One of the hats I tried before law school was a website designer -- and I had clients. As a web designer I screwed up many times. That was okay, the web is a relatively forgiving place and I could correct my mistakes. A broken website could be fixed the next day. There was not lasting impact on my client. Trial and error was fine.

From what I have gathered, law, on the other hand, is not very forgiving.

As a young lawyer I will make mistakes. I want to have my own clients, but it strikes me as irresponsible to not attach myself to an experienced lawyer who can catch those mistakes before they become permanent.

Is it possible to extract enough out of school to be prepared to have clients the day I leave? Suggestions on how to do that?

-- AlexAsen - 20 Apr 2010

This would be my concern too, other than not being able to find clients confident in my skills as a young inexperienced attorney. Though you could say that if you found a niche where lawyers currently weren't operating or a clientele lawyers weren't serving and made yourself somewhat competent during law school, clients would come to you because you were the cheapest/easiest option. This would require some creative thinking about the law as well as a grasp of emerging legal markets.

A great film to watch is The Rainmaker.

-- JonathanWaisnor - 20 Apr 2010