Regarding soloing as a new attorney, I am a new attorney that went solo after my clerkship. I did tons to hone my lawyering skills during law school via internships, a legal clinic, volunteer work and mock competitions. Its not exactly equal to 10 years of experience but its served me well. And based on the results I have achieved for my clients, I am a great attorney!

Plus, the bottom line for me is this, am I gonna put my dream of having my own firm on hold for 3, 5 or 10 years because “THEY” (whoever they is) say its easier to start a practice after having more experience? Absolutely not! Do I have to work my butt off because I am somewhat new to the game? Yes! Have I learned more than any associate at any firm in the country in the past 5 months of practicing on my own? Hell yes! Do I have an awesome network of mentors who help me with my work when I hit a wall? Absolutely! Do I love my job and my life? You betcha!!

Regarding choosing a law school for a soloing career, I say go to the most affordable school that has the best (and most) clinical programs. Take charge of your education, take as many practical courses as possible (such as trial advocacy, mediation, etc.), enter every brief writing and appellate arguing competition known to man and intern, intern, intern (through clinics, volunteer work, etc.). You will come out feeling confident about your ability to be a lawyer, you will have an awesome resume and you will be ready to start your own practice after you pass the bar.

Those are my two cents.

PS- And start working on those negotiation skills early by negotiating your financial aid package here’s how: Call or email the Financial Aid Director of School A (yes, the boss) and tell her that School B is giving you X amount of scholarship (only if its actually true) but you’d rather go to School A, and ask will they match your scholarship (don’t ask if they can because of course they can!). The earlier you do this, the better.

Good luck out there!

So the choice is between part-time at a Tier 4 school next year or full-time at a top 20 school in a few years. Of course, I could also go to the part-time school in a few years.

Lori

My philosophy is go to the best school you can afford. However, you are also factoring in a time gap. You have to ask yourself if you want to wait a few years to go to a Tier 1 (and why DO you have to wait). You have to ask yourself if you are looking for employment with your degree or to go solo/small firm. Many law firms support their local graduates.

Regardless when you go, you should always go for as many scholarship dollars as you can get and don’t be afraid to apply to both schools and negotiate as much scholarship as you can for the school you want to go to by using your other scholarship money as leverage

Most importantly, if at all possible, come out of law school with as little debt as you possibly can to provide yourself as many choices. Once laden with non-dischargable debt life is very different!

DId you listen to our recent teleseminar with Rachel Rodgers and Jack Whittington? http://solopracticeuniversity.com/2011/01/12/is-law-school-a-losing-game-we-asked/

They have some great insights as they are right in the thick of it today.

I have very limited options for law school as my family and I are very committed to the area we live in and I also need to continue to work full-time. My only real option is a Tier 4 school. I visited that school and got a good impression of the place, the students, and the fit for me. My other option would be to wait 2-3 years and go to a state, Tier1 school. My ultimate goal is to practice law in the small town I currently live in. My LSAT and GPA are high enough that I could probably get scholarships to either school.

Should I feel free to go to the Tier 4 school now as it fits my requirements so well or do I need to wait and go to the Tier 1 school if it is an option in a few years?

In selecting a law school, the advice is simple: go to the best law school that you can reasonably afford. Like it or not, this is an elitist profession, and even more so in the current climate. If you want large firm training, prestige and contacts, the alternative are either to attend a name-brand school, or to shine academically at a “lesser” school. Even for those who wish to go solo right away, added prestige is always helpful.

On the issue of going solo, there are obvious drawbacks to going solo right away, not the least of which is the relative difficulty of getting the experience, training and mentoring you need. A better choice for many might be to start a small firm with colleagues, ideally with varying levels of experience. But if this isn’t possible, I still think that a firm of two, three or four relatively new attorneys has a better chance of thriving. Aside from providing greater critical mass, there are the benefits of cost-sharing, learning from one another’s experience, and leveraging the group’s contacts–not to mention the moral support a group can provide.

The fact is that they matter a heck of alot in the real world if you want to work at a large firm or a reputable mid law firm. That’s just a fact life. Firms engage in signalling. They want to show that they are worth $500 an hour because their associates are from the best schools. Law is a snobby profession. If you have to pay sticker price for law law school go T10, go public or don’t go at all. There is a wave of news and info on the internet about all these diploma mills that are churning out law grads who have paid $40k a year for tuition and graduated with $150k in debt with no job and no job prospects.

If you are going solo the above advice does not apply.

Wonderful post. I had forwarded this to one of our college interns interested in pursuing a law degree. (Especially your comment re: best education at the lowest cost.)

Your advice to law students was a little better than mine.

http://thenutmeglawyer.blogspot.com/2009/08/socrates-was-jerk.html