Erin O'Connor, over at Critical Mass, runs one of my new favorite blogs - an academic, literary blog (she loves A.S. Byatt!). She also had a brief post about my friend Glenda, which - I can't tell you how - but somehow comforted me in the senselessness of that act.
Anyway, Erin has a long and interesting post up right now about the tendency of graduates with English degrees to go on to law school.
It looks like it's going to be a very interesting conversation over there.
My first boyfriend was a lawyer, who went to the University of Pennsylvania (I dated him through the law school years), and after graduating he interned at a big-shot corporate law firm, making insane amounts of money, working 90 hour work weeks, then he got a job at one of those corporate law firms, and was a slave to the clock, I've never seen someone work so hard and so long, but he wasn't interested in that kind of law, in helping huge corporations and millionaires get off on technicalities - and working 90 hours a week on something you don't enjoy is a pretty grim experience, so he became a public defender for a couple of years, and talk about burn out - people burn out really quickly in that line of law - It was always his primary interest, though. All of his idols were famous public defenders. But after a couple of years, he had an epiphany: "I'd actually like to be on the side of the law that PUTS these people in jail!" And so he now works at a small reputable law firm, where he works on cases he completely believes in.
I was on the periphery of only a little of this - I was involved in the law school part, the studying for the Bar part, and the first huge corporate job part.
But that experience gave me an enduring interest in legal issues, and an enduring sympathy for what lawyers have to go through, just to practice their profession at all.
Go join the convo, if you're interested.
Posted by sheilaThe study of reptiles and sharks is even more useful for a prospective law student. ;)
Posted by: toddk at May 6, 2004 02:01 PMGrrr...you better actually BE a lawyer, toddk. ;-)
Here's what I wrote on Erin's blog, edited for a few typos I noticed later:
OK, I wasn't English major, and in fact never even thought about it, but probably would have been if my Hisory/International Relations double major hadn't been so obvious. But I knew quite a few in law school, and know some now as an attorney. I don't know if there's any one proper thing that best prepares you for either law school or the law. Having SOME knowledge of the world outside your own particular narrow academic field can definitely help, too: I remember being asked by a classmate (an English major, I'm afraid) in Corporations, "what's a bond?"
I never considered the conventional wisdom of working for a big firm after law school, and don't regret that for a second: the past two and a half years that I've spent working for a state legislature has been incredibly interesting, educational, and important work, and while it hasn't been quite as financially rewarding as a big firm would be, I've loved every minute of it. If I'm ever out in the private sector, I think I'd prefer to be the CLIENT of one of those big firms, thank you very much.
Posted by: Dave J at May 6, 2004 04:30 PMWell said, Dave. I was very interested to hear your point of view on this.
Posted by: red at May 6, 2004 04:50 PMBut still no reaction to me drinking motor oil? ;-)
Posted by: Dave J at May 6, 2004 05:01 PMThere were so many motor oil confessions going on in that post that I lost track. Forgive.
Posted by: red at May 6, 2004 05:05 PMWhat's really interesting -- or, depending on one's view, frightening -- is that I have three very good friends who WERE journalists, but gave it up to become lawyers. Clearly it is a trend.
Posted by: Benjamin Kepple at May 6, 2004 07:32 PM