Did anybody work during the school year in their first year?

[bobojack]

I was wondering if any first-years were working and studying at the same time? Or is the school workload too heavy to balance both at the same time?

[LMP]

This gets asked a lot and the answers are generally the same. It is certianly possible to work during law school. In fact typing this while I'm at work. But the question is, should you work during law school? 

The trouble is that no one can tell you, in advance, how hard law school will be for you. Personally, I find the workload very manageable. It is a bit rough around crunch time but overall I'm happy doing my 10ish hours a week in addition to school. I don't think it really impacted my grades.

For some people, that's not doable at all. That extra time might be crucial for them, especially if they commit to a lot of extracurriculars and have a hard time with the matieral. 

Overall, I think working during 1L is generally not worth it, the benefits are outweighed by the potential impact on the most important year of law school. But if your job is important to you or you feel it is fairly flexible, it won't kill you to do both.