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Would-be law students
and recent law graduates both have a lot of questions.
As a legal coach, I am intimately familiar
with those questions, because I had some of them, didn't
know enough to want to ask others, and was very
conscious of the lessons learned the hard way
afterward. If you are interested in pursuing a
legal career, you need to do your due diligence, because
nowadays the term "unhappy lawyer" is redundant.
Their numbers are legion; do what you can to avoid
joining them, and you can start with some common
mistakes to avoid.
If you are already a practicing attorney, you may want
to navigate elsewhere:
Unhappy.
You want to change careers within the law or --
Really Unhappy -- to leave
the law and want an attorney career coach
Just Want to Crush the Competition, Make Truckload of
Cash.
You want to grow your practice and want a
lawyer coach
or specifically a lawyer marketing coach
Want It All.
You want what is essentially
life coaching but from
the perspective of a lawyer life coach
Common Law School Mistakes You Can Avoid With the Help of a Legal
Coach
*
Fuzzy Reasons. Going to law school, or continuing in the law after
graduation, because you aren't really clear on your reasons for wanting to be a
lawyer. Do you know your reasons for
wanting to go into the law, and how well they align with
reality? We can do some career assessments
together. Maybe you can avoid getting in any deeper by virtue of these
sure losers:
- I'm going because they let me in.
- I'm not sure what else to do and lack imagination about other post-graduate
options.
- My father/mother/grandfather was a lawyer.
- I believe being a lawyer can provide job security.
- I believe being a lawyer is remotely like it is on television.
- I am afraid of risk or change and the law seems secure.
- I need status and prestige. *
Lack of Purpose. Not thinking at length about what you want to do in the law, and, for you,
what are the
best:
- law
schools -
career
strategies
*
Lack of Direction. Not understanding your goals (above) well enough
to know how to apply to law schools and
where. I can coach you on topics such as:
- the
application
- the
dreaded law school essays
- how to
choose references
- sources
of financial aid
*
Lack of Planning. Not aligning your law school activities with the
values and goals you claim to have (or should have -- see above). We can
work on how to maximize your
classes and summer clerkships to position yourself for the type of
career you want, including:
- class
selection
- how to
apply for, get, and choose from among summer job
offers
-
resources on doing due diligence on law firms, including
scuttlebutt I get from my extensive network of
classmates and former colleagues - how to
research and apply for judicial clerkships
*
Lack of a Post-Law School Exit Strategy. So you are going to that
big firm because you have law school debts, eh? Be sure to have an exit
strategy: how many years will you spend? Will you spend most of your
earnings or apply it to your debts to multiply your flexibility? You need
to consider these things. Law firms are full of those who went "for just a
little while, to pay off my loans," as they say, and who are now senior
associates, partners, of counsel, and wondering where their lives went. Contact
your legal coach for a
free coaching consultation now.
Related Pages
on Feroce:
Attorney Coach: My
Background and Coaching for Lawyers
Attorney Career Coach:
Who Else Wants to Leave the Law?
Lawyer Coaching:
Individual Practices, Lawyers, and Lawyers' Lives
Lawyer Coach: An
Overview
Lawyer Marketing Coach:
Plan and Execute Sure-Fire Marketing Strategies
Lawyer Marketing
Coaches: Sticking to Basics -- Referrals
Attorney Coaching:
Types of Lawyer Clients
Career Coaching
Top Signs You Could Use a
Career Coach
Recent
Coaching Conversations (one with a lawyer in a large
firm)
Related Pages on Hot Blue Coaching:
Lawyer Coach
Lawyer Life Coach
Lawyer Career Coach
Lawyer Marketing Coach
Speech Coach
Writing Coach
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