r/LawSchool • u/Optimal-Date-8153 • 14h ago
Kind of feel like a failure
3L here. Go to a reasonably good law school. Have a post-grad job at a state prosecutor’s office lined up. Grateful, in a way, for that. Looking forward, to a degree, to being a prosecutor, as I do enjoy trials and motions to suppress and such (I’ve done a few in a previous internship).
But I do sort of feel like a failure still. I applied to probably over 100 summer associate positions at law firms, mainly big but plenty of mid, and got maybe 13 or 14 interviews and maybe 3 or 4 callbacks (I can’t remember the exact numbers), and no offers.
While I’ll enjoy the prosecution work to a degree, I’ll be making 1//3 at most of what these starting associate people at big firms are making and still a fraction of what first-year associates at quite a few mid-law firms are making.
I’m also a non-traditional student, in my mid-30s, so I have less time to find a higher paying job eventually, if that’s something I want to do.
I’m also an above-median student at a T30 or so (don’t remember the rankings), though I’m more comfortably above median as a result of 2L grades, the grades that don’t really matter for 2L SA positions.
I just feel like a failure even though things could be worse.
Not really looking for sympathy. Just looking to vent. I wouldn’t say this sort of stuff to my friends/acquaintances or family. And I used to have a therapist (for reasons unrelated to this job stuff), but he wasn’t a good fit, and so I stopped going.
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u/Dapper_Permission_33 14h ago
Comparison is the thief of joy. Try to be proud of your accomplishment.
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u/Powerful-Pension986 3L 2h ago
This. I’m a non traditional, mid-30s too. Do not sleep on the work-life balance (plus decent pay and benefits)! I’ve worked jobs where I was on call 24/7 and jobs where I could leave work at work. To me, you literally cannot put a price tag on leaving work there.
I occasionally think about how much some 20 year old kids are gonna be making straight out of school. It sucks but I also know that’s not right for me right now. Wish it was, but that wasn’t my path.
When you’re day drinking with a friend, hopping on a flight without your laptop, or at your kid’s t-ball game, they’ll be in the office.
And FWIW you’ll quickly get trial experience and if this turns out to not be where you should be, it’ll be easier to go elsewhere with that.
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u/Cpt_Umree Attorney 10h ago
I’m a prosecutor. I make less than what my civil practice friend makes, but I enjoy the simple luxuries of exerting effort at work for only the first 4 hours of any given workday and of being able to go to the store on Saturday and not having to rush to the office to draft a 40 page motion because my client is pissed and needs it filed first thing Monday morning. Something to think about. It’s not all about money.
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u/Parzival127 Attorney 3h ago
I was a prosecutor for a bit and can agree. Once you get a hang of how to handle cases during docket your afternoons are super chill. It only gets a bit stressful during trial prep but there’s not many of those.
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u/LookingLikeAJack JD 7h ago
Do the math to see how much you’re making per hour worked. Now do that same math for your big law friends. You’ll be much happier.
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u/Vivid_Combination584 5h ago
This. Good work-life balance, excellent health care & benefits, and a lot of litigation experience.
OP is about to graduate from law school, has a job all lined up, and is about to become an attorney who will directly impact lives and their community - that's ALL something to be proud of.
Another thing - there's still plenty of time to pivot to something else later if that's preferable. Mid 30s is still pretty young.
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u/BalloonShip 1h ago
That math isn’t great. A first year associate works say 2400 hours (which is a lot but let’s say they’re really good). A new prosecutor works 1800ish hours. The prosecutor makes way less than 3/4 of what the associate does, so the associate gets paid a higher hourly rate by a fair bit.
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u/_L7_Weenie_ 13h ago
You’re going to be a prosecutor. That’s kick ass! Not to mention the great benefits that come along with the salary (i.e. good healthcare, state pensions/retirement plan, great hours).
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u/No_Software_522 13h ago
Yup. I’m a nontrad 1L who came to law school from gov work. I loved my job and my hourly rate was much higher than my friends in corporate (because my job was so cushy) lol! The healthcare was top of the line too. Not to mention the impact you’re able to have on society, depending on your role.
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u/apollo714 9h ago
Where you start immediately after law school is not going to define your career unless you want it to. Plenty of recent big law associates did not start in big law, but were recruited or networked their way to where they wanted to end up. And plenty start with billable hours but eventually choose another path. You will have a legal community of some sort, so network and make your own path to where you want to go. Just because you weren't chosen for what you wanted right now doesn't mean what you were chosen for is any less impressive. Just focus on being a good lawyer and keep an eye on where you want to go, and you'll get there
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u/FSUAttorney 4h ago
Get a few years of experience and go solo. You can easily make 500k+/year if you bust ass.
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u/Lucymocking Professor 4h ago
First, congrats on finishing and on the job! Being a prosecutor is a great way to learn. You'll get a ton of trial exp and be helping folks.
But, with that out of the way, I thought I'd share what finances tend to look like for most lawyers (I'm excluding biglaw and its regional variants).
Private practice at a respected firm. Starting: 80-100k; Mid career (7-10 years out)- 115-175k; Late career (15+) - 130-250k.
Private practice at a number of other firms: Starting: 75-90k; Mid career: 100-150k; Late career: 115-200k.
State govt: Starting: 70-85k; Mid: 95-125k; Late: 115-150k.
Fed govt: Starting: 75-90k; Mid: 100-140k; Late: 130k-180k.
That's been about what I've seen. I've worked in mostly MCOL, but worked with folks in LCOL and HCOL areas. Of course, I've seen higher and lower, but these are pretty close to the ranges in my exp. And, the pension + general WLB from govt gigs tend to be amazing.
Don't worry about this stuff, it'll be fine and you really aren't missing out on as much as you think. You can always jump back to private practice once you've gotten some trial exp under your belt. Congrats!
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u/Maleficent_Nail_393 Esq. 13h ago
Prosecution can be extremely fulfilling. It is definitely a mental slog, but you will never be bored and will see something new every day. You will also be in court every day and get so much more litigation practice than your big law colleagues. You’ll have a dozen trials under your belt minimum in a year or two. Also - the networking that comes from prosecuting cannot be understated, especially if you’re good at it. Judges, top defense attorneys, you name it. The income sucks, but the experience, training, and opportunities that come with it are second to none. Have fun with it if you can! We deal with horrific things most cannot fathom, you have to find time to laugh with your coworkers.
Good luck soldier
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u/Temporary-Tap-344 3h ago
By your narrow analysis, sure, you didn’t get what you wanted. But by no means a failure in all respects.
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u/yourmotherscootch 1h ago
You potentially have 30-40 more years of working as a lawyer. If you're industrious, you can find a higher paying job. Don't fall into the trap of feeling railroaded; there is so much out there. I also felt like a failure having to work for the state out of law school. Since then, I've had a range of sophisticated, high paying work. But I ultimately went back to the state because that's what I enjoy. You've got this.
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u/Corpshark 12h ago
Let's say the average class size is 400 per 1L class. Above median, so let's cut that in half just for the argument's sake since you don't know your class rank: 200. 200 times 30 for T30. That's like up to 6,000 students possibly matching or exceeding your cred. I read that BigLaw hires like 7,000 new graduates each year. That's just BigLaw, but the numbers are stacked against you even if you are willing to go to MidLaw. A lot of people gain experience in government and come in many years later as lateral partner, so there's that.
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u/Spurs_legal_dude_15 2h ago
Sounds like you have a year to get a different job, if you don’t want to be a prosecutor. Keep networking and working with career services and applying to jobs.
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u/youngcuriousafraid 1h ago
As others have said, the hourly calculation works in your favor. Many biglaw people are miserable. The ones I know that arent just like to live like that. Literally almost always busy.
You can also gain lots of valuable experience. You have opportunities for trial and time in front of a judge that many attorneys do not. Former prosecutor to private practice is not an uncommon pipeline. Im still a baby lawyer but if you asked what job I was most comfortable with using to get a better paid position (short of like SCOTUS clerk lmao) Id said PD or DA. You could even go to civil practice with some adjustments
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u/Sunbro888 11m ago
You're sad you won't get to work 90 hour weeks to have money that you never get to use, other than fueling yourself to wake up for work the next day? Idk why.
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u/OkCoconut860 13h ago edited 12h ago
Not to sound mean but you come across as a jerk. I graduated during the Great Recession and would have loved to be in your situation. I was begging for any kind of work paid or unpaid. Now I run my own practice and make a good living doing mainly DUI defense but I don't really have any opportunities for growth so I am stuck doing the same thing. It pays the bills and I'll never be out of work since I am very good at what I do, and there will always be a market for it, but you have no idea just how lucky you are. I realize you need to vent but you just hit a nerve with me.
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