, like being the primary caregiver for an elderly
relative.
Law school is a full time job, which means 50 to 60 hours a week dedicated to your studies.
If you need a full time job, then you should consider attending a part-time law school program,
which I discuss in another video.
For students attending full time programs, I will first discuss the pros and cons of
getting a job during law school, and then provide advice on when you might consider
getting a job.
Advantages.
The most obvious advantage for many is earning money.
With tuition at some law schools reaching over $50,000 a year, some extra money can
help reduce reliance on school loans.
The second, and more significant advantage, is the ability to work in a law related field
and get experience.
This could become very useful after graduation when you look for that first job.
Third, sometimes a part-time job during law school can turn into full-time employment
after law school.
Disadvantages.
A job during law school means less time to dedicate to your studies.
At one extreme is the person who works full time and skips many of their classes.
Someone I know did this and failed law school after their first semester.
Then there are those that have part time jobs.
Many of these students get through law school, but end up with lower grades.
Lower grades mean that you likely won’t end up on law review or moot court,
and employers will be less keen on hiring you after law school.
Now, if your plan is to become a solo practitioner or work at your parent’s law firm,
then grades are less important.
And finally, if you have a scholarship, you might lose it if you don’t maintain a certain
grade point average.
Relying on your high LSAT and college GPA are no guarantees of success in law school.
First year of law school.
I strongly recommend not taking any outside employment during your first year.
At this point, you don’t have any idea of how much time you need
to commit to your legal studies..
Earlier I said 50 to 60 hours, but for some of you that’s going to be higher.
One student I was tutoring was spending close to 100 hours a week on law school, sleeping only
4 hours each night, and regulating, and I kid you not, every single minute in her schedule.
That’s extreme, and I told her she needed more sleep.
But by her second year of law school she figured out what it takes to earn A’s and
to get eight hours of sleep a night..
So here is your dilemma: you don’t know what you don’t know.
Maybe you earned high marks with a part-time job in college, but law school is a different game.
You might also get advice from a 2L or 3L that they had a job during their 1L year and
earned great grades.
Stop.
Are you them?
Did you go into law school with the exact knowledge, skills, and abilities that they did?
Does that other student live near the law school, allowing them to reduce their commute time?
Does that student have a spouse, who takes care of their cooking and laundry?
There are many factors that go into that story from the upperclassman that pulled it off.
So instead of getting a job during your first year, spend that year immersed in your studies,
and only consider a job after your first year, if you are satisfied with your grades.
What you don’t want to do is get a job and flunk out of law school, or earn low grades
that keep you from getting your dream job after law school.
By the way, I understand that sometimes life happens.
I had one colleague who got pregnant during her first year of law school and still managed
to earn high grades.
In her case, she had a very supportive husband who was able to take care of the baby while
she was in school.
After first year.
This is when you might consider a part-time job.
By this point you have a much better sense of your abilities, and more importantly you
have your grades.
Obviously, you will only consider this option if your grades are high enough because you will
likely see your GPA plateau or drop a bit.
And this is where you have a new dilemma: do you get a job or work at improving your GPA.
I’ve seen students make some remarkable strides in their second and third year of
law school, moving themselves into the top of the class.
That wouldn’t have happened if they had responsibilities outside of their legal studies.
During the summer after my second year of law school I clerked at the US Attorney’s Office
and was invited to continue working during my third year of law school.
I found the time commitment to be challenging, trying to juggle my legal studies and this
great unpaid opportunity.
Law School You Attend.
Another factor in making this decision is the law school you attend.
Oddly, at first blush, getting a part time job is an easier decision at elite law schools
or any others with a compressed grading curve.
By this I mean a grading system where over half of the students earn a B or B+.
This makes it very hard to improve your GPA in any significant manner, because most students
earn a B or B+.
Compare that to a law school with a more traditional grading curve, where hard work can significantly
improve your GPA.
In my upper level courses at an elite law school, there were a few students in each
class that showed up on the first day, grabbed a copy of the syllabus, and then showed up on the last
day for the review session.
They then had full time jobs at local law firms.
But because of the grading system, they could still earn a B or B- on most of their courses.
So the learning point here is for you to understand the grading system at your law school, and
the incentives for outside work it might create.
That being said, I would never recommend for someone to get a full time job during law school.
And since I went to law school, the law school accrediting agency, the American Bar Association,
now requires all law schools to have an attendance policy.
Now, for today’s bonus law fact.
In 1971, a prisoner filed suit against Satan alleging that “Satan has on numerous occasions
caused plaintiff misery and unwarranted threats, against the will of plaintiff, that Satan
has placed deliberate obstacles in his path and has caused plaintiff's downfall.”
The court went through the complaint, and first determined that Satan was likely a resident
of the state, based on anecdotal evidence.
The plaintiff’s first problem occurred when the court explained that the class action
against Satan was huge, and the issues were likely too numerous for a class action lawsuit.
Ultimately, the court dismissed the lawsuit because the plaintiff failed to provide an
actual mailing address as to where Satan could be served with the required notice.
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