The job: Lawyer
You might like this job if: Do you like Ally McBeal, Arrest and Trial, Boston Legal, Crossing Jordan, Damages, Eli Stone, Family Law, The Good Wife, The Guardian, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, JAG, Judging Amy, L.A. Law, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, The Lyon’s Den, Matlock, Night Court, Perry Mason, The Practice, Raising the Bar, or any of the other millions of lawyer shows out there? Or Court TV? Or John Grisham novels, the superhero Daredevil’s secret identity, Phoenix Wright games, or just objecting to stuff? The you might like real life lawyerin’!
The good: Objection! Order in the court! Habeas corpus! Other exclamations! Defending the innocent, punishing the guilty, making tons of money, yelling at people…who wouldn’t want to be a lawyer?
The bad: Probably anyone who’s seen all the paperwork, research and actual methods that real lawyers have to go through. After paying off the mountain of law school student loans, you can look forward to 80-hour weeks, reading until your eyes bleed, writing briefs till your fingers go numb, and very little courtroom time. And that’s only litigators, who actually, you know, litigate in the courtroom.
Summary: A lot more work and stress than you see on TV, movies, books, video games, radio, the newspaper, legal school catalogs, and lots of websites. But if you’re passionate about the law, go for it!
Rating: Two liti-gators (ha! get it?) out of five
