Links About Lawyering

The article you posted on May 19 was great. I've found myself thinking back to it often since I read it (especially now as EIP is aggressively fighting to ruin my summer).

This morning, I found this article and it really reminded me of both our class discussions and the article that you posted. The author engaged successfully in the academic rat-race and got "the job" that all her peers coveted. Unfortunately, upon starting, she realized that it was not what she wanted for her career and that it made her miserable. She ultimately changed positions until she found the job that was right for her (starting her own business). I'll let you read the article but what I found most striking was the fact that she admitted that going off the established track was at times difficult and that most new businesses fail. She also admitted that money was tight but implied that she was managing, which again reminded me of Prof. Moglen's explanation of the nut. Set-backs and tight funds don't seem to phase her. I got the impression that one failure would not send her packing to her previous life and that was really inspiring.

I also found this statement interesting: "_I had joined consulting with the goal of starting my own company one day, perhaps after getting my M.B.A. At the time, I believed that management consulting would best prepare me to run my own business, but I soon realized that consulting was mostly just teaching me how to be a better consultant._" It's a sentiment echoed in the article that you posted: "_With that training, you end up utterly unequipped for the world of business, which is why the transition to business is so difficult for a lawyer. Legal education, and law firm work, is infantilizing. It regresses you into the child who instinctively desires to delight a parent. You try to please an authority figure by doing what they say. You do the work, and make them happy._" As we discussed in class, some big law firms may not even make you a better lawyer in exchange for removing an attorney's ability to create their own business.

The question that this article left me with was: If this woman could have done it all again, do you think she would have skipped straight to starting her own business or was that period of time working for a consulting firm necessary to her future happiness or success? Furthermore, what does that mean for us as lawyers? Are our industries different such that we need a jumping off experience at a firm whereas this author did not? Is the opposite true?

I don't know the answer to this question. Right now I'm stuck on what type of law I'm interested in specializing in. I know, I know. People keep telling me that at 24 years old, I don't have to know what field of law I want to work in but I can't shake the impression that that seems strange. I somewhat feel as though people are trying to tell me that this is not the time to be searching for a specialty. In addition, I've noticed that law firms sell themselves by indicating that you can work on anything you want in any practice group as a summer and as an attorney. That's frightening to me. I don't see how one can get good at something if you keep floating about. When does the floating end? It's my impression, that figuring out what you want to do with your life is a task that should be mostly accomplished while in school (note that I say mostly and not entirely). Again, this fear that I harbor reminds me of the article that you posted, Devin. The idea that I'm supposed to be interested in and good at everything I study seems unrealistic: "They get good grades. Typically they aren't especially talented at anything; just good at everything. The formal education system is designed to reward that sort of bland goodness. It isn't about getting an A in any one subject; it's about getting all A's. That doesn't make any sense in the real world. You don't need all A's; you need to discover the work that you love to do." Anyway, I'll keep trying to deal with this issue. What do you all think about the question posed above?

-Ash