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From: mnemonic@eff.org (Mike Godwin)
Newsgroups: misc.legal,comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Is it reasonable to become a lawyer?
Message-ID: <1991Apr11.210144.19264@eff.org>
Date: 11 Apr 91 21:01:44 GMT
References: <41162@cup.portal.com>
Distribution: usa
Organization: The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Lines: 48

In article <41162@cup.portal.com> ts@cup.portal.com (Tim W Smith) writes:
>
>I'm wondering if it would be reasonable when I tire of programming
>to get legal training or even become a lawyer and specialize in
>these areas.

Assuming that it is ever reasonable to become a lawyer, yes, what
you describe here is reasonable.

>What does it take to switch to law from another profession?  For
>example, how much preparation must one have before law school,
>and what does it take to get into law school, and how much does
>it cost, and how long does it take?

No further educational prep is necessary, other than law school
itself, which typically lasts three years. Prices vary--check a 
Barron's guide or something similar.

>And if I do this, what are the prospects after law school?  I don't
>think I want to actually end up as a working lawyer.  I think I would
>like to end up working with my current employer in a research capacity
>(which the owner of the company says fits in with his plans for me)
>which would take up maybe 30 hrs/week, and then maybe donate the
>rest of my time to organizations like the EFF or other such organizations
>that are interested in these issues or just providing free advice to
>people who can't afford a lawyer (like, say, BBS operators or
>shareware authors).  Would this be useful to such organizations
>or groups, or am I just being crazy here?

Job oppportunities will vary, depending on your performance in school
and your interests. It's hard to predict ahead of time what either will
be. I work for EFF because there aren't many lawyers like me. I think
there may well be a market for more of them.

On the other hand, there are a lot of lawyers out there.



--Mike




-- 
Mike Godwin, (617) 864-0665 | "Language is a virus
mnemonic@eff.org            |  from outer space."
Electronic Frontier         |  
Foundation                  |