Why do people choose to do Law? (1 Viewer)

[neo o]

1. they had the marks

2. they wanted to 'improve the world' and/or defend human rights

3. they had no idea what the law was (see above: various TV shows)

4. their family was in the law.

In my experience, that's about it.

I wanted to do something vocational that'd give me the ability to work for myself after doing a few years corporate.

I thought I was being really practical, but hey, 18 year olds are allowed to be naive.

 

[donkily]

i heard that some people do law because they like communicating with others, is law more about the 'legal aspect' or the communication aspect

 

[RivalryofTroll]

i heard that some people do law because they like communicating with others, is law more about the 'legal aspect' or the communication aspect

Not a lawyer myself (currently a law student) but I think:

For a good law student, you may only need the "legal" skills (legal problem solving ability). In law school examinations and assignments, they give you a problem and you're going to have to solve it using the principles you've learnt.

For a good lawyer, you need both "legal" skills and "communication" skills. Unlike in law school where they give you the client's factual situation, you need to be effective at client interviewing to figure out the relevant factual circumstances, your client's problems and the outcome the client is seeking. Essentially, you have to be a good communicator to "extract" the factual situation from your client. There'll be times where you can't rely on a paralegal or someone else to do it for you. There's no point having insane legal problem solving skills if you're hopeless at client interviewing and can't find out their needs/problem.

That's a main difference between law school and legal practice.

 

[boredsatan]

Law has a very high salary, tempting a lot of people to do it

 

[BandSixFix]

Law has a very high salary, tempting a lot of people to do it

I don't think this is quite true for the majority of graduates

 

[neo o]

I don't think this is quite true for the majority of graduates

In fairness it isn't true for the majority of graduates in any industry apart from some engineering roles. As other people have said though, more than any other industry, the expectations and hours far exceed what you would expect in comparable professions like accounting, and salaries are generally worse.

 

[Aerath]

Law has a very high salary, tempting a lot of people to do it

Am a lawyer. It's not as high as you think.

If you're tempted by the money, do management consulting or investment banking.

 

[wannaspoon]

Am a lawyer. It's not as high as you think.

If you're tempted by the money, do management consulting or investment banking.

Traded my Lawyer job for a Dispute Resolution Officer job... Money is better (compared to what I was getting, it's actually a lot better), hours are better, life is better, career prospects are better (gunning to become an Nationally Accredited Mediator), less liability if "shit hits the fan," etc... Don't think I will be going back to practicing... Would have to be quite a sell to get me back to the fray... Actually really regretting studying law, in a way...

You'll be really, really lucky to earn 6 figures doing law, even with 5 years plus PAE...

 

[enoilgam]

Traded my Lawyer job for a Dispute Resolution Officer job... Money is better (compared to what I was getting, it's actually a lot better), hours are better, life is better, career prospects are better (gunning to become an Nationally Accredited Mediator), less liability if "shit hits the fan," etc... Don't think I will be going back to practicing... Would have to be quite a sell to get me back to the fray... Actually really regretting studying law, in a way...

You'll be really, really lucky to earn 6 figures doing law, even with 5 years plus PAE...

I studied law in uni and man dropping out was the best decision I have ever made. My mate is a commercial lawyer and his hours are crazy, he would be working 50-60 hours a week plus weekends. Added to that, the pay is fairly mediocre . Im a public servant and I earn about 25% more and do far less work (plus I work regular 9-5 hours). Granted, though he loves it and has always wanted to do it (if you love your job, hard hours and average pay arent that bad). If I did it though, I think I would have been miserable and full of regret.

 

[hfis]

Your entire post sounds like complete bullshit. How long did you practice for, and in what area?

I mean seriously. 'Something boring like torts', stating that 'criminal justice defence' is somehow a rarity. Talking about 'stress' as though anything in law is life-or-death. For fucks sake mate. You've never seen the inside of a courtroom in your life.

Edit: for the record this is completely aimed at Roumelio's post above. The three or so posts directly before that one are spot on.

 

[Bashar H Malkawi]

wide range of career opportunities if compared with other disciplines. Bashar H. Malkawi

 

[loveliest]

This may sound like a stupid question but do people choose to do law for exactly the same reasons as to why people study medicine besides it revolves around how society operates?

The loveliest people study and uphold the sanest laws of life so everyone can live. It's very philanthropically philosophical. I feel like studying law to be the best of the best among the rest who are still best! Lol ^^

 

[loveliest]

If the reasons people study medicine is because of money and parents with high expectations, in my case, I don't want to do law for those reasons, just speaking on behalf of myself though.

I find law to be so interesting and the concepts covered to be exciting to learn about and it can even apply to my life. Cases studies are probably my favourite part of the prospect of doing law since I think it's interesting to learn the behaviours others have and what leads them to do what they do. I guess it does have a lot to do with how society operates but having a job where you basically have a manual to refer to what you're doing and knowing that you could be helping innocent people is really good. Mainly I like family law/cases that impact children and is the path I'd like to pursue (or criminology). Obviously I don't yet have experience in learning much law so I don't know how valid my reasoning is.

It's weird when people choose certain careers for money... having the degree doesn't guarantee the best job in that field.

How musical and poetically just. Keep being Godly and Godbless. Goodnight! ^^

 

[seremify007]

Let's not sugarcoat it, whether they realise it or not, the vast majority of people who want to do med/law are not in it for philanthropic reasons. Parental pressure, prestige, etc, easily takes the cake when it comes to peoples motivations in pursuing a degree in med/law.

And for some people, it's "because they can".

 

[Velocifire]

Asian Parents.

"You can do anything you want honey!"

"DOCTOR LAWYER OR ENGINEER"

 

[seremify007]

Yeh that one definitely takes the cake as the most pathetic reason.

Plenty of people do it for that reason because they got the marks, picked it since it was the highest entrance requirements, and off they went...