law school wasn't worth It - Lawyer reacts to underemployed grads with debt

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#lawschool #studentloans #legalcareer #lawyer #attorney #LSAT #businessinsider #underemployed #debt #seattlelaw #pacelaw #marylandlaw
Judy the RU-vid Lawyer, a graduate of UC Berkeley and Georgetown University Law Center, discusses two recent Business Insider articles about law school graduates - one about a University of Maryland law school graduate who failed the bar exam twice, and another about a Seattle University law school graduate who could not find a lawyer job and is saddled with over $340,000 of student loan debt. An older Business Insider interview with an underemployed T20 law school graduate is then discussed, as well as a recent youtube video by "efoshizzle." The disenchanted Pace law school grad made a video first entitled, Don't go to law school.
These are important true stories of law school graduates that must be told and shared. Open Q&A follows.

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5 авг 2022

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Комментарии : 142

@TimEatsandTravels 2 года назад

Thank you for shedding light across the entire spectrum of the legal profession. Like in your opening, we only ever hear of the success stories but never of those who struggle.

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Thanks, Tim!

@criminallaw9573 2 года назад

A lot of very gullible people go to law school for the wrong reasons, and end up wasting 3Y of their lives, and going deep into debt, for a degree that is worthless. In my state, even getting into the Public Defender's Office is simply impossible for most. People who can't figure out what to do with their college degrees, their careers, and their lives think that Law School will solve their problems, when in reality it only makes thing worse for most of them these days.

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Thank you for your comments and joining in the livestream. Definitely, people need to do their research before figuring out whether going to a certain law school is likely to pay off, especially if they're going to have to take on student loan debt. This was a lot of information & a long livestream, but I hope that it helps save some people.

@robertafierro5592 Год назад

There ya go!

@Redpill-lv4it 5 месяцев назад

You described a JD as "worthless." That is a huge thing to say, and I believe you. It's amazing how the value of a professional degree like that has been eroded so rapidly that someone like you is talking about this stuff publicly!

@criminallaw9573 5 месяцев назад

I mean, when there are 10 ABA-accredited law schools in one state (Pennsylvania) then yeah, a JD is worthless. That means like 1,500 new JD's every 12 months trying to find jobs as lawyers--the state might, possibly, have jobs for 1/10 of them. And folks say just go to another state and find work, well, going from PA to Virginia, with its 8 law schools, again, good luck with that. Or tiny DC with half-a-dozen law schools. Yes, a JD in 2024 is literally worthless for most new grads, who will never find a job practicing law in their lives. It just enriches greedy law schools, professors, Deans etc.@@Redpill-lv4it

@thomasryan2679 13 дней назад

Ouch, the truth hurts. Thank you.

@harleyd9857 Год назад

Sorry, but I got I the Army at 17 years old in 1996, and now I’m retired. I started Law School two years ago, and GI Bill sent me a letter after my first year for the VA saying I’m not eligible. So I have one year of Law School around $48k that the GI Bill said I was eligible for, and sent another letter after saying they are not. Be wary about the military and their their promises to pay your educational needs.

@aalegalfocus Год назад

Sorry to hear this. I hope your law school experience pays off!

@roachtoasties 2 года назад

I skimmed through this video, but it's more than just law school where people get into debt and regret it. There are plenty of other degree and career paths where people feel the same. As for myself, things went differently. I went to college while working just to finish getting a degree. It was at a California State University campus. The one in Northridge. The fees were much cheaper than now, so I finished with basically no debt. I got a BA in geography. What can you do with a geography degree? I still don't know, but I eventually became an information technology analyst. I'm involved with a lot of software development. I didn't feel I had the aptitude to get a computer science degree, but had enough knack to learn things on my own, plus acquire skills within my employment. An aberration? Maybe but maybe not. A co-worker/friend of mine did almost exactly the same. I say this, because getting a degree doesn't not lock you in a career for life that degree is in. It's other things to. It's your own ambitions, and maybe a little luck, that will guide your success.

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Thanks for watching this and commenting. Glad you were wise & didn't take on a bunch of student loans.

@rembo183 2 года назад

Law School is big business and there are too many financially strapped graduates unable to get good paying jobs. It was hard for me to find satisfaction 50 years ago! I joined the Marines as a as Jag officer when it was unpopular! Today it’s difficult to get that job. Demand is still high and supply is also high. You’d think demand would be low but the law schools still try and lead people to believe there is an abundance of good jobs waiting for graduates. People need to think twice and lower their expectations! It’s very expensive, very time consuming and hard to find employment especially satisfying employment. Just ask new lawyers how they feel! I was lucky because my family paid my way and I still hated my first job with a corporate law firm. I did have a wonderful career as a public defender but I managed my expectations and chose fun over money! However most cops made more than me! They also had better retirement and other benefits. Law firms want “slave” hourly work and have high turnover. Most new lawyers change jobs soon and often. Public service is probably more popular than ever.

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Are you retired now? If so, congratulations! Thanks for sharing your experience.

@rembo183 2 года назад

@@aalegalfocus - Yes I retired in 2014 after 40 years as a public defender. I loved being a criminal defense attorney…as a PD. Too many private attorneys adopted a “Saul Goodman” approach. Thanks 🙏🏻.

@criminallaw9573 Год назад

Law schools are extremely dishonest institutions, run by profoundly dishonest people. They were lying to their own students back when I attended in the early 1990's and they are lying more and more today. You said in your post that "the law schools still try and lead people to believe there is an abundance of good jobs waiting for graduates." That is absolutely true, and law schools have literally been sued for fraud by their own graduates for promising them jobs that don't exist. Now, if the lie is this big, and this obvious, and so well known that people post about it online, why do so many people fall for it and attend very expensive, time consuming law schools every year, only to end up unemployed and deeply in deb post-graduation? The lies count on the marks having "Confirmation Bias" aka "wishful thinking". They students desperately want to believe that their law degree will lead to multiple job offers with great pay, and all the law school has to do is give them info the confirms their pre-existing belief. Any good con artists will tell you that the easiest con of all is to convince the mark of something he already wants to believe. Why did so many people fall for the "Nigerian Prince e-mail scam"? Because they WANTED to believe that there as a big pile of money out there for them, if they would only pay some "processing fees."

@criminallaw9573 Год назад

Here is another lie the Law Schools use: So the poor dupe gets into law school, earnestly believing that it will lead to a six figure job with a big, prestigious law firm post-graduation. Pretty early into the first semester, he learns from second and third year students that 90 percent of the class will never even get an interview for a summer job with such a firm. Those jobs are reserved for the top 5-10 percent of the class, preferably if they also make The Law Review. So the hapless mark gets his no-so-hot grades in early February, when he has already paid for both semesters and it seems like it's too late to drop out. . .BUT WAIT! The Law School Career Services Office will tell the hapless rube, that if he DIDN"T make top ten percent/Law Review, but is top 1/3 & Space Law Journal, well, that's pretty much the same thing! Factually, telling a potential employer that you are in the top 32.523 of your class, and write for the Journal of Riparian Rights, or the Space Law Journal or whatever idiotic waste of time "Secondary Journal" you write for will only make the employer laugh before he discards your resume, but again, due to Confirmation Bias, the idiot will tell himself, and all his friend that he "got onto a Journal" and will get a great job. I have literally offered under-employed young lawyer 25 per hour to re-shingle my roof, as opposed to the $23 per hour they earn doing Temporary Document Review Projects, but haven't gotten any takers yet. I do need someone to mow my lawn, though, perhaps that' s a job for a modern JD to handle for me.

@rembo183 Год назад

@@criminallaw9573 - Yep! There is no easy path to a good job. That was true 50 years ago when I graduated. Corporate law firms wanted the grads from th best schools and the jobs were low paying and required “slave labor.” I was lucky to work as a public defender which I loved! Money was not my goal, just a job I liked. Subsistence plus happiness helping people navigate the system for justice.

@robertafierro5592 Год назад

Nobody cares until it happens to them. That's the way the world is..one more thing: the goal in life should be more about INTEGRITY and helping others who need it, rather than attaining alot of money.

@idkwhy77 Год назад

thats why i wanted to study law but it seems so hard to break in ;((

@dawndacquisto 2 года назад

Wow! I am so glad I listened to this. Sad for him. I am super happy I didn't pursue law. I enjoyed my career in art and design. Still interested in law, but as a hobby. I actually planned it to be the other way around, but wow, very enlightening!

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Glad you chose a career that was satisfying and worked out well. It's a big risk to take out so much debt for a legal education. Thanks for watching.

@dawndacquisto 2 года назад

Hey Judy! I had planned to go to law school but life (and art) got in the way. Replaying bc this is interesting!

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Hope you enjoyed your career!

@mauiswift6391 2 года назад

Thanks Judy quite eye opening!

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Thanks for joining in the livestream!

@Jestfoster 2 года назад

College education within the U.S is becoming less and less viable for most people, as there are only a small amount of majors that are worth taking on with these substantial fees. Graduate school will just exacerbate this -- especially if you already have debt from undergrad.

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

True. Thanks for watching this.

@criminallaw9573 6 месяцев назад

That is true. In the state where I live, the governor worked with the legislature, and the eliminated the college degree requirement from a whole lot of jobs in state government. So instead of wasting 4Y of your life and a couple hundred thousand dollars, you can just graduate from high school and get a good, well-paying job.

@aalegalfocus 6 месяцев назад

@criminallaw9573 did you see that Legal Aid job posting I put in my Community tab? $50k starting pay- maybe more depending on experience and they want someone bilingual. Who can afford that unless they're from a rich family, want to have roommates & live like a college student, or have a spouse/partner who will help pay the bills.

@criminallaw9573 6 месяцев назад

So I did a jail visit today, and they had a sign advertising job for Correctional Officers that was higher than that. Where I live, public school teachers start out making at lest $55,000 a year, and there are lots of experienced teachers with Master's Degrees who earn six figures.@@aalegalfocus

@criminallaw9573 6 месяцев назад

I try, hard, to have sympathy for people who make the stupid choice to attend law school these days. . .but. . .if you're dumb enough to go to law school in a state with 10 law schools (Pennsylvania) or eight law schools (Virginia) or six law schools crammed into the tiny District of Columbia, whose fault is it when you can't find a job upon graduation?

@rvegas81 Год назад

I enjoyed law school, but I had a good sized discount and scholarship. I would not pay 200k for it. Thanks Judy!

@aalegalfocus Год назад

Are you working in house now? Thanks for watching.

@rembo183 2 года назад

The law profession has dramatically changed over the last 50 years. The number of accredited law schools has grown astronomically and there simply way too many in most states. In addition there are numerous correspondence type schools in addition to the cheesy ones. So its tough to even get a decent job as a lawyer today. Starting salaries are not great compared to other career jobs. Cops, firefighters and other businesses typically pay more than new lawyers get. Also the jobs aren’t Leah’s what you think. You’re working long hours getting paid low wages per hour. Before taking out a loan people should research on the market for lawyers and the low pay for most attorneys these days.

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Definitely. When I worked for small firms, I was constantly seeing clients who made more than I did, and some of them didn't even have a college degree. It was demoralizing. Law is certainly not a ticket to an upper middle class lifestyle. Choosing law school instead of medical or dental school (like many of my relatives) caused a decline in my socioeconomic status. And getting back to the Dan Markel-Adelson case-- we see how much more Charlie, a dentist who went to Nova Southeastern and by all reports barely graduated, made than his valedictorian sister who went to law school. No one should be gung ho cheering everyone to apply to law school.

@rembo183 2 года назад

@@aalegalfocus You’re 100% correct in your observations. I’m watching Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. If you haven’t watched these on Netflix you should because they’re hilarious! The “Saul Goodman” character is funny and sadly is too close to many real attorneys I’ve known. Criminal defense attorney and PI lawyers are most visible in these negative satirical shows. The truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

I've watched a little bit of Better Call Saul but don't have time to watch shows now with youtube plus work. People need to see more of the "scraping by" quality of life many law school grads experience.

@rembo183 2 года назад

@@aalegalfocus - Yep

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Please let me know if you'd like to be a guest on a future livestream show. Thanks!

@jamesjwalsh Год назад

It's taken me forever to get around to watching this but I'm glad I persevered. Real eye opener for dummies like me who have no familiarity with this strange, elitist, cruel area of life. Thanks for taking the time to make this, Judy. Now I'm intrigued and will watch the Fordham University vid next.

@aalegalfocus Год назад

Thanks for watching. Were you thinking of going to law school?

@jamesjwalsh Год назад

@@aalegalfocus Even in the '70's I had just enough brain cells to know I would've ended up like that poor soul from the magazine article. Related to this, I will leave a comment at your Fordham vid when I can watch it. Sort of a personal connection.

@aalegalfocus Год назад

No doubt, there are some people who enjoy their jobs & succeed over the years. Unfortunately the tuition/costs of attendance have skyrocketed in the last 15 years. It doesn't justify the pie in the sky chance of making big money with a prestigious job, unless the person has family money to begin with & money to blow.

@Paul-vr6ri 4 месяца назад

Most law schools teach absolutely nothing that actually helps practicing law, and are often taught by instructors who are not practicing attorneys or even have a licence in the jurisdiction they are teaching. As far as student loan debt goes, if you go into student loan debt why should everyone else (the government) be responsible for paying off a decision that you made to help yourself. I don't see politicians rushing to pay back truck drivers for going to truck driving school . How about grow up and take responsibility for your own bad decisions

@thebuttermilkgirlisback 2 месяца назад

All of school is big business, not just law school.

@jeffweetwoot 2 года назад

Love the videos! What software do you use when recording your screen?

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Thanks- I use Streamyard & finally paid for a logo free option with other nice perks, e.g. the different background options.

@bejornv 10 месяцев назад

Thank God the military will pay for my education. It seems the largest factor is how much debt one gets into vs. the actual skills obtained.

@aalegalfocus 10 месяцев назад

Congratulations & thank you for your service!

@wenkaiyang1487 10 месяцев назад

So much money blown to the military but little money to support education. Astounding to me.

@aalegalfocus 10 месяцев назад

People suffer severe financial distress due to student loans.

@barrettlori9249 2 года назад

Very insightful Judy, Glad I'm just a law Nerd ☺️✌️🇨🇦

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Thanks for watching!

@Lifegoals4me 6 месяцев назад

You’re never going to please everyone and no one subscriber is going to love every one of your videos! This was an excellent video with real high-yield information. Honestly, it could apply to many different professions! Unfortunately, many put more thought into what to order off the menu than what degree to pursue of important decisions like starting a family! I used to work with a career development program with high school kids and 3 of the assignments involved picking a profession, after picking the profession I required they do research as to all facets like costs, potential pay, ect..then they had to write a paper and I loved how their thinking evolved just by doing these simple assignments. There are several ways to get across the bridge and often times I could convince kids to consider the junior college for tech training over private tech schools. The popular aspirations were to get an art degree to run an art gallery or become a basketball player. I used to think unless they were like Charolette from “Sex and the City,” that was not realistic, lol and playing for the NBA is even more challenging. Regardless, give yourself some grace, you did good- this was a show worth watching ♥️

@aalegalfocus 6 месяцев назад

Thanks for tuning in! Definitely, young people need to explore many options and consider the pros and cons of different professions, especially if it involves taking on a lot of debt.

@Maplecook 2 года назад

Here for it, Judy! =)

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Thanks!

@torycook1215 Год назад

Sounds like he did not keep his day job while he was in law school.

@aalegalfocus Год назад

No, I think he quit his social worker job to go to law school full-time. Bad decision to take on so much debt.

@dchinsee Год назад

I feel like it’s always great to revisit this topic haha and get different opinions

@aalegalfocus Год назад

Thanks for watching. Just trying to spread the message.

@economicallyshort5184 5 месяцев назад

25:04 right - ask for an accommodation, but then it becomes a character and fitness question.

@airdownthere9525 2 года назад

Great video, thanks Judy. I've been working in tax in an accounting firm for a few years with my law degree paid off. Would a tax llm from NYU / Georgetown be worth it? Tuition around 60k.

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

I don't think so, unless your employer's going to pay the tuition or you'd receive a big enough pay raise with an LLM to make it worthwhile. Then again, I don't have much experience/knowledge of people with tax LLMs from Georgetown/NYU, other than one person who got the degree from Georgetown over 25 years ago. You'd probably get much better info from someone who recently got an LLM in tax from those schools. Thanks for watching and good luck!

@Lfam-ce5fw Год назад

Do you know if the situation as you described in this video applies to Canada as well, or only being a lawyer in the USA?

@aalegalfocus Год назад

This has to do with the USA. I don't know much about the legal job market in Canada, although I have a cousin who is a prosecutor in Canada and a cousin-in-law who works around Vancouver.

@danilucita22 4 месяца назад

The situation applies to Canada and Australia. I am a DACA student figuring out what to do with my legal status here in the US. My dream was to become an attorney and researched about the situation in Canada and Australia. I even had a Canadian attorney told me how saturated the market is in Canada from US attorneys trying to find a job. There is a whole process for US attorneys to become attorneys there without going to Law School again. I also found a non-profit in Australia from an attorney trying to open students’ eye from going to law school.

@criminallaw9573 Год назад

Law schools seek out gullible people who have unrealistic expectations about what a JD can do for them. They tell these people "some of our students land high-paying jobs with big, prestigious law firms before they even graduate". Then the mark signs the dotted line, enrolls in the law school, pays 50-60K in first year tuition, never mind textbooks, living expenses etc., and learns that 90 percent of the school's student body will never even interview for a summer position at a large law firm in their entire lives. Those jobs are only for folks in the top 10 percent of the class (top 5 percent for very selective law firms". They also tell themselves "well, if I don't do well in my first semester I can always drop out" not understanding that law schools usually refuse to release first semester grades for 1L's until a month into the second semester, AFTER tuition has been paid, books bought, housing locked in, etc. They let law schools convince them that they can easily get a job in Navy JAG like Tom Cruise in a few good men, when often not one single law school grad in the entire state will get such a job in any given year. They do not understand that for a law student, sending out over 100 job applications for a call back or two, No Interviews, No Job Offers is perfectly normal. . ..while there are billboards on the side of the road offering large cash bonuses for Nurses with 2-4 years of education. If you really do want to get a good job, don't even consider going to law school. Not in 2022 or later. It's a sucker's bet. Don't be gullible with your own future.

@aalegalfocus Год назад

Thanks for continuing to watch & give your insights about the hazards of going to any law school (not to mention taking on over $100k of debt to attend). Hope you are doing well!

@criminallaw9573 Год назад

@@aalegalfocus Thank you. I am sorry to be so negative about law school. I love the legal profession. It worked out great for my father, and it worked out very well for me, and for some of the people I attended law school with, or who went a few years after I did. The problem is this: the legal job market was great in the 70's, well, late 60's/early 70's when my father got a JD. The legal job market, in my state, was good in the mid 1990's, when I graduated, from the best law school in my state. In fact, the legal job market was so good that I made more money doing temporary "document review work" than I did at regular legal jobs. Back in those days, I easily found doc review jobs that paid $35.00 per hour, with time-and-a-half overtime, in 1996 dollars, in 2005 dollars, that sort of thing. That's probably like 45 bucks per hour, with over 70 per hour for overtime in 2022 dollars, due to inflation.

@criminallaw9573 Год назад

I used to joke that due to highly-paid document review positions--if you worked over 60 hours a week, which is quite feasible doing document review--I made more money when I was unemployed than when I had a job. I was ecstatic. I had a spouse who got benefits, so all I needed was cash, and working 60 plus hours a week, getting time and a half for every hour over 40 was amazing. Older lawyers counseled the younger one to limit their OT because, for tax purposes, once you start making that much money, the IRS takes so much that it's not worth doing much over 60 per work. I had lawyers in government positions and small law firms telling me that I made much more than they did on a weekly basis. It was great.

@criminallaw9573 Год назад

But then, something called "natural-language software" became implemented. Swiftly lawyers were replaced by computer programs. Also, "document-review jobs" were outsourced to lawyers in India and other places. So, I went back to the conventional workforce--only to find that low salaries, miniscule annual raises, and small or non-existent annual bonuses were the norm. One law firm I worked at gave gift cards out as an annual bonus, plus free tokens to play arcade games at Dave and Busters for the mandatory Office Christmas Party. Things got very bad, very quickly, in the legal job market starting sometime after 2000 and have only gotten worse since. Don't go to law school to get a good job. You would be better off buying lottery tickets.

@aalegalfocus Год назад

Yep, that all sounds like my experience, as well as what I heard about other attorneys. Also, there are plenty of young attorneys who might be lucky/elite enough to get well-paying, big law firm jobs, yet got dumped by their firms in less than 5 years. They too are suddenly left scrambling. Some people I know experienced depression, financial &/or marital problems from the sudden drop in their status/pay/employability.

@Msangel06 Год назад

My law school student loans were just discharged by Biden. Over $300K 🙌🏾⚖️ I haven’t passed the bar exam or MPRE. I began law school in 2013. Graduated in 2015. I wasted the last 10 years of my life. .

@aalegalfocus Год назад

Congratulations on being done with your student loans! How is everything going with your legal career?

@OmarOsman98 Год назад

@@aalegalfocusShe said that she didn’t even pass the Bar, your question doesn’t make sense

@aalegalfocus 11 месяцев назад

Ah... sorry I didn't read her comment carefully. I hope the law graduate has found a fruitful career path.

@lanbai6158 2 года назад

Hi. Thank you for the videos. It seems that lot of people echo the idea that they are hesitant of going to Duke law school because they are afraid that they will drop to being around middle or slightly below middle or not top in the rankings, but from what I read from the stats it seems that when it comes to Duke calibre schools people from even the top 60 to 70 can get into big law or other competitive fields so I wonder why are they are so worried to the point of going somewhere lower ranked. It seems that even if they end up in the middle of the pack they should still have a good chance of getting into a competitive institution if they go to Duke calibre schools.

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

I'm not up to speed on current Duke employment stats but it is a highly ranked school. A recent Duke law graduate is expected to be a livestream guest in a few weeks!

@lanbai6158 2 года назад

Sorry,i mean the school like duke, michigen, berkeley etc.

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Those are still very highly ranked schools though. I think it's worse once you get below T10 and aren't in the top half of the class. The lower ranked the school, the higher one needs to be in class rank to have a shot at the higher paying, prestigious jobs.

@criminallaw9573 2 года назад

@@aalegalfocus At most law schools, OCI (On Campus Interviews) and large law firms generally are only interested in the top 10 percent of the class. Some particularly selective firms will only hire people in the top 5 percent. Folks need to figure this out BEFORE they commit to law school, understanding that 9/10 of them will not even be interviewed for a really well-paying job.

@barrettlori9249 2 года назад

Judy just a thought, if attorneys are reluctant to come on your program, maybe the view point of a family member of an attorney, and the compromises made, might be of interest

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

I don't think the spouses would come on a show spilling the beans if his or her lawyer spouse didn't want to be on.

@barrettlori9249 2 года назад

@@aalegalfocus Spilling the beans?! LoL Didn't think of it that way

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Yeah I think many attorneys working for others don't want details about their lives or careers out there. Women have been less likely to want to talk on livestreams too.

@Archive41024 2 года назад

Do you recommend young people to go into your profession? I am young and think being a lawyer is a good job for me. What i don't like about it is the debt and high risk associated with studying for the job. Huge student loan debt seems like a bad financial decision to me, even if lawyers have an impressive salary after it is paid off. Has your career choice benefited you in the long run? Thanks for reading this.

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

I addressed it in the livestream. If you can get into one of the very top law schools and have had experience in the legal profession to know it's something you really want to do, it could be worth it. However, even some people who go to top 25 law schools wind up with poor outcomes. Good luck no matter what you decide to do!

@wavetools5235 Год назад

Lady Judy You're Awesome !!!:)

@aalegalfocus Год назад

Thanks!

@d.rabbit7276 11 месяцев назад

Another horrific situation is when students (particularly ones with young families) take out additional loans to live on during law school/graduate school.

@aalegalfocus 11 месяцев назад

Definitely, like the man profiled in one of the articles who took out lots of debt when he had a wife and 2 children. Turned out to be a horrible decision. Thanks for watching this.

@d.rabbit7276 11 месяцев назад

@@aalegalfocusMy pleasure, you make good material. The Albuquerque story is troubling. My grandfather died (I was raised by him) feeling that I had it made because I was in a good profession. Steve's father likely died happy thinking "my baby boy is gonna be alright." Yet he's in the same situation as my HS dropout unemployed cousin with 6 kids and 4 baby daddies. This is just horrible and I would be in some of these similar situations if I was stuck with all that debt. There's no way I would tell these kiddies today to do law school. Until they course correct this cost issue, I will continue to say this. If you want to do politics, stack your bachelors degree with 6-8 courses of government/political science from your local community college. Hell, Lauren Boebert failed her GED multiple times and George Santos doesn't have a high school diploma either. (Neither party vetted him, not his political party or his enemies) And you're absolutely right about lawyers fearing being vocal/seen because of possible reprisal. Although I'm solo, I'm still at the behest of morality clauses with these mining companies. They encompass "morality" with publicly speaking the mildest of critiques of the company or industry. Unfortunately, modern lawyers are doing anything to make decent money during the lean times. I tell ya, working solo can jump from months of scarcity in a desolate wasteland, to your cup runneth over within an hour. And to remain profitable you almost have to have a spouse/significant other to be your paralegal during times of abundance.

@aalegalfocus 11 месяцев назад

Very true. I was tutoring kids and the SAT/LSAT when I started my solo practice because business was slow. What kind of cases do you handle? Do you think you'll stick with being a solo? I'm still chugging along after 17+ years, but I feel incredibly lucky & privileged.

@bigred0079 7 месяцев назад

An undergraduate degree and jd degree what did they actually learn, you don't walk into a practice and apply they seek out the top 10% of the class, also an accomplished resume is helpful........

@stevehobbs390 2 года назад

They would have been better off becoming teachers. The price for an undergraduate degree is cheaper. In my state teachers start at a minimum of $50,000 and a senior teacher can make over $80,000 a year. In my states most teachers work 181 days a year. Also, it's easy to find a job as a teacher. I live in the state of New Mexico. The cost of housing is very reasonable.

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Thanks for the info. I know some lawyers who turned to teaching or even substitute teaching to make ends meet. I also know of teachers who retired with really nice pensions.

@dilbert113 2 года назад

@@aalegalfocus Where I live, there a big ads on the side of the road with dollar signs on them, promising large cash signing bonuses for nurses. You can become a nurse in 2 or 4 years, depending on what kind of nurse you want to be. I honestly don't believe that many people in law school want to work. They know, or reasonably should know, that there are dozens of fields with great job opportunities that require as little as a year, or two, or even 4 of study. Instead, they willfully choose to get a degree in a field that is completely glutted, knowing they may very well not land any kind of legal job at all with their JD. I think a lot of these folks just want to live the good life without having to work for 3Y, funding their lifestyle with student loans that they will never pay back.

@aalegalfocus 11 месяцев назад

Plus it sounds so prestigious to be in law school! Thanks for your comments. I just saw them today.

@economicallyshort5184 5 месяцев назад

19:35 barbri is ~$4,000.

@seleneIrisRegisteredNurse 3 месяца назад

Hello, I am a big fan of your channel and I enjoy this videos about the reality of law school. I am not deterred but knowledge is power. Some things are not a good fit for some people and there is no magic pill to make one rich. Some people plan on law school with magical thinking and they end up getting a rude awakening. I am returning to school to study law Fall 2024 and I will be a success. I have a plan and no interest in Big law. I plan to work with a mentor and start my own law and lobbying firm. I am going to fight for justice in healthcare.

@aalegalfocus 3 месяца назад

Best wishes to you! Thanks for tuning in.

@korenlee 2 дня назад

going to school and ending up into debt peonage lol they don't tell u that part. very common. 20 years to pay off a 3 year public degree lol

@danielsemmens6640 2 года назад

After listening to everyone do what you do jobs are a means to an end the the perspective is learning how to breath my dear Americans don’t let your unachieved or achieved thins eat your soul up,keep breathing

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

Thanks for watching!

@torycook1215 Год назад

Depending on his age, could he join the JAG corp? Good starting position.

@aalegalfocus Год назад

From what I heard, getting a position with JAG is really competitive, harder than getting a federal court clerkship. He might not be able to move again due to his spouse.

@kennethfong3941 Год назад

It feels so difficult to make a living as a lawyer compared to MD or dentist..... dentist can make at least $200k when they graduated. smh

@aalegalfocus Год назад

Yes & even if they graduated from lackluster schools.

@OmarOsman98 Год назад

This is propaganda

@aalegalfocus Год назад

What is? People are sharing their own opinions and experiences, especially in those articles highlighted in the livestream.

@drewlsy 4 месяца назад

As a minority in order to equalize one's self to white society achieving academic success is a way to garner a form of respect and stature and honorary white status. Becoming a lawyer or achieveing a JD as a hyphenated person of color has a much deeper implication under these parameters of social equalization. You are missing the point of why Asian Americans seek higher education in general; it isn't only about the money or quality of life or professional disappointment.

@jonnieinbangkok 2 года назад

"Will Litigate For Food" 😆😆😆😆

@aalegalfocus 2 года назад

That lawyer in the 3rd article mentioned wasn't even working for food at one of his jobs! He just flat out worked for free to get his foot in the door.

@dilbert113 2 года назад

@@aalegalfocus I honestly expect to see reverse summer associate positions, where students pay law firms big bucks for the privilege of working there during their 2L summer, hoping to get hired post-graduation. I am completely serious about that.

@jamesjwalsh Год назад

@@dilbert113 Like what's coming at banks, some say: negative interest rates. Translation? You pay them to park your money.

@criminallaw9573 Год назад

@@jamesjwalsh People watch these TV shows and movies about lawyers, and use that as a reason to go to law school. They literally will say "I want to be like Elle Woods in 'Legally Blond', so I"m starting Law School this fall. I am honestly glad I decided to go to law school, that decision worked out really well for me, but that was because I went to the best law school in my state starting in the fall of 1992. The tuition was far lower, even adjusted for inflation, and the job market then bore no relation at all to the job market of today. One must understand, decisions that made sense 30 years ago are often catastrophically wrong today.

@aalegalfocus Год назад

Well, at least one pre-law student got mad and said I was just jealous when I told someone that I didn't think Harvard law was worth taking out $390k in loans. I did tell the original commenter to ask on lawfirms or lawyer groups on Reddit. The foolish commenter was instead telling the person to ask others who are in the prelaw groups. That's like the blind leading the blind.

@lanbai6158 10 месяцев назад

What about Doctors of optometry and Doctor of Physical Therapy compare to law school.

@aalegalfocus 10 месяцев назад

I'm not sure what the current job market is like for those graduates. A relative is an optometrist and never had a problem getting a real job. Being self-employed was difficult though.