Should i pursue law? (1 Viewer)

[enoilgam]

first thing i noticed

No Legal Studies


are you serious

Legal Studies and Law have very little in common with one another to be honest.

Having said that, Law is not something you choose merely as a back up or as something you "don't mind" studying because it will make point of consuming your life and being in your face about it as well. I disagree with Strawberrye's comment that statistics aren't important because they really are. I would even argue that they are one of the most important things in life. To law school in particular, they give you an idea of the drop out rates, employment rates, depression rates (there are charity organisations for law students with depression like for example the Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation) and much more, and will give you an ability to make educated inferences as to what to expect from Law School. Flicking through a textbook is not going to give you that ability. Being able to sit there and say "Hmmm looks manageable, I can certainly memorise these cases and legislations" is not a good test for seeing whether you are capable of surviving law school because the discipline demands so much more from you. The mistake you will always be led to make is to think that you are an exception or will be an exception to these statistics (this is in the generalised form of cliche's like "impossible has a i'm possible" etc). The reality is that you, and many more students like you, are all in the same boat - you're intelligent, reasonably aware, and capable of great things. But that's the average law student, and law school demands more from you, and employers demand even more. Everyone starts out law school with that attitude, and the reason the stats show what they do is because everyone goes through the same shit and begins to realise the same things.

Totally agree with everything Crobat has said, but especially what is in bold. Law is something you really need to enjoy and be committed to because it is quite difficult both in uni and especially in the workforce. Having completed a Commerce degree and part of a Law degree there really is no comparison, Commerce isnt even in the same league in terms of difficulty. In the workplace and especially top-tier firms, they have extremely high expectations of graduates/lawyers and it really is unforgiving. Working in a top tier firm in a support function has definitely affirmed my decision to drop out, because I would not want the kind of lifestyle associated with Law.

Also, I laugh inside whenever people say "Law is just about memorising cases and legislation".

 

[Futuremedstudent]

Legal Studies and Law have very little in common with one another to be honest.



Totally agree with everything Crobat has said, but especially what is in bold. Law is something you really need to enjoy and be committed to because it is quite difficult both in uni and especially in the workforce. Having completed a Commerce degree and part of a Law degree there really is no comparison, Commerce isnt even in the same league in terms of difficulty. In the workplace and especially top-tier firms, they have extremely high expectations of graduates/lawyers and it really is unforgiving. Working in a top tier firm in a support function has definitely affirmed my decision to drop out, because I would not want the kind of lifestyle associated with Law.

Also, I laugh inside whenever people say "Law is just about memorising cases and legislation".

yeah cos one does around 200 readings per week!

 

[enoilgam]

yeah cos one does around 200 readings per week!

It isnt about the readings - memorising cases/legislation will get you nowhere in Law (and is usually pointless). It's the interpretation and application of cases/legislation which is the killer.

 

[Futuremedstudent]

It isnt about the readings - memorising cases/legislation will get you nowhere in Law (and is usually pointless). It's the interpretation and application of cases/legislation which is the killer.

and where you graduate from like harvard or usyd or unsw.

 

[enoilgam]

and where you graduate from like harvard or usyd or unsw.

If you're talking about prestige, then it does carry more weight in the legal field (slightly, the rest of your CV/interviewing determines how far you will go). But that's really due to the heavy influence of partners, who know little about recruitment and how the system works - in most businesses, HR has more of a say (which is why uni brand is rightfully ignored as a factor). In terms of actual difficulty, it's pretty much the same everywhere (they are all accredited by the State Bar, so they all have to meet certain content standards).

 

[strawberrye]

yeah cos one does around 200 readings per week!

Not exactly this much But you have to know your readings inside out-and that is a challenging aspect of law-truly understanding what the judges are saying... and then applying it to new cases.

 

[Futuremedstudent]

If you're talking about prestige, then it does carry more weight in the legal field (slightly, the rest of your CV/interviewing determines how far you will go). But that's really due to the heavy influence of partners, who know little about recruitment and how the system works - in most businesses, HR has more of a say (which is why uni brand is rightfully ignored as a factor). In terms of actual difficulty, it's pretty much the same everywhere (they are all accredited by the State Bar, so they all have to meet certain content standards).

I would say if one doesn't do law in usyd/harvard then they will have heaps and heaps of difficulty finding a job

 

[enoilgam]

I would say if one doesn't do law in usyd/harvard then they will have heaps and heaps of difficulty finding a job

I work in HR at a top-tier firm and I can comfortably say that this is completely false, even moreso after you have been a lawyer for years.

 

[strawberrye]

I would say if one doesn't do law in usyd/harvard then they will have heaps and heaps of difficulty finding a job

I would understand why you may be inclined to think this way. However, finding a job is not only dependent on the university you graduated from, since you would get poor grades even in going to a 'good uni'. There are all sorts of graduates from different universities who have managed to achieve top tier jobs. Graduating from Harvard, for instance, would not necessarily help one a lot in finding a job requiring extensive knowledge in the Australian legal system since Harvard is an American university. Perhaps once you start working in a legal firm you might be inclined to change your current opinions on the correlation between universities and the ease one has to find a legal job

 

[nerdasdasd]

@fms

http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/C...ch/GraduateSkillsWhatEmployersWant/index.html
http://sydney.edu.au/careers/applying_jobs/what_employers_want/index.shtml
Notice that grades aren't even in the top 3 things that employers are looking for ....

Employers want to see good communication, people skills and experience .

What good is an student that graduated from Harvard or usyd with a HD average .. But with shit communication skills?

 

[strawberrye]

@fms

http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/C...ch/GraduateSkillsWhatEmployersWant/index.html
http://sydney.edu.au/careers/applying_jobs/what_employers_want/index.shtml
Notice that grades aren't even in the top 3 things that employers are looking for ....


Employers want to see good communication, people skills and experience .

What good is an student that graduated from Harvard or usyd with a HD average .. But with shit communication skills?

This is a common argument, however, it is very rare that a student with a HD average have poor communication skills-such students attain good marks in law because they often also combine intensive studying with participation in law competitions to enhance their argumentative and other practical skills of being a lawyer. Grades are a fundamental requirement, i.e. a credit or above, one would hardly be expected to be inclined to employ someone who barely passed their law courses (since grades to some extent reflects one's passion/commitment to law)-which surely is a characteristic considered by employers.

 

[enoilgam]

@fms

http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/C...ch/GraduateSkillsWhatEmployersWant/index.html
http://sydney.edu.au/careers/applying_jobs/what_employers_want/index.shtml
Notice that grades aren't even in the top 3 things that employers are looking for ....

Employers want to see good communication, people skills and experience .

What good is an student that graduated from Harvard or usyd with a HD average .. But with shit communication skills?

That's more relevant in the Commerce field where marks really arent as important - in Law, they are far more relevant especially for top tiers and mid tiers. Those lawyers need top technical skills, because these firms are usually hired by companies when their own in-house legal team cannot resolve certain issues.

 

[Omnipotence]

I would say if one doesn't do law in usyd/harvard then they will have heaps and heaps of difficulty finding a job

What the fuck would you know? Bullshit assertion.

 

[Drifting95]

What the fuck would you know? Bullshit assertion.

lmao

 

[Omnidragon]

No

But would you listen?