Here are the responses of 10 attorneys to four questions concerning the life of a lawyer. Take a look at what they said, and reflect on their comments as you decide whether a career in law is right for you. Their comments have been minimally edited for grammar and clarity, and we have sometimes added editorial comments  (indicated by brackets).

• What is the best part of your job?
• What is the worst part of your job?
• If you had it to do over, would you still choose a legal career?
• Any words of advice you would offer to a prospective law student?

Attorney #1 (varied practice history, currently in own small firm).

Having the opportunity to help people with issues that are normally too complex or too emotional for them to handle without rational advice and counsel. This would mean helping to resolve disputes. Our court system is the greatest dispute resolution forum (in the world, I believe). It takes psychology and business acumen to obtain a good result that, ideally, is fair and that your client appreciates.

Attorney #2 (criminal defense and personal injury practice in own small firm).

Helping people to solve problems that arise.

Attorney #3 (litigation practice in larger local firm).

You get to use your mind to earn a living; every day is different; you work long hours but they are flexible; and, corny as it may sound, [you get to] help people through difficult situations.

Attorney #4 (public defender and private criminal defense attorney).

The best part of my job by far is the adrenaline rush of a jury trial. There is no greater mental high than defending a case against a stacked deck and still finding a way to win. I also enjoy the theoretical aspect of seeking justice and defending those who cannot defend themselves.

Attorney #5 (county government).

Affecting the lives of real people.

Attorney #6 (government; formerly in private practice).

[No response, but read on.]

Attorney #7 (plaintiffs' personal injury, product liability, and commercial litigation, most recently in own firm).

I have spent 28 years in private practice. This profession has allowed me to help people solve some of the most personal and complex problems, while permitting me to make a good living, live with prestige, and provide opportunity for dozens of employees to fulfill themselves and support their families. It has been and is intellectually challenging and has introduced me to tremendous trial lawyers across the country. I continue to look forward to coming to the office.

Attorney #8 (criminal defense solo practice).

The best part of my job is meeting people, going into court, and being active and busy during the day. Because I’m a solo practitioner, I am able to take time off whenever I want.

Attorney #9 (private practice).

The best part of my experience in private practice was finding a client who was reasonable.

Attorney #10 (software development attorney, in-house corporation).

I enjoy the traditional office attorney’s work of researching and drafting loan contracts, particularly those for commercial lending, but with a twist. I developed an outline prototype form, like a guaranty or a note, then I outlined additions, deletions, or other changes that reflected the different options the software user wanted and reflected different jurisdictions’ laws. . . . I enjoy developing an expertise on commercial lending, resolving complex legal issues through research and careful drafting, and creating practical and understandable solutions for these issues in software and other mediums.

Attorney #1

Three parts:

(1) Attorneys who are jerks. It stinks working in a hostile environment. You can get more resolved cooperatively than with hostility.

(2) It is true that some clients, even if you get them an excellent result, speak badly about you after the matter is finished and refuse to pay for the services for which they agreed to pay. This means collecting bills and having to, essentially, turn on the client to get paid. Fortunately, that is the exception and not the rule and most clients work out payment schedules or are so enamored with what has been done for them they send in a gift! This second worst part of the job is increasing. Legal services are not available for the poorest section of every community. I volunteer and handle a greater number of cases than most other attorneys I know. Our legislature is turning the court system into a fee based system—“no new taxes” means pay as you go, which is going to make the system available to even fewer people. Since it is the dispute resolution forum to keep us from anarchy, we move closer to that result with each increase in fees. I can volunteer, but cannot make the fee based system available to those who cannot afford the [courts’] fees.

(3) This is also true of public defenders who have had their pay frozen, staff cut, and cannot represent those adequately for which they have a statutory mandate. Again, those least able to protect themselves are further pushed away from our court system. “You have a right to an attorney and if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you” has a hollow ring when there is no one there to appoint because we have an unfunded constitutional mandate. This impacts me because there is a greater need [for services for the poor], more confusion in court calendaring, and more people unprepared for hearings.

Attorney #2

The amount of administrative work that has nothing to do with the regular job.

Attorney #3

The system doesn’t always work and justice is denied; [there are few other] professions where someone is trying to cause you to fail [as with litigation]; calling a client and telling them we lost.

Attorney #4

The worst part of the job is dealing with the bureaucracy. Every year it seems like the public defender system is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Our caseloads are getting bigger and bigger and we are losing more and more qualified people.

Attorney #5

Never having enough resources to keep everyone happy.

Attorney #6

Private practice: billable hours, stress, disappointing and frustrating process of litigation, having to spend a significant portion of salary on student loans. Government practice: low pay, having to spend a large chunk of salary on student loans, little or no possibility for advancement.

Attorney #7

The worst part is dealing with day to day management, training, and cash flow in a PI contingent fee business, and dealing with the risks and deadlines that are imposed by the profession.

Attorney #8

Because I’m a criminal defense attorney, some of the people I meet are not the brightest. Even in other areas of practice, I have not always been liked by my clients. The worst part about being in a solo practice is no reliable income, as the number of clients fluctuates from month to month. Most firms make you spend long hours working—50 to 60 hours per week.

Attorney #9

No one will be completely satisfied with the outcome of the case/matter, including your client and your boss.

Attorney #10

I strive to practice “preventative law.” Often, clients act in the same manner as ill patients with doctors. They are in crisis. The way they communicate or manifest their thoughts and emotions reflects their stress. Stress often brings out the very best and the very worst in individuals. While I have a knack for empathetically addressing clients’ stress and emotions, I much prefer identifying potential legal disputes when heads are still cool and . . . creating fair solutions to those disputes. This is akin to a doctor or health practitioner encouraging wellness as opposed to curing illness.

In short, I prefer harmony to conflict, argument, and acrimony. Even though I was pretty good at dealing with lawyers and judges who were uncivil, high on drugs, unwilling to negotiate, dishonest, and treacherous, I prefer not to do so. Collegiality is much more likely in small legal communities than large cities, because of the lack of anonymity in small communities.

Attorney #1

I would do it again. I have been in private company practice, public corporation practice, private law firms, and my own firm. I would want it all over again. It has been exciting and varied and I cannot see any other occupation where there have been such varied opportunities. I have lived in Washington, D.C., Washington state, and Minnesota as an attorney. I have practiced with and against small town and Wall Street attorneys. I have landed in St. Cloud to finish my career and live on a lake, drive in the country, and raise my family.

Attorney #2

Yes—It seems that this is what I’m good at.

Attorney #3

Who knows? I would probably look harder at other professions [such as] teaching and coaching. I don’t regret my decision.

Attorney #4

Definitely. The only thing I would change is to try to find a less expensive law school. The amount of loans you get during law school is absolutely outrageous. As a result, it makes it very difficult to pursue honorable callings and instead you have to worry about making your monthly payments.

Attorney #5

Yes, I would get into this business. But I would do what I really wanted to do for my college major, rather than what I thought I’d “need” for law school. You’ll just start all over again with your thought processes in law school anyway!

Attorney #6

No. I would have pursued a Master’s Degree in Business instead, which would lead to a more financially lucrative, more flexible, and less stressful career.

Attorney #7

Absolutely. I am strongly encouraging my kids to go to law school.

Attorney #8

I would choose a legal career again, but I would have done some things differently. See my comments to Question 4 below.

Attorney #9

No. The practice of law draws a certain personality type; most attorneys will not admit that a mistake has been made, or will blame a mistake on someone else. I do not know if law schools attract this type of person, or if people who enter law school are brainwashed [there].

Attorney #10

Yes. When I made the change [from solo practice to corporate] to reflect my way of practicing law, I was surprised that at least one-third of the lawyers I spoke to said that they would not have chosen a legal career if they had to do it all over again. I am satisfied, because I made adjustments to my career to better reflect my personality and my dream of serving the needs of small business.

Attorney #1

Be a doctor. Failing that, do not expect that you will end up where you think. As with any profession, it takes initiative to find things you want and to try them. Plan on trying a few different things first (with a small firm, with a big firm, with government) and get a good background. When the economy goes down, you do better because you are ready for the next opportunity. Do an internship if you can find one—don’t expect to be paid, as it makes it harder to get the internship—rather, offer your services, even part-time without pay, to get the view of what is happening and insight in what to do. What is guaranteed is [that your career] will never end up as you [predicted it would].

Attorney #2

Make sure that this is what you want to do. Gerry Spence always writes that [the practice of law] is 90% hard work, and he may be a little light.

Attorney #3

Know why you want to be a lawyer; have a plan regarding what you are going to do when you graduate—don’t just let it happen. The job market is tough; the effort you put into getting good grades in law school will give you many more options when you graduate (although grades have very little to do with how good a lawyer you will be).

Attorney #4

Do not go to law school directly from college. Take a few years to live life first. Go to Europe, join the Peace Corps or Americorps, teach in Japan. Do anything to clear your mind of the past 16+ years of studying—just don’t go right to law school. Life is too short. Once you go to law school, you will never have a chance to do these things again, so do them while you are young.

Attorney #5

Practicing law is not about making money; it’s about working hard to accomplish things that really matter. If you are thinking you are getting into this career to make big bucks and work short hours, you could not be more wrong, for government or private practice. That being said, there are never too many GOOD lawyers, so if you know you can be a GOOD one, don’t let anything get in the way of accomplishing your goal.

Attorney #6

(1) Check on the statistics regarding attorney dissatisfaction prior to making your decision to go to law school, and don’t assume you will be the exception. Try to find out how many lawyers (even successful ones) burn out or change careers after a few years of practicing and try to find statistics regarding the rate of alcoholism and depression in the legal community before you make your decision. (One good resource is the organization Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.)

(2) Wait to go to law school until you are older and already have an established career to fall back on. Then, you will still be able to support yourself and pay your student loans even if you don’t like practicing law. Additionally, it will be easier to work your way into a legal specialty such as medical malpractice or patent law if you already have experience in a particular area. For example, companies are always looking for experienced nurses, engineers, and accountants with J.D.s.

(3) If you are idealistic and going to law school because you are interested in doing public interest work (which is notoriously underpaid), consider finding another career that will allow you to contribute to society, but won’t require such an expensive education. Also, remember that for the most part attorneys get involved in a problem only once it has become a problem, so if your goal is prevention, you many not even need a law degree. If you later decide a law degree is necessary to accomplish your objectives, then go for it.

(4) If you want to do well in law school, be prepared to give up your life for the next three years. Many new students go to law school assuming they will have an easier time of it than the other students because their previous educational successes have been achieved with very little effort. Remember, for example, those last minute 20-page papers where you got the highest grade in the class? Things will be much different in law school, however, because you will be competing with others just like you, and the demands and expectations are much greater.

(5) Law school will definitely make you a more humble person, so if you need that sort of adjustment to your personality, it might be a good idea for you.

(6) Despite the negative aspects of law school and the profession of law, a legal education does provide useful skills that can be applied anywhere and some people really enjoy what they do. You really need to weigh the costs and benefits for yourself, but do so only after receiving all the information you can. I’ve found that you can’t really talk anyone out of [going to] law school, especially if they are really set on going. I do get a slight pleasure, however, in checking in with them after their first year of law school, once they fully realize that the warnings were not an exaggeration.

(7) If you decide to go to law school despite all of the warnings you have received, allow yourself to quit if you realize it isn’t for you, and before you incur an enormous amount of debt. Despite your optimism, it’s not going to get better and practicing law will probably be even worse. If, on the other hand, you happen to love law school and/or someone else is paying for your education, then congratulations and best wishes on your new career. [Pre-Law Advisor: I agree with this attorney that you should consider “pulling the plug” if you are unhappy in law school. However, you need to give it at least one full semester before you make this decision. Many folks are unhappy, apprehensive, and stressed during the first semester—that’s normal. Once you “get your feet wet” and get used to the rigors of law school, you will probably feel better about the whole thing. If you don’t, you should consider withdrawing, but you should at least give yourself and the law school a fair chance by attending for a semester or two.

Attorney #7

INTEGRITY. Be true to your values, be honest, be disciplined and care about your clients first and employees second, and you will succeed. Find a mentor, and listen.

Attorney #8

The job market is very tight. There are too many lawyers, and not enough jobs. Unless your grades are A++, figure your starting salary will be $40,000 (which is a lot lower than most people would think). Even if your grades are good, that does not guarantee a job. I know several attorneys that graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School and passed the bar that still do not have a job. Then if you work for a firm, the first few years will be spent writing papers only, and you’re stuck doing research for other attorneys. Becoming a prosecutor is difficult because lots of attorneys want that job.

When choosing what school to attend, go to a school in the state you want to practice in. I cannot stress that enough—unless you are going to Harvard or Yale. I went to an out-of-state school that was ranked in the top 20 schools in the nation, but the employers here did not interview at my school and they did not know it was highly regarded. Take as many hands-on classes as you can such as mock trial, legal clinics, internships, etc. The practical experience is more important than most of the classes you take. Become a research assistant to a professor—that is when you learn a lot.

As for what to do in undergraduate classes, I would take many criminal law-type classes. It will give you a heads-up on what court is like. I got the impression from schools that they were looking for students with diverse backgrounds. So, double-major in something non-law related. I did sociology and archeology. It makes you stand out on your applications. I do not think schools care any more if your major was pre-law or something else. If you want a high-paying (but boring) career, get an engineering degree and get into law school. Even with low grades, firms are always hiring patent law attorneys.

Law school has two purposes: to make you think and write like a lawyer, and to teach you the basics of the law. So, I highly recommend that in the summer before you start law school, take the Bar-Bri [bar review] class. That will give you a huge leg-up on other students as you will not have to spend as much energy figuring out the law. (You’ll understand what I mean once you are in law school.) Then, in law school you can hone your skills. This is the one thing I wish I would have done, as most of law school is spent just trying to get a handle on what the law says and the cases mean.

Attorney #9

Think about this decision, and shadow a number of attorneys. Remember that there are four law schools in this state alone, and calculate the number of lawyers that will graduate from these schools each year. Go to law school because you want to; if you figure out during your second or third year that you don’t like it, leave. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Attorney #10

Think about the kind of law you want to practice, then talk to lawyers who practice in this area to determine what their typical day is like (hours worked, type of work, what they liked and disliked, schedules, and what is the ideal or required background, skills, and education for that particular job). Many lawyers are open to helping you if you do your homework first.

If you want to become a litigator, sit in a few different types of trials—criminal, divorce, personal injury, business disputes. Decide whether or not you’d enjoy the conflict and the formal manner of communicating under court evidentiary and procedural rules. Also, introduce yourself to the clerk of court, who files legal trial documents, and request to review documents for a particular action. [Most court files are considered public records.] Reviewing a file will enable you to determine what a typical litigator does outside of a trial. About 95% of all litigation is settled without a trial, so this is where you will probably spend most of your time as a litigator.

Furthermore, don’t expect to find [law practice], particularly [litigation], to be as glamorous and financially rewarding as Hollywood dramatizes. Most of the work requires a methodical, thorough, and meticulous character to devise legal solutions. In addition, litigators, mergers/acquisitions, and securities lawyers must have physical stamina to adequately pull “all nighters.” Starting out as an associate in a large firm requires daunting hours. Often to create 1800-2200 billable hours per year requires 25-30% more time [than that]. Large law firms, like large accounting firms, make money by billing out associates’ time at a higher rate than they pay associates. Choose a large firm carefully. Some offer a more balanced life, but many do not. Also realize that you may [be forced to work for a large firm and live an unbalanced life] if you have large student loans.

If you want to become a general business lawyer, familiarize yourself with accounting, finance, and business entities. If you want to further narrow your focus to patent and trademark law, become knowledgeable about science or software design. [Pre-Law Advisor: For intellectual property attorneys generally, and patent attorneys specifically, it helps a lot to have an undergraduate science or engineering degree.] Likewise, if you want to represent musicians, artists, and writers, understand their business. In short, understand the types of businesses you want to represent and interview lawyers who represent them to understand what type of background, skills, and personality best fit this type of clientele.

Lastly, know how to network, write, research, and speak well. Legal work is often broken down into “grinders, minders, and finders.” The grinders are the folks who do the work; the minders are the managers of those who do the work; and the finders are the rainmakers who find the work. Decide which role you want and go for it!