OT: Debt from Law School at the School in Ohio leaves lawyer unfit for admission to Ohio Bar

Now I'm another T-14 jobless 3L.

Any lawyer-readers here work at a firm that's hiring?

Networking, writing/grading on to a journal, finishing strong, and leveraging prior experience is huge.

All as long as there is a plan to pay the hefty bills.

And I seriously thought about cutting losses and getting out after that first semester.  Dug out of the hole with some hard work.  Leveraged prior work experience and networking into a good job out of school a few years back. 

I stuck around out of pride - and the fact that the education was being largely cash financed.

In making your decision, don't let pride get in your way.  Confront the realities of the uphill climb and your ability to pay the freight of the education.  Good luck with your decision - it's a hard one.

I say stick with it.  I left after my first semester and even though I have a great career, I still wish I would have finished it.

I disagree.  Avoid law school like the plague.  Being a lawyer sucks unless you like being saddled with $100k in additional loans and working 12-14 hour days, 6 days a week, all the while wishing you were just about anywhere else.  /s

Also, law school is much more enjoyable if you treat it as undergrad, especially if you go to a school with "interesting" coeds . . .  For some reason, they seem to think lawyers are more attractive than they really are.

There aren't a lot of other uses for a law degree, the skills themselves are transitive but a lot of employers aren't interested in someone with that specialized of an education (or at least, employers who offer salaries proportionate to law school tuition).  This poor bastard wasn't carrying a debt load much higher than anyone I know who isn't on scholarship, and was working for a public defender who wouldn't hire full-time until they had bar results (a position that is pretty common across public employers, and a lot of firms outside of BigLaw).  The Ohio Bar screwed this guy, and is screwing over public defender hiring.

and the comment above it.

to law school for the same reason as you - because of the versatility i thought a law degree would open a lot of doors.  which is true, i think, except now law schools are churning out so many lawyers there are very few jobs for anyone, especially in public interest. (and i went to a "good" law school).

if i were you i might stick it out at this point but honestly if i had to do it all over again i would have looked into a different degree, probably one in public policy.

I was in the same situation after my first year.  I thought law school would be interesting and make me a more well-rounded person for whatever job I decided to pursue, and I was hoping to do something in the public interest sector. 

However, I seriously considered leaving.  Among other reasons, I hated focusing on the academic side 24/7.  I decided to give the second year a try, but I wanted to try something different - doing something I liked.  I volunteered at a legal aid office, got involved in some of the school organizations, and joined one of the school's legal clinics.  It made my experience a lot better because I found that I actually cared about what I was doing. 

So if you want any advice, I would say tough out that first year, and then think about what initially interested you in law school.  From there, pursue activities, organizations, and opportunities that relate to those initial reasons for going.

I feel your pain. It is still worth it, but it kind of sucks. At least the interest is tax deductible. I also think the rates are variable so they should drop in July or whenever they readjust. Hopefully we can avoid massive inflation for the next ten years! :-)

At the debt load, the degree is not very versatile.  You'll gain skills in critical thinking and organizing and presenting arguments, but most employers outside of some consulting groups will wonder why the heck you wasted time and money on a law degree when you aren't going to practice.  I'd sit down ASAP and figure out what you want to be doing with your career, and then adjust you education/employment choices toward that goal.

If I were you, I'd cut your losses.  If you hate idea of being a lawyer while in law school, you probably will hate the idea even more after you graduate.  Cut your losses now and look for work.  It may not sound fancy to not finish law school, but it's better than being left with the weight of paying off student loans for the rest of your life, while stuck working a job you're admittedly not sure if you'll even somewhat like.

I went to Law School, realized after the first year that I had no desire to be an attorney.  I worked through the next two years, graduated, and never sat for the bar.  I went back to healthcare, work 3 days/week, make more than most of my classmates I still have contact with from law school, and am happy with my decision.  In retrospect, I should have stopped after year one and saved the money and wear and tear on myself.  If your heart is not in it, give continuing some serious thought.  Your heart not being into it will undoubtedly impact your performance as well.

With apologies to MGoLawyers, law students, pre-law types, and minors on this site who'd like be lawyers, that is a darkly humorous and wide-ranging article that I think everyone should read.

At the time, law school felt like the inner circles of purgatory.  Both brain and liver were elated in the spring of 1997 when it was over.  Ashley's and Grizzly Peak were probably a bit sad that I graduated, as the amount of money spent on booze during those three years probably added a fourth year of tuition.  Mercifully, my parents paid for it.  I have no idea how I managed to pull that off, so I can't speak to the debt situation.   

That said, I can give you a perspective on what it has done for me. 

I was at Winston Strawn in Chicago for 10 years and left in the fall of 2007 to start doing PE work with a handful of friends.  During the lovely meltdown of 2008/09, I wondered (maybe a few million times) "what on gods green earth have I done"...), but now I can tell you that it was by far the right move.  

The degree, connections and experience have proven invaluable.  I miss the 90+ hour weeks like a dog misses fleas...

Did you do as I suggested and network with certain individuals?

Find some UMich alums at law firms, ask whether they read the 'blog, and show them your point total.  When they put that together with your other outstanding credentials, they'll hire you on the spot.

I'd personally conclude that you have some seriously high bandwidth/capacity, which is obviously good.