5 Big Myths About Law School Debunked

By Elana Goodwin on March 10, 2016

This article is brought to you by Kaplan, the leader in test prep for over 90 standardized tests, including the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.

If you’re thinking of becoming a lawyer, your next step after undergrad will inevitably be law school. But even if you’ve seen the law portrayed in movies and TV shows, there are still a lot of false ideas out there about studying and practicing the law.

Here are some of the biggest myths about law school, debunked.

Photo Credit: levo.com

1. Getting A Law Degree Automatically Means You’ll Have A Job After Graduation.

Unfortunately, just because you go through law school and earn yourself a law degree doesn’t necessarily give you job security. According to the American Bar Association, in mid-2014, there were 1.3 million licensed lawyers in the U.S. and the standard starting rate for lawyers has been declining. Additionally, going to law school will probably require you rack up more student loan debt, which means the poor job prospects are even more disheartening.

Even if you graduate near the top of your class from a really good school, there’s no guarantee you’ll land a job — though your chances of doing so are definitely better than if you’re an average student at a lesser-tier school. So if you’re going into law school thinking a cushy job at a prestigious law firm and big payday is waiting for you on the other side, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.

2. Your Law Degree Will Be Applicable To Any Career.

If you don’t end up practicing law or you stop practicing law and intend to go into another field, you may think your law degree will give you an edge and provide you with more opportunities — but for the most part, your thinking is wrong. While having a law degree may offer you more credibility, knowledge, connections, etc., overall, if you got a law degree and don’t end up using it, it’s really just a big waste of money and time.

Not using your law degree and applying to other jobs may also prompt potential employers to question your dedication to their company should they hire you. So if you’re thinking of going to law school but don’t want to be a lawyer, you may want to forget adding those two letter after your name. In this case, J.D. stands for “Just Don’t.”

3. Law School Is Boring.

You probably had classes in undergrad that you didn’t particularly enjoy and found boring — whether it was because of the professor, the content matter, or something else — and that will be the case in law school, too. But that doesn’t mean you can classify law school as a whole as “boring.”

Some of the text may be dry and you may find some of the topics boring, but if you’re not able to get through your law school classes, you may want to reconsider going into law — because much of your first years as a lawyer will be spent reading documents, researching cases, and overall take place outside of a courtroom.

4. You’ll Have Time To Figure Things Out In Law School.

Law school is not three years that you can spend figuring out what you want to do with your life — so if you didn’t figure that out in undergrad, don’t plan to go to law school to figure it out. Besides being an expensive stall, when you’re in law school, you need to already have an idea of where you want to work and what kind of law you want to practice figured out by the end of your first semester. That’s because your summer jobs and internships in law school (and before that, your undergraduate law internships) are super important as they’ll affect your offers and job prospects after you graduate.

So if you don’t know what you want to do with your law degree, you should put off enrolling in law school and take the time to figure out whether you want a law degree and what you want to do with it — because you won’t have time to consider your options in law school before some important decisions have to be made.

5. Attending Law School Means Forfeiting A Social Life.

Going to law school is a huge commitment and as such, you’ll devote a lot of time and effort into your studies and academics. But just like your undergrad years, your time in law school won’t be all classes and work — especially if you make yourself a schedule and give yourself time to do fun activities and hang with friends.

Many of your law school classmates will turn into friends as you navigate law school together. You’ll support each other, study together, provide competition, become connections, and relax and unwind together, too. You may not have as much or the same social life you had in college but being in law school doesn’t mean you’ll forfeit having a social life or a life outside of school altogether.

If you’re thinking about or planning on going to law school, know that there are a lot of myths out there about law school, as well as what being a lawyer is like. So do your research because it might affect your decision to attend law school and become a lawyer — and to any myths you may have heard about law school, let your first instinct be to say “I object!”

Learn more about Kaplan’s test prep options and start building the confidence you need for Test Day.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format