Sometimes I have to take a breath and remind myself of why all this studying, hours, tears and heartburn is worth it. For me, the drive comes from envisioning myself helping employers and their employees stay aligned with the proper Labor and employment laws (a passion of mine) and having a lucrative career that can take care of my family for generations. What is your motivation for studying? Why do you want to be a lawyer?
18
134 comments
I've always dreamed of having a solid excuse for becoming an alcoholic, and this career path lines up with that dream nicely.
On topic, you are honestly the first person I've ever met with any sort of drive or passion for labor laws haha, I imagine you will be fairly successful since you have that going for you!
I want to be a immigration attorney. I want to be regarded as one of the best. Motivation comes from growing up undocumented and seeing the how much better the system could be for immigrants.
I don't know that I really "want" to be a lawyer. I would probably prefer a career in finance, but for many reasons that's not practical for me. I think becoming a lawyer is a practical occupation that matches my skills well. I think it will also put me in the position to make good money while opening up more opportunities for what I want to do in the future. For me, it's about practicality, opportunity, and a chance to make some money. If I don't end up securing a big law position, I'll probably leave the profession and do something else entirely. #biglawlorbust
:mrgreen:
My motivation for studying for the LSAT, like studying anything for me, is inherent. I just enjoy the challenge. Even if I don't end up going to law school, I'll still feel like this test has helped me think more critically. Plus, I've met some of the most awesome, kindhearted people here on 7Sage. This community motivates me so much (3(/p)
When I first when to law school (23 years ago!), I wanted to WIN. Win court cases, win arguments, etc. That's really all I though about back then. My schooling was interrupted when I had kids (finished two years, took a year off, but then couldn't afford to finish). Over the years, I kind of left the law career behind: I had two kids to raise, eventually as a single parent, and a full time job and business.
Now one kid is finishing college and the second finishing high school. Both are transgender. I thought we'd come a long way in my life time with LGBT rights (and we have), but the last couple years have shown me how fragile this progress really is, especially for transgender individuals. I felt hopeless, wishing I could do something to help not just my kids, but anyone who needs someone to fight for their civil rights.
On the day the "muslim ban" was enacted, and I saw all those lawyers at the airports trying to help, I was reminded suddenly that maybe there was something I could do after all. So here I am, soon to be 49, and heading back to law school for the second time when many of my coworkers are looking forward to retirement. I just know this is something I have to do, though. I hope I can do some good in the time I have left.
I just read all that and it sounds super cheesy haha! But it's the truth, so I'm sticking with it.
I decided at a young age to become an immigration lawyer. Seeing my father until this day yearning for legal status has driven me to help undocumented people as much as possible. We have spent thousands, been ripped off by attorneys, and have been through so much heartache that if he does not obtain legal status by the time I graduate law school, I'm going to represent him myself.
Lack of home ownership keeps minorities poorer than whites and is a significant contribution to the racial issues that persist in America. I will learn the dynamics of the housing industry and find ways to implement laws that will level the playing field across the nation in regard to racism and discrimination in the housing industry. I plan to continue my work as a public servant and one day serve my country as the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development as I am one hundred percent committed to seeing a positive change in the housing industry in America!
After surveying my life options, I decided that Law, an industry plagued with alcoholism, hyper-competitive work environments, and crippling debt, was the best way to indulge my raging sense of masochism :smile:
So many sincere and positive responses. I love it.
What a seemingly boring, mind-numbing profession to get ourselves into. Sometimes I feel like I'm just going with the flow of what society dictates. Other times I feel like this is the only shot I got to make a financial and social difference for myself and my family. I'm damn tired of working shitty meaningless jobs that provide little incentive for growth. I hope that being a lawyer will help my self and my family get a leg up in this world. Or maybe it won't. who knows. I'm gonna fucking do it because I feel like there's a lot of people who need attorneys and I can envision myself being a competent one. Great question. Y'all are gonna be awesome lawyers.
I came into college wanting to be a doctor. However, within my first year at university I was exposed to so many problems in the world that I personally had never been exposed to before - namely inequality (whether that be economic, social, etc.).
I decided I wanted to go into law because I want to get involved in government and public-policy work to see if I couldn't help remedy some of those inequities. Law school felt like the reasonable next step after undergrad towards that goal :)
@pcainti665 said:
Contract law. I want everything to do with contract law if I can.
And because many people have told me I couldn't do it...sooooo here I am!
Oh my gosh don't you just envision getting that diploma and dropping the mic on all those haters! I had a 'friend' who actually laughed in my face when I told her I wanted to be a lawyer. This ones for you kid.... * raises glass *
Former out of status immigrant here. The process of gaining residency was so convoluted and there are so many people out there trying to scam people who are desperate for help. Going through the process myself, I promised myself that if I successfully managed to gain residency, I would help others going through it.
Loving seeing everyone's answers. :)
Much like when I was in entering undergrad too, I haven't been able to narrow down precisely what I want to do with law. I have a couple of different passions, and neither of them are particularly lucrative haha. So I'm not sure if I want to go for one or the other, or something a little more practical (in-house counsel?). But law in general, because I think it is a good fit for how my brain works (logical, love to read, very into details, etc) and I need a jump start into the next phase in my career.
It's something I've dreamt about doing for a while, but never really thought it was possible for me financially or circumstantially. But in the last year or two, I've realized that a lot of those road blocks were psychological more than anything else. I'm the first in my family to graduate college, the only one who moved away into a big city, and it's obviously a massive undertaking. It's taken me a while to realize that law school isn't just for "those other people", but that I could do it too if I threw everything into it. Which is what brings me to 7sage and doing what I can to get a high LSAT. Need those doors opened for some scholarships! Fingers crossed, y'all.
@pcainti665 said:
I came into college wanting to be a doctor. However, within my first year at university I was exposed to so many problems in the world that I personally had never been exposed to before - namely inequality (whether that be economic, social, etc.).
I decided I wanted to go into law because I want to get involved in government and public-policy work to see if I couldn't help remedy some of those inequities. Law school felt like the reasonable next step after undergrad towards that goal :)
This. (3
Except, it took me 2.5 years of school to realize that becoming a physician was not the most ideal way to reduce health and educational disparities within minority communities. Also, for everyone who said I was too mousy and timid to be a lawyer, watch me.(/p)
Edit: Some of these answers are making me tear up. Y'all are some high-quality folks.
"I get paid to read, write, think, talk and argue—all things I would do anyway." I saw a similar question in Quora and this answer
I'm going to give a really cheesy & overused answer: to impact society in a beneficial way. I grew up marginalized for who I am and I've seen many people within my group and other marginalized groups discriminated against and impacted by racism, homophobia, islamophobia, anti-semitism, etc, and I've generally found my purpose in life through resisting white supremacy. Watching over and over again the amount of police officers getting away with killing innocent black people is not something I can just see and go on about my daily life normally as many people can. I've felt helpless for a long time, watching undocumented families being separated, innocent black people being killed, the infringement on Indigenous people's rights, the travel ban on Muslims, the acceptance of white supremacist and Neo-Nazi ideologies as normal. I don't want to feel helpless anymore, and that's what brought me to law :) I don't care about making a lot of money, not even one bit. Money would be great, but it's not my priority. I know going into civil rights law is unstable and doesn't necessarily mean I can make a super significant impact, but if I can just help on an individual level those dealing with these issues get what they deserve in court, that would be enough for me :) I gotta say, thank you for asking this question! I think it's good for me to remind myself of all this often because lately I've been getting sucked so much into LSAT world that I forget why I'm doing it all. I'm not perfectly law-minded nor do I have an affinity for logic as many people that decide to go into law have (though I enjoy it!), but what I am is very passionate.
Thought I wanted to work in corporate law but fell in love with criminal prosecution working at the court house. I believe DAs really impact the future of the criminal justice system and criminal justice reform . Hopefully one day I will be the likeable version of Angela from Power working on the high profile cases for the US Attorney's Office lol.
@idellapack15685 said:
I've always dreamed of having a solid excuse for becoming an alcoholic, and this career path lines up with that dream nicely.
On topic, you are honestly the first person I've ever met with any sort of drive or passion for labor laws haha, I imagine you will be fairly successful since you have that going for you!
Haha! regarding your first statement I feel like there are many easier ways to justify becoming an alcoholic as opposed to studying for the LSAT but hey do you lol
Second, IKR ... I'm definitely a unicorn. But working in HR for 6 years and seeing shitty employers treat their employees like shit will definitely do that to you :-P
Contract law. I want everything to do with contract law if I can.
And because many people have told me I couldn't do it...sooooo here I am!
I just want to say this thread has been so light and positive and I know I definitely needed this good read!
I really want to work in the Public Interest area, giving those who might not know they have access to legal help, or that their rights are being infringed upon in the first place seems like such a needed career. Veterans, abuse victims, those who don't have much, if any at all are always the most gracious and to me the most rewarding to help!
Labor law as well! I'm so excited to see that. I think I'm an activist at heart. If money were the sole motivation I would never get through this. My passion is to help leverage more bargaining power for employees in multinational corporations. I want to help not only on an individual/company level (health care, insurance, compensation, pensions, wage gap, social security) but also change practices by inadvertently changing the structure/practices of American businesses while I'm at it. Think income distribution.
Corporations promising big pensions to workers in exchange for 20 long years of low-wage pay and then slashing pensions by 60% when retirement comes around just breaks my heart. America is still young so we never know how things will turn out and what the trend will be!
Not solid on wanting to be a lawyer forever but I know the experience/precision of law will be invaluable for years to come.
Impact litigation for me. Working for the NAACP LDF would be an ideal outcome.
Back when I was a teenager, I used to just say "I want to work in international human rights" -- I soon found out that a career in that field doesn't really exist in blatant terms; it's too broad. I just knew I wanted to help people (I've worked in NPOs since high school).
I then came across environmental justice & sustainable development and found a real passion in it. The area of environmental justice that I want to be involved in focuses on how some people are unequally burdened by environmental degradation & global warming, namely First Nations populations (I'm from Canada) and other marginalized groups. An example locally is that some cities will intentionally choose their garbage dump locations in locations where they know people can't (afford to) fight back. More broadly, it also pertains to developing nations - for example, there is a small island called Kiribati in the south pacific that has lost many of its villages & islets due to rising sea levels, and the natives there (called I-Kiribati) are not sure if they will have a place to call home by 2100 ... despite the fact that their contribution to global warming levels on like 0%. Something interesting legally that was brought up was that if Kiribati is largely submerged by 2100 & geographically/physically no longer exists, but the government, culture & the people still do... does being "I-Kiribati" still exist?
It essentially highlights how those who contribute to climate change and other environmental issues the least, are usually the ones who end up being the most affected by it.
A lot of people call me naive for saying I want to go into law to give a voice to people who don't have the luxury, ability, money or education to stand up for themselves legally -- but honestly I don't really care! I think a drive to succeed is all that it takes. Whether that be directly aiding a client, giving people the resources they need to sustainably develop their nations, or influencing public policy (i.e. government), I hope I can make some sort of change!!!
Good luck to everyone - this has been such an inspiring thread to read!!
I have a passion for paying student loans.
For the reals, I'd really love to be PD and be a force of change against the drug laws. They ruin lives, period. You get popped with a significant drug charge and it's very hard to get your life back. We have to stop criminalizing drug use, IMHO. Sure, we shouldn't sell heroin out of vending machines, but we have to look at this problem differently.
Or, I might go into healthcare law. I have many years in that industry. I'm keeping my options open. I just always knew I wanted to go to law school even despite the baby attorney's I work with complaints.
Its gotta be intellectual property for me.
Technology is such an interesting animal.
Maturing and mutating on the daily.
So much hasnt been written or covered, its guarenteed to keep me on my toes.
So flippin excited.
@19398 said:
Wow! This thread is incredible-- perfect timing since so many of us are taking the test this weekend.
I've worked a little bit in employment law before and I was definitely surprised at how interesting it was! I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would haha
As for me, I knew in college that I was interested in law but it wasn't until I volunteered and taught in a maximum security prison (it's definitely not something you can unsee/undo) that I really got interested in prison and drug policy reform. Not sure where I'll end up after law school, but I know eventually one day I want to get back into that kind of work.
I've worked in employment law as a paralegal for about 4.5 years total (first with farmworkers, now general employment, with a focus on immigrant workers who are victims of wage theft and expungements. Criminal records are a barrier to employment, so we try to eliminate those barriers and advocate with employers who won't hire people due to the criminal records. Sounds like this maybe right up your alley!) I'm sick of being a paralegal and want to be able to handle cases on my own. I like what I'm doing, but it can be frustrating not be able to do things because I am not an attorney.