Law school

[eastcoaster782]

I've been working in politics/campaign finance for over two years now and decided that I'd like to earn a law degree, so I can move ahead in my profession. Since I don't plan on really pursuing this until after the 08 presidential election, I have time to think about this (and I may even wait another year just to make sure I'm financially ready).

The daunting thing right now is that there's a lot of information for me to absorb. Where do I begin? For those currently in school, how did you start preparing? For example, how much time in advance would I need to prepare for the LSATs? Are all law schools the same or do I need to find only those schools that specialize in elections/campaign finance? Once I earn my J.D., do I go on further to earn the LLM?

Thanks!

[Kragthorpe]

I've worked in DC and on Campaigns and went to law school and now practice civil rights and employment law. In the political profession, do not, do not, do not, equate having a law degree with the reason some may "get farther in the field." What I mean is that while some may have law degrees and be higher up than you, they likely are not necessarily higher up BECAUSE OF their law degree. Notable examples of significant political pros without law degrees include Chris Matthews, Frank Luntz, Dick Morris, Tim Russert, and George Stephanopolous. Want to go far in the political realm, study Matthews and Russert -- get out there, take any job available with any responsibility, and try to be in the right place at the right time. Often, the big political jobs are first given the the guy in the room, not the guy with the best education.

Secondly, my own experience is that I was well on my way to doing political work and left DC to go to law school. After 3 years in that cocoon, my contacts had gone dry and I was left with substantial student loan debts and getting back into politics at the level I was already was impossible. Chances are you'll go to law school, and actually take a step backward.

Finally, don't go to law school just for the parchment. Go with a clear idea of why you want the degree, how you'll use it, and what you'll want to do with it afterward...otherwise, law school will quite possibly be the worst experience of your life. My two cents would be to go to grad school for some degree in economics, math, or statistics, any or all of those with a Public Administration emphasis. The political field is filled with fresh-faced kids with a lot of general ideas and a will to power, but very few with intellectual substance. The law degree will convert you to any prototypical attorney with a political bent, but something like stats and economics could give a huge edge to you in working with strategists, pollsters, and consultants, as well as with serious policy analysts. Law school won't give you anything you can't already do in that field. Another substantive degree very much will.

[eastcoaster782]

Thanks for your feedback. Unless I decide I want to become an enforcer of campaign law (i.e. working for the FEC or as an attorney for a candidate), then I should broaden my options.

You're correct about "being at the right place at the right time." That's how I obtained my current position.