Thinking about studying for a law degree.

pagey2

Hi,

I'm Looking for some advice. I would love to Study law, it's something I have always wanted to do but my circumstances changed and I wasn't able to do it.
I wouldn't want to become a Solicitor or a Barrister, however I would like to work in fraud investigation or advocacy.

If there is anyone out there that can give me some advise on the above I would be so grateful. I have read a lot on how a law degree is like an arts degree and people advising others to do something else. I am very interested in law so I know its what I want to do.

Many Thanks in Advance:)

johnnyskeleton

If you want to get into fraud investigation, the gardai have a new intake in 2014.

NoQuarter

King's Inn also run a white collar crime class. Might be worth a look.

There's barely any fraud theory in a law degree.

LowKeyReturn

A wise man one said... Business and Law. (Think it was the poster above :P)

What do you mean by advocacy btw?

NoQuarter

LowKeyReturn wrote: »

A wise man one said... Business and Law. (Think it was the poster above :P)

To which the poster who is now above replied, if I remember correctly, "booooring". :pac:

nuac

Parts of any degree course, including law, can be interesting.

If it is a retirement project, or you can otherwise afford it, fine.

Many colleges tout their law degrees and post grad degrees as a path to riches and status. Not so

However if you intend to make your living from law, talk to people working at the coalface.

Most solicitors I know, and I know many, wish they had done something else.

Cody Pomeray

I have to admit I groan every time I hear people groan at career prospects in the legal professions.

Yes there are people from my graduation class who are barmen and sheep shearers in Oz. There are also a few people who are doing completely fine, or have completely bucked that trend and are establishing themselves.

Solicitors and Barristers are muddling through the downturn just like everyone else. The biggest negative effect is on those who qualified in the last 8-20 years and are catastrophically personally indebted. New graduates and newly qualified practitioners are in a very different place to those guys. Remember, we're coming from baked beans and toast, we've been hearing about the doom for the past 6 years non-stop. It's actually not as bad as it's made out to be in the eyes of many young legal practitioners.

Also, nobody's expecting a return to the boom time incomes. But you can make a decent income as a solicitor or a barrister with a few years behind you, and there is absolutely no credible reason to believe this has changed.

McCrack

I agree. Doing the right kind of work and doing it well will pay.

boomtown84

So...what's the right kind of work to be doing these days?

johnnyskeleton

boomtown84 wrote: »

So...what's the right kind of work to be doing these days?

Banking, Insolvency, general litigation.

GeorgeOrwell

I'm Looking for some advice. I would love to Study law, it's something I have always wanted to do but my circumstances changed and I wasn't able to do it.

Great! If you're interested in the law, then studying it can be absolutely fascinating. You learn some great tales and it's always eye-opening, and learning how to unpick a real life set of facts into legal principles can be really rewarding. It's a really interesting subject to learn, although the workload can be very heavy.

I wouldn't want to become a Solicitor or a Barrister, however I would like to work in fraud investigation or advocacy.

Many accountants work in fraud investigation; the main consultancy firms (KPMG, Deloitte et al) do fraud investigations so it might be worth finding out what their staff studied. While most of them will probably have studied accountancy or business, they work very closely with legal experts. Studying law is by no means preventing you working in fraud investigations.

Advocacy is what barristers do in court. They advocate on behalf of a client. Do you mean political advocacy? ie. lobbying?

If there is anyone out there that can give me some advise on the above I would be so grateful. I have read a lot on how a law degree is like an arts degree and people advising others to do something else. I am very interested in law so I know its what I want to do.

If you find law interesting, then study it! In general, it's easier and more fulfilling to study something you're interested in than study something you've no interest in.

People on this folder who tell others not to study law are usually projecting their own dislike of studying it!

nuac

GeorgeOrwell wrote: »

Great! If you're interested in the law, then studying it can be absolutely fascinating. You learn some great tales and it's always eye-opening, and learning how to unpick a real life set of facts into legal principles can be really rewarding. It's a really interesting subject to learn, although the workload can be very heavy.






If you find law interesting, then study it! In general, it's easier and more fulfilling to study something you're interested in than study something you've no interest in.

People on this folder who tell others not to study law are usually projecting their own dislike of studying it!

Studying law is fine, I liked it.

It's the practice that's difficult

johnnyskeleton

nuac wrote: »

Studying law is fine, I liked it.

It's the practice that's difficult

Much like every profession. Still, if you can't be a rock star / Hollywood starlet / Wayne Rooney / professional beer taster, you gotta do something.

nuac

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Much like every profession. Still, if you can't be a rock star / Hollywood starlet / Wayne Rooney / professional beer taster, you gotta do something.

That's so. However most solicitors I know wish they had done something else. Go figure

Cody Pomeray

nuac wrote: »

That's so. However most solicitors I know wish they had done something else. Go figure

Maybe that says more about their personal motivations than anything else. I know a guy who was inspired to join the bar from the coverage of the tribunals and the fantastic fees that barristers were supposedly enjoying. I'm sure he regrets not consulting the legal aid fees scheme instead of those newspaper reports.

By all accounts, there was stupid money to be made in the solicitors' profession too, during the boom. But what you're saying appears to apply to people who got into law in the good times and now regret it. Only the very naive could doubt that the boom is over. Fresh joiners are not joining with wild expectations, so I don't see any major relevance to youngsters today, filling out their CAO form or thinking about KI.

In fact, I would worry about the opposite effect, of high achievers being overly pessimistic about their career and income prospects in the legal professions.

littlemac1980

nuac wrote: »

That's so. However most solicitors I know wish they had done something else. Go figure

Most people I know wish they'd done something else - it's human nature.

LowKeyReturn

littlemac1980 wrote: »

Most people I know wish they'd done something else - it's human nature.

They key is do they. I really hated my chosen career, hence the move. I think is you stay it's generally not that bad after all. Especially solicitors, there's a number of things they can do. I suppose it's different if you have sprogs, but then again if you really want something you make it happen.

chops018

No offence to nuac at all here. But, I have seen him/her regularly coming onto this thread and spouting about how as a career he/her didn't like it, and knows plenty of others that didn't like it. I have met a few that said they don't like it, then I have met others that are in love with it and say they would never think of doing anything else.

It is your own point of view whether you like it or not. Sure things got tough from the recession, and they did seem to hit law hard, but if you like something and work hard then there should be no problem. I saw a thread the other day about a guy saying he is recently qualified and on 24k a year, which as it was suggested is fairly low. But if he likes the career and that wage is getting him by at the moment then I say persevere, if he is good enough he will go on a higher wage, not everything is handed to you anymore I'm afraid. You have to work for your career now. You can't sit there and say I wish I had done something else just because you're not successful. If you really do hate it fair enough, then try and make a change, other than that I don't think people should speak for everyone or the profession in general just because it was hit a bit hard by the recession.

I remember my guidance counsellor told us when we were in secondary school: almost everyone could do any job if they were given the proper time and training, but, it's whether you like and enjoy it is what's most important!

GeorgeOrwell

The world is full of solicitors and barristers who wish they had done something else.

But it's also full of accountants, teachers, farmers, Gardai and pilots who wish they had done something else.

Just because they are unhappy with their profession, or are struggling to enjoy it or be successful in it, it does not mean that the same will happen to you.

I know loads of barristers, solicitors, teachers, farmers, Gardai and pilots who enjoy their jobs, get satisfaction from it and keep going with it.

Take advice, and be aware that the legal profession is going through a tough period, but don't be put off by people who are projecting their own personal dis-satisfaction onto you!