getting phd after law school?

[bluecrawford]

Hey! I just stumbled upon this forum and I wanted to get some insight from you guys. I am currently in law school and I

[lastdazeman]

Bluecrawford,

I don't have any wisdom for you, just company.

I have an undergraduate BA double majoring in Sociology and Anthropology. I went on to get a BS in computer science and worked in that industry most of the last 25+ years. Enough of that! Now I want to go to graduate school and study Sociology.

How much more law school do you have?

LDM

[bluecrawford]

I'll be starting my third and final year this fall. Although it's a little upsetting I invested so much time and money into something I realized I didn't want to do, I'd rather try to find something else I love than try to make a career out of something that makes me miserable simply because I feel obligated.

Thanks for the company, lastdazeman! After reading posts on this site, I'm getting the impression that the application process with be a daunting task :/

[lastdazeman]

I'd rather try to find something else I love than try to make a career out of something that makes me miserable simply because I feel obligated.

I was in a small group, supposed to be meeting once a week (we rarely met that often). One of the other guys in the group had finished law school but decided not to practice law. He is now doing financial stuff (he worked for firms like Smith Barney, etc.).

I took one dip into grad school back in 1995, took three courses, and realized it wasn't the best fit for me (besides running out of money and time). It was Human Resource Development and Adult Education. I liked the courses but it seemed it would put me back in the corporate world, and I thought that I wanted to get out of the corporate world.

I've been working in the computer industry for over 25 years but I really don't enjoy the tech stuff. It's a job but I'd rather be reading, writing and researching.

Thanks for responding. It's good to have company to chat with on the journey.

LDM

[PhD2009orbust]

I went to law school knowing that I would not practice law but was interested in academia, hence the reason why I am currently in a PhD program. Like you, my undergrad grades were good but my law school grades were not. I was accepted by a number of schools, so it does not seem to weaken one's application. However, your statement of purpose needs to be extremely strong because you need to prove that you are interested in scholarship/research and not someone who realized that the practice of law is not desirable. Furthermore, graduate school is "more costly" than a non-traditional legal career (more costly, meaning you either are unfunded or you are funded and receive a small stipend but forego gainful employment for a number of years).

[rogue]

I can't weigh in on the grades question, but I heard at least one presenter this week at the ASA conference who was a soc Ph.D. student and had gone to law school prior to that.