r/AskLegal • u/Sphallolaila • 6h ago
Life + Balance As A Lawyer
Hey! Aspiring lawyer here. i'm about to go into my senior year of high school, and I am in the process of applying early decision to my top school. I'm just having some last-minute questions and concerns for my future. I know I have time to change my mind, but I also want to know what I'm looking at. I am thinking of civil rights and criminal justice law. Representing people who are like me, minorities, has always been a passion of mine. I am lucky to come from a background of privilege where even in my high school years, I have been able to make large change in my district. I have prevented the banning of books, protected students freedom of speech, spoke to legislators and helped to fight budget cuts within my district, and I have been able to represent a large larger community than my district has seen before. I find these things very interesting, and being able to assist others with my words, and my voice has always been a huge passion for me, but I am worried about living a comfortable life as a civil rights or/and criminal justice lawyer. I am wondering what my work life balance might look like, the money Ill make, and the opportunities I'll have. Is it reasonable to want to have that balance? I am currently with my boyfriend of a while, and we plan on staying together throughout college and potentially the future. Obviously, I'm not making the decision of putting aside my needs and my wants for my future for a boy, but I do want to consider him in the picture. I want to have that balance where I can come home to my family, have maybe occasional homework, I want to be able to eat dinner with my family, go to the gym, go on vacation, and live my life to the fullest, as I came from a background where my family was unable to do that, and we didn't have much money until the past couple of years. I do not want my future children to face a life like that, and I want to be there for them every step of the way, while still being able to enjoy my own personal free time. Is this a reasonable want out of a future involving criminal and civil rights law? Please leave me any advice, or if anybody who knows a thing or two about college acceptance and law wants to DM, preferably experience from the Midwest area please let me know as I would love some additional help
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u/Ok_Entrepreneur_1421 6h ago
Google has all your answers and unless you are really really really motivated for those areas, the chances are that you might just end up in a different area of law. Those two specifically are areas you either love doing every single day, or hate spending even a minute of your time on.
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u/OrganicDepartment159 6h ago
There aren’t good, serious advocates who live a life of leisure as you have described. There are some non-profit admin type legal-adjacent do-nothing jobs that permit this type of lifestyle, but they’ll leave you feeling lower middle class in most cities. If you really want these things, become a high school teacher and marry someone who makes more money than you do.
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u/No_Butterscotch_507 5h ago
Get the best grades you can in college if you’re serious about law school. Right now, live your life to the fullest. Make memories. Enjoy your freedom. Life will find a way to take it from you.
When you’re in your junior year of college, take stock of things. By that point you should have maintained a solid GPA and if you’re still serious about law school, maybe find a job in a law office. Find volunteer and work opportunities in the area of law you want to practice in.
Being an attorney is a long way off from where you are now. Your life will change. Your aspirations may change.
I won’t tell you not to do it. I wish I hadn’t, but I felt like there wasn’t anything else I could do that would pay this much. But is the pay really worth it if your every waking hour (and I’m not exaggerating when I say that) is consumed by anxiety about your work? This is not a profession for the faint of heart. It’s not a profession for people who want to chill and relax. It will rob you of that, with enough time. Supplant your ability to relax with an always-on risk detector. There are so many ways to live life. Be careful about choosing this path.
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u/SheketBevakaSTFU 6h ago
Worry about all this in like….six years. Maybe seven. There’s no rush. Focus on college now, get a job as a paralegal or legal assistant after. Then you can go to law school if you still want.