A bit lost

[LostPuppy]

Hi all,

I am a two time applicant for law school who is a bit lost, not really in the process, but in what I want to do. I am torn between a Master in Public Policy and Law. I made the decision last year to decline my law offers and enter the masters program for a variety of reasons. First, with me being unsure, the masters program was a cheaper "trial". Second, the masters program offered me a paid internship so that I could actually test out the job before necessarily commiting another extended amount of time. Third, I can see myself being a policy analyst but the job of a lawyer seems so mystical to me (like what do they actually do and would I find that interesting?)

However, I have been informed that I can still do the combined program, effectively making it so that I can get both degrees and this first year of the MPP would not be wasted if I decide to do law school. In addition, fellow students and other connections within the public service have said that a law degree is beneficial in the public service as well. And my parents reason that getting the degree is never a bad thing: more open doors! And so, seeing that I have always had the itch to try law school and now am seeing an opportunity, I am wondering if I should do it.

But I am unsure as to why I want to do it. I don't think it's for the money, especially not after reading some of the starting salaries and debt issues. I think the status may play a role. After endlessly having to tell people I turned down law school and watching their reactions, it kind of ate away at me. I think I would love the work of law, but I feel that the practice of law is holding me back, meaning that I hate the amount of work and seeming stress attached to the job. I feel as if I would love law school, but hate the actual job. The issue is I can never really test these things. I have considered shadowing a lawyer, but people have said that it would be endlessly boring since all they do is read and write, and I, as a shadower, would not understand the intricacies and interesting aspects of this reading and writing.

Sorry for the ramble, I will summarize my thoughts into a few questions.

1) How did you find out that you would enjoy the work of law?

2) Do you think I should just complete the MPP (effectively paying for an extra year of school but not having to rush into things) and try that out before considering to reapply? 

3) Do you have any suggestions on figuring out if law school is right for me? Should I just try a year and see if I like it?

Feel free to add anything you'd like to add if it extends past the scope of the questions.

Edited September 18, 2022 by LostPuppy

[BlockedQuebecois]

On 9/17/2022 at 11:22 PM, LostPuppy said:

How did you find out that you would enjoy the work of law?

I think at some level I always knew I would enjoy the practice of law. I am, after all, a litigator, and the distinction between forum dwellers with personality disorders and litigators is a fine one (inside joke). 

More seriously, the practice of law is a very niche skillset and in my opinion its difficult to know whether you would enjoy it until you actually do it. There are things I think are likely predictive of how much you'll enjoy (at least the litigation side of) law: whether you enjoy logic games and problem solving, whether you enjoy reading and writing, whether you enjoy engaging with different sides of the same argument, whether you are happy working relatively independently, etc. Being interested in politics, philosophy, or economics is likely also a bit predictive. Unfortunately for you, I would imagine those skills also overlap fairly substantially with public policy.

Once I was in law school I pretty quickly knew I enjoyed (the litigation side of) law – I liked reading cases, understanding the reasoning came easy to me, and I found the way good legal arguments are written coincided fairly well with my natural writing style. By the time I was summering and clerking, knew I liked litigation and as of right now (still very early into my practice), I can see myself doing it for a long time. 

Again, that likely isn't that helpful for you. It's all well and good to say I knew I enjoyed law early in law school, but that's not something you can use in determining whether or not to attend. I think the unfortunate truth is that while you can make an educated guess about whether you'll enjoy school based on the things mentioned above, it's really not possible to know whether or not you'll enjoy it until you're doing it. 

Turning to your situation, while this is obviously a decision you have to make on your own, I am not really seeing what is drawing you to law school in your post.

Your "pros" seem to be: (1) societal pressure in the form of your peers' reactions to you having declined law school; (2) a vague notion of law opening more doors; and (3) a JD being beneficial in the public service. In my opinion, you shouldn't care about the first factor at all. I can't speak to the third factor. The second factor is probably true, in that a JD/MPP could do more than an MPP alone. But those doors being open are only helpful if you want to go through any of them. 

In contrast, your "cons" in relation to becoming a lawyer seem pretty concrete: you don't want a job that demands a lot of your time and you don't want a job that's overly stressful. In general, legal jobs demand a lot of your time and are pretty stressful. Even the more relaxed legal jobs, such as counsel roles with the government, involve a large time commitment and a fair bit of stress. 

You may very well have really compelling reasons for wanting to go to law school that I am just missing. Or you might decide that your current reasons are compelling enough to give it a go. But based solely off your post here, I don't have a good read on why you are even considering law. 

On 9/17/2022 at 11:22 PM, LostPuppy said:

Do you have any suggestions on figuring out if law school is right for me? Should I just try a year and see if I like it?

Between this option and the option to complete your MPP and try working for a while, I would personally lean towards the latter. If you do decide to try law school for a year to see if you like it, I can't emphasize enough how much you should choose a law school that has cheap tuition (i.e. a non-Ontario, non-TRU school). It will be infinitely easier to drop out and return to your MPP if your sunk cost is less than $10,000, rather than more than $20,000.  

[LostPuppy]

14 hours ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

There are things I think are likely predictive of how much you'll enjoy (at least the litigation side of) law: whether you enjoy logic games and problem solving, whether you enjoy reading and writing, whether you enjoy engaging with different sides of the same argument, whether you are happy working relatively independently, etc. Being interested in politics, philosophy, or economics is likely also a bit predictive.

I guess I didn't do a tremendous job of explaining my interests. I personally loved writing and studying for the LSAT and found my logic courses throughout my undergrad super engaging. I majored in philosophy and absolutely love reading and writing philosophy, but I hate a large part of the academia branch of philosophy. I love to read in general, but most of my recent reading time has been taken up by coursework and philosophy. So I guess these are the main reasons why I have always considered law, for, as you pointed out, these are the common "predictors" and everyone around me thinks I would love law school and that I've just been second guessing myself too much.

14 hours ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

Between this option and the option to complete your MPP and try working for a while, I would personally lean towards the latter. If you do decide to try law school for a year to see if you like it, I can't emphasize enough how much you should choose a law school that has cheap tuition (i.e. a non-Ontario, non-TRU school). It will be infinitely easier to drop out and return to your MPP if your sunk cost is less than $10,000, rather than more than $20,000.  

In regard to this, in order for me to get the combined degree I would need to attend the same institution for my law school, which would be very expensive. However, it is a really good school and many lawyers I have spoken with have suggested that I take the opportunity.

Altogether, I think I am going to give it a go. I have a decent support structure around me and after speaking with lawyers in different fields of practice, I have narrowed down on some areas of practice that I would find quite interesting. In particular, I would like to meld my knowledge of policy with my "soon-to-have" legal skills. So basically working for the government. Having this kind of goal helps me quite a bit because now I have some end in sight, and if I deviate once in law school, then it is no big deal because at least I will then be following what I enjoy. 

Thank you for your response, it was incredibly helpful and informative.

[cherrytree]

If possible, I would suggest seeing if you can find lawyers or law students (preferably a 2L or 3L) in your or your family's social circle to have a casual conversation with. Most people won't shut you down if you ask meaningful questions about their schooling or work that show your genuine interest. When I was toying with the idea of law school, it certainly didn't discourage me to find that I consider the few law students I befriended in my personal to be friendly, intelligent people. A large part of why I decided to go into the practice area that I'm in now, towards the end of articling, is because I like how the folks I work with think about legal issues, how they do things, how they manage their practice, and most importantly how they carry themselves. Sure, there are areas of law that are highly technical, but a lot of law is a people business. Try and see if you like the people who go into law better than people who go into policy or other fields of work, your gut might be able tell you something you wouldn't otherwise notice.