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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 9227837" data-attributes="member: 2629">Why?  At this point, opinions on these people is well established and there is no chance they'll make a meaningful impact on the industry.  This is primarily rubbernecking at this point.  Right now, blow hards are blowing hard and lawyers are collecting paychecks for sailing on the wind.My advice to anyone that wants to practice law - before applying to law school, do the following:1.) Do some research into what it takes to pass the bar.  If you go to law school you'll want to prepare to practice law, and prepare for the bar exam.  They are two entirely unrelated things.  I'd buy a bar prep course set of books (used ones can be relatively cheap online) and go through the course before going to law school - and ideally before you take the LSAT.2.) Figure out the types of law you might want to practice and speak to people actually doing what you think you want to do.  Ask if you can see what their job is like.  Figure out if you'd want to work with that type of person.  Figure out how much you'd enjoy doing that type of work day in and day out.  Figure out how many hours per week they spend, and what type of personal life they have outside their practice.3.) Look up starting income for people practicing law in the areas that interest you.  Then look up the cost of law school, and figure out what you might make if you didn't go to law school and just started another career.  Figure out how long it would take before you'd be better off financially for having decided to practice law.  Think about what age you'd be then - and what you might not have been able to afford during those younger years.  Then, go back and do the calculations again - but this time assume you can't pass the bar and end up paying for law school for minimal to no benefit ... and see how the cost of law school ruins your life when it doesn't pan out.4.) Then look up the bar passage rates in your state.  Then go visit a law school and talk to students there a bit to see the type of people that are in law school - and then think about the percentage of them that will fail the bar.  There are really smart and capable people failing the bar - a lot. [There was one guy I knew in law school that was born to be a lawyer.  Near the top of the class.  Interned before and during law school at good firms.  Lots of experience in the law clinic.  He failed the CA bar 6 times.  It has been 25 years and his name still isn't appearing on a CA Attorney Search.]  Look at top 30 to 50 law schools and look at their bar passage rates.  I've given that advice to a good number of people.  Very few of the ones that took it went to law school. Oh, and if you looked at that advice and said, "That is way too much work!" ... you absolutely should not be going to law school.  You'll do a heck of a lot more work for things far less meaningful if you do go to law school.</blockquote>

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