Around this time of year, I and others tend to write about law school. Specifically whether it is a good idea to go. Every year, I give similar advice: negotiate down the lowest tuition, choose a school based on post-graduate employment outcomes, and don’t go to law school because you hate Donald Trump.
While information was scarce in the past, today there is an abundance of advice about choosing a law school, post-graduate employment outcome, and lawyers’ quality of life.
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The information overload can have the ironic effect of hampering, delaying, or completely preventing decision-making. So let’s look at some common resources and whether they are worth it today.
Law School “How To” Books. In the past, books on choosing a law school were the main way a potential student could get information on various law schools and their application processes. But today, with extensive information on the internet (described further below), these books are not as useful as they once were.
Books on choosing a law school probably are not worth buying, especially if your university library has a copy you can borrow. The books worth buying are LSAT prep books with lots of practice questions.
Consultants/Tutors. Consultants or tutors are hired to help someone choose the right law school or to maximize their admissions chances for the law school(s) they want to attend. Usually these people are graduates of top law schools or have worked at a law school’s admissions office.
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Their services vary. Some simply help students improve their LSAT score and help them with the application process. Others closely work with students for a long time, usually helping them select majors and classes, and set up schedules that include study times and extracurricular activities.
While consultants may be useful, they cannot turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse. Those that claim to be able to do so should be avoided or looked at with great skepticism, especially if they charge an exorbitant fee. They may be most helpful for applicants whose numbers are borderline for the schools they want to attend and need concrete guidance to make them look more attractive.
A School’s Admissions Office (Or Visiting The Campus). If you sincerely want to know more about a particular law school or it is one of your top choices, then it may be a good idea to meet with an admissions officer at the school or visit the campus. You can get detailed information about that particular school and possibly its competitors. And by visiting the campus, you can get a small taste of campus life and where you will be living for the next three years.
Do not go thinking that meeting an admissions officer in person will increase your chances of being admitted. Your enthusiasm may be interpreted as being overly aggressive. Also, the person you meet may not have a say on whether you should be admitted to the school.
Talking To Other Lawyers Or Alumni. Potential law students are told to first talk to as many practicing and nonpracticing attorneys as possible so that they can understand how attorneys work and give some people a serious reality check.
Alumni (particularly those who recently graduated) are good sources of inside information. This includes knowing which professors to take (or avoid). Also, they may be able to give you some study materials.
While it is good to connect with an attorney for networking purposes, any advice they give about law school will be anecdotal, based on lived experience.
Watch YouTube Videos. If you have a few minutes between watching a speedrun of a video game and your favorite political influencer, look for videos from people who attended law school and some who have dropped out. Once you watch a number of law school-related videos, the YouTube algorithm will send you similar videos from others.
The bigger channels tend to give general advice that you have heard before and are curated in a way to get the most views, usually involving clickbait. So once you’ve seen one, you have pretty much seen them all.
Instead, pay more attention to people with little to no subscribers. The smaller content creators are more likely to say what is on their mind and seem more genuine. Hopefully you will find someone who you can relate to.
Will AI Give You The Best Advice? Today, AI is the new hotness because the large language models allow it to get information from the internet and then synthesize and organize it. While it has been more useful than a conventional internet search, it has gotten some attorneys into trouble because they relied too hard on AI and did not verify its analysis.
If you are going to ask AI whether you should go to law school or what law school you should apply to, feed it as much information about you as possible. This includes your GPA, LSAT score, notable extracurricular activities, major, and any other detail that may help you stand out as an applicant. Also, you should input why you want to go to law school, your career goals, and your post-graduate expectations.
Based on the information you provide, AI should give a reasonably good analysis of whether you should go to law school and which schools are likely to accept you. It may also compare a few schools to determine which school is a better fit (on paper). You can use this information to contact an admissions officer or schedule a campus visit.
In the past, deciding whether to go to law school was difficult due to lack of information. Now it may be just as difficult due to the abundance of it. So it is up to you to separate the useful information from the slop.
Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (@stevenchung) and connect with him on LinkedIn.