Sorry for the delay:
Poli Sci is one of the most common pre-law majors. In undergrad, I was an environmental science major and then they also had some pre-law courses, which I took, but were not anything at all like law school. So, I don't necessarily think pre-law classes in undergrad help, but each college may be different. Try talking to the professors of the pre-law classes and see how they teach the class. Honestly, if you have a decent GPA in Poli Sci, English, LA or probably just about anything fairly mainstream, it probably will not make much difference. In fact, I would bet a majority of law school applicants are Poli Sci majors, so why not set yourself apart and study what you like. To me, Poli Sci was boring!!! By the way, a lot of wight is places on the LSAT test, so you may want to start looking at that test when you are a junior and I highly recommend taking a prep course.
I work for a mid-sized law firm and I usually work 60-65 hours a week. Some of the larger firms would require more, but I am doing ok here. Most firms have billable hour requirements, anywhere from 1750 to 2200 per year, which means you have to bill that much time each year, no matter how much you actually work. In a 12 hour day, with all the distractions and everything, you are lucky to bill 8-9 hours. So, if you want to (or have to) bill 2000 hours a year, you will probably need to work about 60-65 hours a week. In bigger firms, when you start out, you are usually just working on individual research projects for different attorneys and there is not as much client contact, at first. For me, I started handling my own cases right away, There was some initial supervision, but it did not last long.
There is a lot of law to know, so my best advise to you is to get into a practice where you can concentrate on 2-3 very specific areas. I made the mistake of trying to do it all and now I have to know everything from trusts and estates to family law to personal injury. If I had to do it all over again, i would have picked one or two areas and just mastered those. You won't know what area you want to practice in until you are finished with law school (most likely).
Hope that helps.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by thefictionweliv
Hi I'm 20 right now, I haven't started college yet as I joined the military because my financial situation kinda got messed up and I needed a more steady income. I plan on having a bachelor's degree when I get out and have been thinking about becoming a lawyer for a long time.
I was wondering I guess what a typical day as an attorney is like?
Also is it more advisable to take Pre-Law in college? I've heard Classics, LA, or Psychology are also majors which can be considered for law school and would cover some of my side interests more effectively.
The first 2-3 years of being an attorney involve 70-80 hour work weeks, so I've read, what is this mostly consisting of(research for frim attorneys?) I guess what are the first few years like?
I could prolly think of a few more questions but don't want to load it up two much. Most of what I know is just from reading career descriptions and such but never really asked someone in the field directly.
|