5 answers
Carolina
Student
Lenox, Massachusetts
6
Questions
Asked
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Do you have any book recommendations for someone interested in law school ?
I am a junior in high school and I want to know if there is anything that can help with improving my knowledge about being a lawyer ? #lawyer
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5 answers
Jason Kuok
8
Answers
Macau
Updated
Jason’s Answer
Hi Carolina,
Having the interest of going to Law School must be a brave act for both you and your family. Not only it's more time consuming than most of other majors like liberal arts and science. It also requires a lot more dedication and hard work to "combat" a totally strange language so to speak. It might also put a substantial financial burden on your family as I know most Law School is not cheap.
Above all I would want you to ask yourself before going into the field of law whether you are going into there because of money, family/peer pressure, or for the call of justice. If you sail off with the right mentality and the sense of serving justice, you will be able to overcome many obstacles along the way. Only by knowing you are doing the right thing can get you the furtherest down the road.
During high school I was an ESL student and one book stroke me and changed my perspective even until now "To Kill a Mockingbird". I am not sure whether it is still an required reading material now but it sets my moral standard right on many things. The protagonist called Atticus is a white lawyer back in the 1930s during The Great Depression fighting justice for the underprivileged specifically for the Black. The interesting irony is that seems like little improvement has made for the past so many years and it is coming back to haunt us again In wake of George Floyd's death.
The subject of Law is just as interesting as all the ironies happening around us depending on how you interpret it and the interpretation might change over time. I wish you happy reading and whatever you get out of it will last a lifetime. Follow your heart!
Having the interest of going to Law School must be a brave act for both you and your family. Not only it's more time consuming than most of other majors like liberal arts and science. It also requires a lot more dedication and hard work to "combat" a totally strange language so to speak. It might also put a substantial financial burden on your family as I know most Law School is not cheap.
Above all I would want you to ask yourself before going into the field of law whether you are going into there because of money, family/peer pressure, or for the call of justice. If you sail off with the right mentality and the sense of serving justice, you will be able to overcome many obstacles along the way. Only by knowing you are doing the right thing can get you the furtherest down the road.
During high school I was an ESL student and one book stroke me and changed my perspective even until now "To Kill a Mockingbird". I am not sure whether it is still an required reading material now but it sets my moral standard right on many things. The protagonist called Atticus is a white lawyer back in the 1930s during The Great Depression fighting justice for the underprivileged specifically for the Black. The interesting irony is that seems like little improvement has made for the past so many years and it is coming back to haunt us again In wake of George Floyd's death.
The subject of Law is just as interesting as all the ironies happening around us depending on how you interpret it and the interpretation might change over time. I wish you happy reading and whatever you get out of it will last a lifetime. Follow your heart!
Jennifer Smith
5
Answers
Updated
Jennifer’s Answer
Paper Chase, One L, The Nine, 24 hours with 24 lawyers , Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book. And then don't forget some fun reading: Defending Jacob, anything by John Grisham or Scott Turow. Enjoy!
Suzanne Barr
Attorney
5
Answers
Takoma Park
Updated
Suzanne’s Answer
That's great that you're interested in going to law school. Your legal education itself is a tool that you can use to help people with issues you are interested in or care about (or, at a minimum, can find someone to pay you to work on).
I suggest you spend time focusing on topics that motivate or excite you. That would let you approach a legal career as a means of working on your interests, or promoting things you care about.
For example, do you like the idea of working on big deals? Advising companies? Working on the environment? Helping to represent those without a voice in court? Working on patent law to support scientists? The entertainment or sports industries? Social justice? Lawyers can be involved in just about any area.
One thing to be aware of...if you have a passion for, say, the environment, or employee rights, you should carefully consider how much debt you'll be taking on for your education. Jobs that pay the most for attorneys with that expertise are often not precisely aligned with advocating for protection of the environment or workers. Many people work in those jobs and do great things that help make the world safer and more humane, but being a lawyer often means being an advocate, so it's helpful to consider whether the person you want to advocate for will be able to pay you enough to support your educational debt.
I suggest you spend time focusing on topics that motivate or excite you. That would let you approach a legal career as a means of working on your interests, or promoting things you care about.
For example, do you like the idea of working on big deals? Advising companies? Working on the environment? Helping to represent those without a voice in court? Working on patent law to support scientists? The entertainment or sports industries? Social justice? Lawyers can be involved in just about any area.
One thing to be aware of...if you have a passion for, say, the environment, or employee rights, you should carefully consider how much debt you'll be taking on for your education. Jobs that pay the most for attorneys with that expertise are often not precisely aligned with advocating for protection of the environment or workers. Many people work in those jobs and do great things that help make the world safer and more humane, but being a lawyer often means being an advocate, so it's helpful to consider whether the person you want to advocate for will be able to pay you enough to support your educational debt.
Blake H.
Business
478
Answers
Updated
Blake’s Answer
Hey Carolina,
I would recommend the LSAT preparation books. They have many of these that you can find online, but they also have many practice tests included.
Thanks,
Blake
I would recommend the LSAT preparation books. They have many of these that you can find online, but they also have many practice tests included.
Thanks,
Blake
Joseph Berlin
Student/Intern
1
Answer
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
I recently read Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. It was a fantastic true story that was just recently made into a film! https://www.amazon.com/Just-Mercy-Story-Justice-Redemption/dp/081298496X