4 ms·

I’ve done software for 15 years and am fortunate to soft-retire soon. I was considering my next career to be law. I’ve filed civil actions, patents and would wa

by leoqa 3y ago

I’ve done software for 15 years and am fortunate to soft-retire soon. I was considering my next career to be law. I’ve filed civil actions, patents and would want to do civil litigation for consumer rights. Any advice on how to go about getting a degree that is reasonably priced, getting experience? Is there industry knowledge around which (ideally online) school is the most legit?

flkiwi 3y ago
I have an n of 1, maybe approximating 2-4 with the anecdotes I've picked up from colleagues over the years, so I can't speak broadly to the law school market. I will say that I went to a state school of moderate rank (certainly not a glorious one) with the express goals of (1) spend as little as possible on (2) a fully reputable degree and (3) rank in the top 10 of my class. Despite the best efforts of the legislature of the state in question, I managed to get out of law school spending less on 3 years than top tier schools charge for 1 year. The only other things I would say are that the first semester is the most important in determining how you feed into the job market (assuming a traditional summer associate track) and the third year ... shouldn't exist. I would also have a concrete idea of what you want to accomplish (mine: combine the principles of software development with business experience and a risk management mindset to help companies find the best chance of success with their projects -- I have done everything from massively automating legal processes using developer tools to IP to privacy to infosec to dispute resolution .. it's been great). Just saying "I want to do transactions" or "I want to focus on international law or nonprofits" (admirable but cliche and absolutely not financially viable) is not enough. This isn't meant to criticize what you said about civil litigation at all--it's one part of a 4-line reply and not a personal statement--but what can YOU bring to the interests you want to serve? Oh, and the Bar Exam isn't as bad as everyone says it is. I wouldn't do it recreationally, but I've done project justification meetings with leadership that were more taxing.

by leoqa 3y ago

flkiwi 3y ago

I have an n of 1, maybe approximating 2-4 with the anecdotes I've picked up from colleagues over the years, so I can't speak broadly to the law school market. I will say that I went to a state school of moderate rank (certainly not a glorious one) with the express goals of (1) spend as little as possible on (2) a fully reputable degree and (3) rank in the top 10 of my class. Despite the best efforts of the legislature of the state in question, I managed to get out of law school spending less on 3 years than top tier schools charge for 1 year. The only other things I would say are that the first semester is the most important in determining how you feed into the job market (assuming a traditional summer associate track) and the third year ... shouldn't exist. I would also have a concrete idea of what you want to accomplish (mine: combine the principles of software development with business experience and a risk management mindset to help companies find the best chance of success with their projects -- I have done everything from massively automating legal processes using developer tools to IP to privacy to infosec to dispute resolution .. it's been great). Just saying "I want to do transactions" or "I want to focus on international law or nonprofits" (admirable but cliche and absolutely not financially viable) is not enough. This isn't meant to criticize what you said about civil litigation at all--it's one part of a 4-line reply and not a personal statement--but what can YOU bring to the interests you want to serve? Oh, and the Bar Exam isn't as bad as everyone says it is. I wouldn't do it recreationally, but I've done project justification meetings with leadership that were more taxing.