No, never been to law school and never applied. Won't reveal HOW I know these things better than most legal beagles, but I do. Mental health is not always an issue, but it is a common denying factor.
Are you talking untreated psychosis, or are you talking "in therapy and/or medication for depression and anxiety"? Because, I'm licensed in 2 jurisdictions, qualify in the latter category, have disclosed it on Bar applications, and not only was I not denied admission, I was never even asked about it -- and one of the jurisdictions requires an character/fitness in person interview for all applicants. At the interview, I was asked about a couple of speeding tickets I'd gotten over the past 5 years, but somehow the "common denying factor" of my being "crazy" and having a "sketchy background" never got brought up.
Unless you are suffering from a completely debilitating and/or untreated mental illness that has a good chance of rendering you too impaired to practice, the Bar is not going to deny you admission. In fact, it's a violation of the ADA to do so -- you cannot legally deny someone admission to the Bar just because they have been treated for mental illness. If it legitimately is going to cause impairment in that specific case -- yes. Because I take anti-depressants? No.
Also, you might want to watch throwing around words like "crazy" and referring to people with mental health issues as "having a sketchy background." Stigmatizing mental illness much?
Again. Mental health, financial irresponsibility, lack of candor, etc., are not necessarily disqualifying. On their own or even together. But they CAN BE, and that was my point. It is not always as simple as going to school and grabbing a diploma.
Again. Mental health, financial irresponsibility, lack of candor, etc., are not necessarily disqualifying. On their own or even together. But they CAN BE, and that was my point. It is not always as simple as going to school and grabbing a diploma.
Perhaps. But of the MANY reasons why people shouldn't go to law school, this isn't high up on the list. My classmate stole a dump truck while drunk and is now a lawyer. The End.
Again. Mental health, financial irresponsibility, lack of candor, etc., are not necessarily disqualifying. On their own or even together. But they CAN BE, and that was my point. It is not always as simple as going to school and grabbing a diploma.
Perhaps. But of the MANY reasons why people shouldn't go to law school, this isn't high up on the list. My classmate stole a dump truck while drunk and is now a lawyer. The End.
Again. Mental health, financial irresponsibility, lack of candor, etc., are not necessarily disqualifying. On their own or even together. But they CAN BE, and that was my point. It is not always as simple as going to school and grabbing a diploma.
Perhaps. But of the MANY reasons why people shouldn't go to law school, this isn't high up on the list. My classmate stole a dump truck while drunk and is now a lawyer. The End.
I had a classmate that went for a joyride in a tractor (or some other sort of machinery) that was parked in a downtown park. He's a lawyer. And I know someone else who had a DUI that is a very successful lawyer and made partner at their firm.
My DH's law school roommate, a raging alcoholic, had 3 DUI's (the third one a felony), a misdemeanor for bringing a weapon on a plane while drunk, and still just needed a letter from the dean attesting to his fitness to practice. Nothing the OP has ever posted has given anyone cause to believe she suffers from the sort of extreme mental illness -or, for that matter, any mental illness - that would make her unsuitable to practice law.
Andplusalso, my cousin is on the bar's ethics committee and his room was next to the groomsmen's room at my wedding, where people were doing lines and shouting about how to best make an apple bong, and not a single person got disbarred. No one! Don't make me bring cousin Chuck in here to start telling you you're an idiot toe girl.
I'm a prosecutor. In my office, school reputation is not important. Interviewing well (a scored test is the first step) & internships carry more weight. For the amount of hours I work, I am compensated well, and I have great benefits.
Most DA offices in my area (SoCal) have been subject to hiring freezes the past few years. They are starting to hire again, but there are often hundreds of applicants for each open position. I work in BFE, and we had over 500 people apply for an opening last year. Ten years ago, when I got hired, the applicant pool was a lot smaller. Also, there has been a lot of backlash against public employee benefits, so new and future hires have a strong likelihood of missing out on some of the benefits that make government work appealing.
A girl I worked with as a contractor came to court absolutely shit faced one afternoon. Our judge, who was very caring and knew all of us very well, tried to handle it discretely, had the clerk pass her a note saying she wanted to see her in chambers and then went on the record saying that she needed to take a quick recess from the docket. The attorney packed up her bag and ran out of the courthouse without even saying anything to her client and never came back. She was reported to regulation and all they did was tell her to get her drinking under control and never go to court drunk again. It's not hard at all to eff up and have it let go.
It is not that hard of a job to get. It doesn't pay much ($50-$75K). If you can get into a top tier school with a full scholarship I would go for it. If you have the money to pay for law school without going into debt, again, knock yourself out. Otherwise, I wouldn't. The cost is too high.
Pay depends on locale, and one's willingness to stick with the office. Most SoCal counties start at $50-60k, but you can make low-mid $100s after 5-7 years.
It is not that hard of a job to get. It doesn't pay much ($50-$75K). If you can get into a top tier school with a full scholarship I would go for it. If you have the money to pay for law school without going into debt, again, knock yourself out. Otherwise, I wouldn't. The cost is too high.
I think the bolded really depends on the area, because I knew people from T14 schools who had a hell of a time trying to get into the DA's office in certain cities.
Ditto. Our office get inundated with applications for any openings that pop up because a lot of people assume it's an easy job to get. But counties haven't loosened the purse strings yet on hiring. We have people who interned in our office for 2-3 years, and have been working as volunteer attorneys post-bar for months, who still haven't been given offers because there aren't openings. And if a spot did open up, there'd be at least 7 well qualified applicants from the clerks and volunteers in my office alone. Working for the DA or PD has definitely gotten more competitive over the past 5-6 years.
The reason school ranking isn't as predictive is because every county starts the hiring process with a scored exam. The first question on my exam was: "Review this packet of materials for 15 minutes and then present a 5 minute closing argument supporting theory 'x'." Given how law schools generally do a crappy job of practical preparation, graduating from a top school doesn't mean that someone automatically have the skills for something like that. And if you can't score high enough on the exam, you don't get to the 2nd round of interviewing, which is where school prestige might have an influence, but again it's not the end all-be all the way it is for law firms.
Post by Saint Monica on Apr 13, 2013 12:20:17 GMT -5
letsgetweird what would you do if you graduated and (a)you did not get a job as a prosecutor or (b)you realized what a fucking stupid idea going to law skool is and then hate your life as a lawyer
or
you are in your 2nd year and you cannot imagine going on to take the bar exam or even finish the 3rd year. and you have all these useless student loans