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Rising Star
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Can’t beat billing in a bubble bath.
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1. The importance of pursuing a marketable degree that will secure employment
2. The importance of hands-on work experience
3. If considering law school, the important of identifying and learning about what lawyers actually do, not what they saw on law & order or partner track
4. The importance of taking chances when they are young
5. The importance of never letting work consume your life.
This is great. Thank you
Rising Star
1) IP law requires a hard science degree (we know there are caveats, but kids need brightline rules)
2) The most important test in a lawyer’s career is actually the LSAT.
3) Related to #2, “lawyer” does not always equal big bucks (anyone can get into a law school somewhere and anyone can pass the bar with 8 weeks of study). If they just want to just pursue money and no WLB go into coding or software engineering.
The importance of not blowing $200k on an vocational education if it will take a lifetime to pay it off.
The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend tune, "Don't Be a Lawyer" as evidence for your main hypothesis: https://youtu.be/Xs-UEqJ85KE
I love that show and that song is gold!
Joking aside, I currently plan to discuss how to get to law school, what law school is like, and then spending most of the time talking about different careers in the law, including mine. I also plan to encourage students to not study political science in undergrad, unless they really do love it. I regretted studying political science because I didn’t feel like it had a lot of worth unless I went to grad school, and I definitely didn’t want to work in politics or for politicians in government.
The importance of investing and doing it early.
Also the importance of your GPA and LSAT!
The importance of doing what you love.
Rising Star
Also adding: don’t go to law school just because you got in one. Literally anyone with a 4 year degree can find a law school somewhere that’ll take their money.
If you have to take out loans for law school, consider working for a year or two first, and using the time to decide if you actually really really want it.
Do not go to law school because you don’t know what else to do, unless you have a trust fund or full scholarship footing the bill.
If you realize as a 1L that law school is not your jam, leave. Don’t waste another 2 years of your life.
There are lots of paths to a fulfilling career as an attorney. You can be incredibly successful and happy without big law.
Not a lawyer, but I always wanted to go to law school. I started as a paralegal while still in undergrad and it was valuable experience for a lot of reasons, but mainly because it showed me how much I would absolutely hate being an attorney. I love being a paralegal, it’s a great fit for me and I’m grateful I had the experience to decide law school wasn’t for me. If I had decided to continue on to law school, I would have done myself a favor anyway by having practical experience and a network going in.
I would tell them to work in a law firm before deciding to go to law. You could also generally talk about the other positions at a law firm/in legal field.
To go to law school*
When considering jobs you might want, ask yourself whether you want the lifestyle of individuals already working in that profession. Explain that working in M&A at a firm looks very different from working with the government, in-house, etc. Advise them to consider how much they want to work and what populations of people they feel that they would do the best job working with. Ask them who they want to help and explain that there is not a lot of money in helping those who most need it and that pro Bono work and supporting those helping the vulnerable is important.
Pro
I have done career fairs like this for high schoolers. Most think all lawyers do criminal work. Unless a parent is a commercial lawyer, they have no idea or frame of reference to understand what lawyers do. Keep it very simple - I don’t talk about documents, they are papers. Most have heard of a contract so that is safe. Better to talk about working hard in college to keep options open than specifics about law school.