Law Schools, Old People

Old Lady Lawyer: Another Kind Of Law School Admission Test

Complete this legal self-assessment test before taking the plunge into law school and a debt-ridden life.

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The sound of teeth gnashing. Another kind of test? What other kind could there be? Should there be?

While the traditional LSAT is designed to test a prospective law student’s ability to succeed in law school (and I have my doubts about that, but that’s a topic for another column), some other dinosaur lawyers and I propose a different kind of test to see if law school is really what you want to do and, even more importantly, what you should do.

Given that so many new admittees and young lawyers are finding it so hard to get traction in this profession and also finding that the practice is not at all what law school is like (chalk that up to few, if any, tenured law school professors who have ever ventured into a courtroom or gotten into the down and dirty of pre-trial discovery), some friends and I (more than one of whom sits on the bench) suggest this legal self-assessment test before taking the plunge into law school and a debt-ridden life:

  1. Do you have a thick skin? If you don’t, then forget about law school and the practice of law. You may have been the smartest in college, but you won’t necessarily be at the top in law school. Get over yourself as the smartest person in the room. Be able to take criticism, both constructive and destructive, because you’ll get plenty of both.
  2. Can you handle rejection? Rejection by the court when it denies your motion, rejection by the jury when its verdict goes the other way, rejection by the client when he substitutes you out and then refuses to pay the outstanding bill. If you have trouble with this concept, then ditch the idea of a legal career.
  3. Can you detach from the emotion of your client’s case? It’s not your case, it’s hers, and the need for cool, unemotional, and rational responses is critical. Do you remain calm when everyone around you is freaking out? Can you deliver bad news as well as good?
  4. A corollary to Number 3: are you calm under pressure? Can you multi-task without going to pieces? What if a trial brief is due tomorrow? What if you just received notice of an ex parte hearing and you need to file a response before the hearing tomorrow afternoon? What if you have to prepare a witness later today for a deposition on another matter tomorrow and your associate is on vacation and a client needs the final draft of a document righthisminute? Can you handle all that coming down on your head at the same time?
  5. A corollary to Number 4: do you have a temper? Are you able to keep it in check or will your nastiness spill out at inappropriate times, such as in court? Do you frustrate easily? If the court asks you to mark and identify exhibits before showing them to a witness (which you should know how to do anyway), do you get exasperated with the court’s continually asking you to do what you should have known how to do anyway? Do you show that exasperation? (Not a good thing.) How do you work with other people? Although some may disagree, the Golden Rule still exists, even in the legal world.
  6. Do you have the ability to handle repetitive and often mind-numbing work for days, weeks, and even years on end? (I’m not just talking about doc review here.)
  7. Do you have the ability to provide practical advice and not just spout the law? Can you see yourself giving a client advice that can be used immediately, or do you prefer to lay everything out in an esoteric memo replete with case citations that the client will not read and be enraged at having to pay for?
  8. Do you like people? If not, and you’d rather spend your days disengaged from the world and people’s problems, then don’t even think about a career in law. Book smarts is one thing; emotional intelligence is another and is even more critical than abstract legal knowledge. If you can’t connect with people, your career is doomed.
  9. Are you a high-maintenance person? If so, don’t bother. Law practice doesn’t have time for people who are needy and always seeking approval. You won’t get it, and so if you don’t have enough internal self-confidence, the law isn’t the place for you. You will rarely, if ever, get props from anyone, and if you doubt that, see numbers one and two.
  10. Can you write? Do you know grammar, punctuation, and spelling? Do you write well? Do you like to write? Since the great bulk of the work that lawyers do (and the way they present themselves) is in the written work product, if you don’t like to write, then don’t bother. If you like to write but feel your writing skills need work, then do something about it.

Everyone talks about following a dream, a passion, whatever. You have to have a passion for the law, not for making money, in order to succeed as a lawyer. That, plus an ability to get by on little sleep (waking up at 3 a.m. wondering whether you blew a filing deadline) and to be somewhat, if not totally, obsessive-compulsive (did all the exhibits get tabbed according to the local rules?). Law school is a huge commitment of time and money, and prospective law students should go in with their eyes wide open as well as their wallets.

So, I think a self-assessment test makes sense. Knowing what you know now, how many of you would make the same choice? No need for a show of hands. Law school is just not a place to put off making life decisions for three years. Practicing law is hard, very hard work, and in many ways it doesn’t get any easier with age.

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Jill Switzer is closing in on 40 (not a typo) years as a active member of the State Bar of California. Yes, folks, California, that state west of the Sierra Nevada, which everyone likes to diss. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see old lawyers, young lawyers, and those in-between interact — it’s not always pretty. You can reach her by email at oldladylawyer@gmail.com.

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