The Ghost Of Law School Future Warns A Would-Be Law Student About The Realities Of The Job Market

Think hard before you make the law school leap with potential consequnces that are nondischargeable in bankruptcy.

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For the soon-to-be law students, today’s piece might be a few months too late. Classes start in a few weeks. You paid the deposit for your seat in the class, bought a new laptop, and paid a substantial security deposit for your new apartment two blocks away from campus. Some of you may have left your home state to attend law school.

With all of the money you invested so far, it might seem crazy to drop out now. Based on the above, you probably paid around $5,000. I know it sounds hard when you are young, but paying back $5,000 is much easier than paying back $100,000 or more.

So today, I want to tell you a story about the life you potentially face if do not go to a brand-name law school, or do not do well at the law school you attend. This story was inspired by Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” (yes, I read this during July). The events are based on the many sob stories I have heard on underground message boards and even some real life stories.

We start the story not with “Once upon a time…” but by fast forwarding a few days in the future. You just returned from a night out with your future classmates at a local bar. You are lying in bed in your new apartment going over your school’s orientation materials. Classes begin next week.

You have some last minute thoughts about whether you are doing the right thing. You are certain that you want to go to law school because you hate President Donald Trump for being Republican. You plan to singlehandedly block all of his executive orders once you are admitted to the bar. Unfortunately, you didn’t get a substantial scholarship due to your average GPA and LSAT score. But you believe you will do well in your class and once you do, you will be offered scholarships to convince you to stay. And even if you don’t get scholarships, you can transfer to a different school. Or you can work for a nonprofit and get your loans forgiven in 10 years, tax free.

You then open your Torts book to read ahead on intentional torts. But as you are reading, the photo of Oliver Wendell Holmes on the next page begins to move and morphs into a faceless phantom wearing a hood and a judge’s robe. The figure then jumps out of the book. He then points to a door in your room which you have never seen before. The phantom says nothing but motions you to open the door and go inside. You go because you’re not going to say no to Oliver Wendell Holmes.

The door leads to your study room. The calendar on the wall shows that the date is almost one year from now. You see your future self sitting at a desk typing on your one-year-old laptop. When you look closer, you see yourself typing emails to law firms writing cover letters requesting a job interview. Next to your laptop are multiple copies of your résumé. Next to that is a list of local law firms in your area with their contact information.

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You notice a strange looking piece of paper on the edge of the desk. You walk closer to look at it and see that it is your law school transcript. It is then you learn the hard truth: your GPA and class rank.

Unfortunately, despite all of the obstacles and hardships you overcame in the past, your determination and positive attitude just weren’t enough to put you in the top 10 percent of the class. As a result, you stayed at home during the summer on-campus interview week at your school because nobody wanted to interview you.

Not only that, your transfer options became severely limited. Your school knew this and denied your requests for tuition discounts for the remaining years. Also, now that the ABA is actually punishing schools with low bar passage rates, they will see you as a likely failing candidate which can affect their accreditation. Because of this, your school may encourage you to drop out.

Your future self then checks Facebook. On your law school’s Facebook page, there is a post congratulating Paulina, one of your classmates, for landing a summer associate position with a top law firm in the area. When you look at the firm’s website, you noticed that Paulina’s brother, Privileged Pierce, just became a partner there.

Lastly, you see another letter on the trash can. It is from your student loan company. The letter tells you that the interest accrued to date will capitalize into principal if it is not paid by the end of the month. The balance shows $90,000.

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The phantom then points his finger towards another door which you suspect goes to the closet or the bathroom. You walk away from your future self and towards the door.

However, when you open the door, it leads to another study room. You enter and you see your future self sitting in front of a desk typing on the same laptop. The calendar on the wall shows that it is almost three years from now.

You see your future self reading an email:

Hi.

While you took the bar exam, I was thinking a lot about your employment proposal. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I decided not to hire an associate. You were a great law clerk and I appreciate you coming through for me when I needed you the most. But to be honest, I just don’t have the budget and the caseload for a full-time associate right now. I’ll continue you call you if something comes up but I totally understand if you want to work elsewhere. I’ll be happy to write a good letter of recommendation for you. Best of luck with the bar exam results.

Solo Sam

Your future self then checks the news websites where you see some depressing headlines:

  • Dow Jones drops 500 points for the fourth day in a row
  • Two Biglaw firms are rescinding offer letters and laying off associates and support staff
  • Above The Law brings back Notes From The Breadline column

It turns out that your future self graduated at the worst time since 2008. A global recession is in full swing triggered by the realization that blockchain technology was mostly used by criminals to obtain ransom money. Also, because increasing energy amounts were being used to mine cryptocurrencies, it reduced the energy available for residential use, thus tripling electricity bills.

You stay with your future self for a while watching him write emails to every law firm and anyone he can think of in the hopes of getting a job. You get a pile of “thanks but no thanks” letters from law firms, businesses, and the Gap. Later, your future self emails someone telling them that the bar exam review loan money will be used to pay the rent for a few more months which will give you time to move somewhere cheaper.

The phantom then points you to another door that magically appeared. As you walk towards the door, you see a letter on the desk. It is from your student loan company. The letter states that the repayment period will begin in January of next year and your monthly payments under the 10 year repayment plan will be $3,000. The letter states that you are eligible to apply for the new 2021 income-based repayment plan where loans will be forgiven after 50 years of continuous payment. Your student loan balance is $300,000.

When you enter the door, you see a much older version of yourself sitting in the living room. The digital calendar on the wall shows that 30 years have passed.

A few minutes later, someone else enters the room and sits next to your future self, presumably your future spouse. They chat about where to go for dinner. They then call the children and then everyone leaves the house and drives away in an SUV.

You look around the house and notice that it’s not small but not big either. From the outside, it looks like every other house in the neighborhood.

You then enter your future self’s home office. You notice two computers. You notice one of them engaging with a prospective client online. After the engagement, the computer prints out a screen showing the facts as told by the potential client, the client’s concerns, and the client’s ability to pay. The computer also prints out a second paper explaining the potential legal issues involved and points to relevant statutes and case law. The paper also lists several recommendations for resolution and recommended additional reading.

The second computer is near your desk. You look at the monitor and you see that your future self is replying to an email. The subject line says “Should I go to law school?”

This was your future self’s response:

I think you should only go if you really want to be a lawyer and you are able to get a job that will allow you to do the things you want to do.

I left law school with no job, $300,000 in debt, and little hope of paying it off. I struggled for years before finding something. During that time, my student loan debt increased at a frightening pace and I was fearful that I would never pay it off.

Now I have a steady practice. It’s not great, but it’s not bad either. It’s pretty much average.

I also live an average, middle-class life. I don’t have a large house. I live in the suburbs. And I don’t drive an expensive luxury car. With kids and a mortgage, I won’t be getting any luxury items in the near future.

And I am not going to pay off my student loans. Ever. I borrowed way too much and it is not worth it for me and my family to pay it off.

A few of my classmates are doing well. But others are struggling financially, even after all these years. The rest are just like me: Average.

When I was young, I wanted to go to law school because I had big dreams but no idea how to make them come true. To be honest, if I knew then that I would have ended up being an average lawyer, I would not have gone. It is not worth the struggle, the endless networking, writing, and especially the rejections. I would have pursued a field I was more passionate about. That way, at least the grind would be more tolerable, perhaps even enjoyable.

To reiterate, go to law school if you are passionate enough about the law to endure the struggle and if it is a practical way for you to obtain the lifestyle you want. Otherwise, you will spend the best years of your life being miserable, broke, and average.

You hear a car pulling into the driveway and it is your future self returning from dinner. The phantom Holmes points to a door leading back to reality. As you walk back, you wonder if this is a dream or the result of drinking too much. But in any case, you plan to make an appointment with a therapist the next morning.

I didn’t want to scare you with a hyperbolic tale of woe that stays with you for the rest of your life. You’ll probably end up okay in 30 years. But think hard before you make the leap with potential consequnces that are nondischargeable in bankruptcy. The struggle continues to be real. If you go to law school now, you may end up graduating during a recession and it will be massively harder to find a job.

Shannon Achimalbe was a former solo practitioner for five years before deciding to sell out and get back on the corporate ladder. Shannon can be reached by email at sachimalbe@excite.com and via Twitter: @ShanonAchimalbe.

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