Law Thread

So, shot in the dark!

I've never really created a thread on AP/Chorus before, and I have no idea if I'm targeting an imaginary audience, but I figure it'd be neat to see if we have any other active or aspiring JD/Esq users, or maybe people who just want to chat about all things law-related.

To kick things off, I'm an entertainment and business litigation attorney in Los Angeles with a primary focus on copyright law and the music industry. My biggest cases right now are national class actions (one of which is already certified) against two major music broadcasters for not paying royalties on pre-1972 sound recordings, plus a third one dealing with Section 115 licenses under the Copyright Act. I'm also dealing with a lot of estates right now for some reason -- we've got three(!) cases pending against Michael Jackson and one against Scott Weiland. I never thought I'd have to bother actually learning probate law, but here I am.

Anyone else?

 

There might be only 2 of us.

I'm an in-house attorney at a large e-commerce company in Chicago. I focus on commercial transactions so I draft, negotiate, review, and revise contracts all day, and provide legal advice to various business units within the company. I mainly focus on our third-party marketplace for products and our events, plus some work with some of our sales staff and our facilities team.

How long have you been practicing? I'm about 7 years in.

 

Hah, you may be right -- I think I remember seeing you in a thread about the ADTR/Victory lawsuit back on AP. I'm in my fourth year, so measurably greener than you. Did you go transactional right out of the gate? I have a few friends with cushy in-house jobs who keep telling me how much better life is on the other side, but I just can't bear to make the switch yet for some reason.

 

Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that thread on AP. I tend to block most Victory related stuff from my memory, haha.

I worked at a small trademark firm for my first job, but that only lasted about 10 months before I got laid off (this was back in '09, which was a terrible time to be a young attorney). I also spent some time working with a really small general practice on a part-time basis after that, but I always knew I wanted to do transactional work over litigation and that I wanted to end up in-house.

I kinda stumbled ass backwards into this job, but I've been doing it a little over 4 years now and it's going well. The money could be better, but the work-life balance would be tough to beat.

 

If you can believe it, there was a brief period of time where I was poised to represent Victory as the lead plaintiff in a class action. They ended up settling and we went with a different lead, but man was I feeling conflicted before then, haha.

Oof, yeah, '09-'10 was my 1L year, so I heard all about the bloodbath that was the hiring climate around then. Things were marginally better when I graduated, but it helped that I basically locked in my first post-grad job as a 2L. Small shop, but doing the exact type of litigation that I wanted, and with flexible hours to boot (although that came with miserable independent contractor pay). I hacked it for two years until the pay was no longer commensurate with the experience I was getting, then serendipitously got poached by my current boss for double the pay and much higher profile clients/cases. The hours are no longer as flexible, but still much better than any BigLaw job, and I do get to ride a bike to work, which is pretty sweet. Still, a friend of mine who works in-house at Square Enix asks me about switching to transaction every time we catch up, seemingly to try and prevent me from developing Stockholm syndrome.

Do you see yourself jumping ship anytime soon for another type of company? One of the things I've never been too clear about is how portable the skills in a transactional setting prove to be (beyond familiarity with contract law). I know a guy who put in a good 15 years at a major label's publishing wing, then got laid off, and apparently there was nowhere for him to go (either the positions weren't available or nobody wanted him for a comparable gig), so he had to start from scratch as a litigator. I don't envy him at all.

 

Ha, I cannot believe you almost represented Victory. I would not have been able to take on that case for ethical reasons, there's no way I could have been a vigorous advocate for them

I really like transactional work, and I'm not worried at all about moving on from here. Some of the work is a little esoteric, but for the most part any large company with an in-house legal department is going to have contracts to review and that touch on the things I work on. I also get some exposure to other areas of law like regulatory, privacy, employment, etc. It also helps being in the e-commerce world, and ostensibly at a "tech" company, which tends to carry a little more weight these days.

I have no plans to move on any time soon. My bosses are great, the work is interesting, and I get to take on more responsibility as I want to progress in my career. Plus it's a great work environment with a great work-life balance, a kegerator, 6 weeks paid paternity leave (which I'm about to take advantage of starting next week!), unlimited vacation, a casual dress code, and I can bike to work too.

 

Things sure are getting specific around here.

 

Oh hey, a law thread! Thanks for the heads up, Dan!

Checking in, currently finishing up my miserable 1L finals.
Anyone else in academic/professional limbo on here?

 

Hello Law thread!

I just finished my JD and am about to start bar prep. Does anyone have any stirring words of advice for an aspiring up and coming attorney?

 

I just finished undergrad and going to law school has been on my mind since high school. I took a class my sophomore year of undergrad called "Election Law," in which we looked at some cases about elections (rights to vote, administering, poll taxes, etc) and had a legitimate law book. It was one of the two most interesting classes that I took in undergrad.

I just graduated a week ago and I've been trying to figure out what the hell to do next. Law school sounds really appealing, yet really worried that a not so hot GPA will really hold back my prospects.

I guess I don't know where I'm going with this post other than that I'm very interested in law school.

 

Taking the LSAT in two weeks

 

I'm kinda stuck in limbo, but worry about that later. Make sure you take some time to celebrate finishing 1L, that year is pretty brutal.

If your interested in Law School, I defiantly recommend looking into it. Law school is a HUGE time and money investment, but is worth it.

You can try reaching out to some law school admissions offices and tell them your interested in attending. When I was looking for law schools, it was really easy to sign up for a tour and talk to some students. You might even get put in touch with a professor who is familiar with election law and help you find out if that is a field you want to continue pursuing.

 

If the LSAT was only logic games then I'd probably get a 180 on it, but alas...

 

Got a 166, y'all. Really happy but also considering taking it again because I feel like I have the potential to get higher if I have more time to practice

 

I wanna bring this back since I'm in the process of hearing back on my applications now. @alex where did you end up applying to?

 

Also in the process of waiting to hear back on applications! I applied to Penn State, Ohio State, UGA, William & Mary, Georgia State, IU Bloomington, Notre Dame, and Boston College. Where did you apply Craig?

 

I use my boyfriends old law school books to press my tofu and they work great.

/ only contribution to this thread, bye

 

Bought a bunch of materials to start studying with about a month ago. Got to start studying

 

Man, that was the exact opposite problem I had. Hahaha

And a belated congrats on your 166. That is a solid score.

 

Funny enough, I found out moments after posting earlier than I have been accepted to Georgia State. As a Georgia resident, it’s great to have an affordable option. Best of luck guys!

 

Congrats! I remember when I got my first acceptance. It was an awesome feeling.

Good luck on the rest!

 

I applied to a bunch of schools that I'm waiting to hear back from including: UPenn (my dream school though I'll likely get waitlisted with my score/GPA), Northwestern, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt

I have already gotten into Washington University in St. Louis (with an incredible scholarship that has pushed them into my current #1), Ohio State, UNC Chapel Hill, George Washington, and my home state school Seton Hall

Working full time plus studying for the LSAT was tough but it paid off. I was really proud of my 168, even if I had been practice testing in the mid 170s for the week before the test. The anxiety on test day just got to me.

Keep me updated on how your apps go!

 

Congrats! I felt the same way when I was accepted to Seton Hall. It's great to have an option close to home in case something goes wrong before the fall and I need to stay near home.

 

Wash U is a really good school.

My only gripe is that I went against them two years in a row in Moot Court and their coaches (who I assume were professors) were such assholes.

But the students were good people.

 

Buy THE LSAT TRAINER and the Powerscore Logic Games Bible. Both helped me worlds more than the course i took (Don't take the Testmasters course it's a waste of money)