How feasible is to be self-employed after law school?

Question

Hey guys,

I am currently self-employed, and I'm considering going to law school. I provide educational consultations to my clients. However, I feel there are limits to how much I can charge with my current job(market demands).

I am considering going to law school since I saw that a lawyer I hired was charging $300-500 per hour for revising a contract. This type of work is very similar to the kind of consulting I'm doing, except I'm getting paid less. A client will send me a project; I'll revise it and return it. This job only takes a few hours a week.

I've been self-employed before, and I know how to set up a website or pay a third party for advertisement. Also,I have some money save up so I wouldn't go into debt if I were to go to law school.

I want to hear from others who have to pursue are pursing this route. What is your take?

Enrique Kratz · Answer

@Brandon Plombon

Thanks for the feedback Brandon. It'll be looking into merit scholarships.

Brandon Plombon · Answer

If you are going back to school I would definitely recommend looking at financial aid in the form of grants, tuition assistance, and other federally backed student loan programs. Grants or scholarships might have stipulations but can you really complain if you are getting free money? Also with interest rates as low as they are - I think there are some low rates even better than what I got for my federal student loans. A lot of those programs will be based on income and you may/may not qualify.

As far as attorneys "redoing" title work and other silly documents are charging $400+ per revision even though 95% of it is done by a paralegal and is copying/pasting from the last time they did it. Yes, I do agree that is silly but its the industry. They provide important services to banks in the form of protecting the collateral and in return banks lend on real estate to individuals/investors confident in the clean exchange of ownership. In addition, most people won't agree attorney fees for several hundred or thousand dollars. You deserve to charge that much after all you invested time and money into your education to further your career. Good luck on the BAR if you decide to go!