What Do You Like Best About Being A Lawyer? If You're A Law Student, What Do You Think You'll Like Best?

Evan poses those questions and got a long comment thread out of it. Here are a few of those comments I found interesting.

As a prospective law student (so really, really setting myself up for disillusionment), I think I'll like the part, like Evan said, about becoming an expert on something that I didn't know anything about. But then again I want to study sport law. So I might become an agent. Then it will be the money. Or my trophy wife.

Once upon a time I might have had an answer to this question, but as a jaded 3L, I'm definitely drawing a blank. Maybe the ability to write letters that strike fear into the hearts of men?

It is unfortunate to see so many lawyers who no longer like what they do. As a trial lawyer, I still love the thrill of a trial. That first few minutes in an opening statement is magic. The world belongs to me. Nothing matters for anyone but the words coming out of my mouth. I savor those moments...

Then my client opens his mouth and all comes crashing down!

Interesting to read the comments from law students. It is so long ago now from when I was in law school that I doubt anything I experienced then is relevant now, but it's odd to read the aspirations of students, even if partially in jest. It seems to me that law students have aspirations, and then when they graduate they need to get jobs. Some get the jobs they want, and a lot just get jobs. Then you use your skills for the work your employer wants you to use them for, not for whomever you'd like to use them for. And soon it won't even occur to you that your goal was to represent the downtrodden, or whomever, if that was your goal. My goal sure wasn't to be a litigator, and that's what I've been my whole career.

You guys are all too young, or too healthy. The best thing about being a lawyer is being a retired lawyer.

Poor Mike does seem slightly delusional about law and productivity. From society's point of view, two of the worse things about the legal profession are: (1) too many of our best minds go into law; and (2) too many mediocre minds (and hearts) go into law.

I've been an achiever since I was five years old. But law school has put an end to that. Being a law student has made me come face to face with my weaknesses. I guess that's what being a lawyer is also like --- you just cannot win it all.

Go read the rest of the comments here.

As for myself, I didn't come into law school with the goal of becoming a lawyer. As I was interning for a Congressman, I learned that just about everyone working for him either had a law degree or was working on getting one. It was with that in mind that I decided to give the LSAT a try and have that decide whether or not I was meant for law school.

It wasn't until sometime towards the end of my first semester that it dawned on me that being a lawyer just might be my calling. To be sure, there has since then been many a times that I've questioned whether or not I was sane when I came to that realization. But the answer is that I'm still in law school and I wouldn't be if there wasn't something about it that I really loved - for why else would put myself through all this crap?

But that only answers why I like being a law student. It doesn't answer what I think I will like best about being a lawyer. I don't think I'll actually know until I become one. But being a lawyer is probably the closest thing there is to being what I like about being a law student.