So, You Want to Go to Law School? The Inside Story

• Author: Allan C. Hutchinson
• Pages: 1-23

So, you think you want to go to law school? There are many reasons

you might have for this conclusion — some conscious and reason-

able, others less so. You might wish to go to law school because you

want to change the world; you cannot bear the thought of starting

work; you want to be rich and powerful; you do not know what else to

do; you were rejected by medical school; you want to fulfil your child-

hood dream; or your parents expect you to become a lawyer. But there

are some facts and observations you should know about law school

before you settle on any final decision. After all, it is a big commit-

ment to embark on the road to law school and a legal career, one that

is likely to have a profound effect not only on your future career but

also on the way you look at and connect with the world. Accordingly,

it is better to begin with your eyes wide open than to proceed on the

basis of optimistic supposition and downright misinformation. Law

school is not for everybody. Although you cannot really know whether

it is for you without going there, you can at least become better

acquainted with what to expect.

so, you want to go to law school?

the inside story

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This opening chapter offers a glimpse at law school — its structure,

courses, and mind-set. After debunking some of the major myths

that have grown up around law school, there is a description of the

basic set-up of the law school curriculum and courses; the intent here

is to reassure potential applicants that law school, for better and for

worse, is not all that it is claimed to be. There follows an overview of

the admissions procedures that are employed at Canadian law

schools, including information and ideas on the Law School

Admission Test (LSAT), choice of pre-law programs, discretionary

admission policies, and how to choose a particular school. Next, there

is a blunt assessment of the costs of going to law school and the

thorny issue of working your way through law school. Throughout

the chapter, the emphasis is on providing a realistic account of the

possibilities and prospects for getting into law school.

exploding the myths

What are some of the main myths that have developed about law

school? No doubt many misapprehensions are fuelled by law students

and lawyers in order to intimidate the potential or fledgling law stu-

dent. Here are a few of the most notorious.

Law school is difficult. While law school is not easy, it is by no means

as difficult as myth would have it. Everyone who is admitted to law

school — and many more besides — is fully capable not only of get-

ting through law school but of doing well. The difficult part is getting

in, not staying there. A law degree has much more to do with com-

mitment and application than with innate genius. Students who are

prepared to take their studies seriously and give them their best shot

are assured of success. If you know what you are doing (and this book

intends to tell you what you need to know), law school is not much

more difficult than any other area of university study.

A law degree is a meal ticket for life. If this myth ever was true, it is

no longer a valid reason for going to law school. The market for law

jobs and for legal services is competitive; good articling positions are

in tight supply and, while it is better than it was a few years ago, the

2 / the law school book