[blindlaw] Career Advice

[Joe Orozco]

Hello all,

So I got accepted for accommodations on the LSAT.  If I still drank I would
have treated myself to a good stiff drink or three for overcoming the
nonsense that is LSAC.  Now, I'm finally taking the exam in December and
faced with the very real prospect of applying for law school, so why, after
all this trouble, am I still on the fence?

I'm currently the development director for a national organization.  On the
side I've gotten so good at managing grant projects that I've started a
little company doing freelance writing.  It's not going so great that I'm
going to quit my day job, but considering I have a good base of customers
before the website is even finished gives me hope that something will come
of it.

I think I'd like a law degree because I would like to enhance my skill set.
I routinely work on state and federal grant proposals and forge national
partnerships between large nonprofits.  I think a law degree would allow me
the opportunity to negotiate contracts between businesses, adding another
good facet to my little business operation, but do I need a law degree to
excel in this arena?  I want a law degree to genuinely make me better, more
competitive, but I do not want to dedicate four years to a part-time program
and discover many thousands of dollars in tuition later that I went to law
school just because it was the cool thing to do.  Sometimes my master's
degree seems like enough, and then there are times I wonder if I'm not
selling myself short because I did not jump for the extra hoop.

Anyway, I would appreciate any concrete advice from practicing attorneys as
to their own satisfaction with their legal education.  I like the prospect
of being able to represent vulnerable populations if legal representation is
out of reach.  I'd like to be able to occasionally help people with cases of
discrimination and the like, especially with attorneys costing as much as
they do, but at the end of the day I have to be honest in my feelings that
if I went to law school it would be to better understand contracts and the
laws that govern business transactions.  I suppose this is a timid way of
saying I'm interested in corporate law, but gees, I should hope I have not
become so boring since my early college days when I thought I wanted to
defend criminals.  I'm taking the exam, because without it I have no
choices, but ultimately I want to make sure I'm making a good decision.

Thanks in advance for any and all input.

Joe Orozco

"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the
crowd."--Max Lucado
 

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