Working During Law School: The Pros and Cons of Working Part-Time as a Law Student

Summary: Law school is a serious endeavor that can have serious expenses attached to it. Look to this article for the pros and cons of how part- or even full-time work can affect your law school education.
 

 

• Attending law school requires strict dedication and continual commitment.
• Attending law school also costs what seems to be an increasingly large amount of money.
• And of course, that large amount of money will someday have to be paid off.
• So, can part-time work be beneficial to a law student while attending law school?
• Keep reading to find out. 

 
There are two universal truths about law school:
 

1. Law school is demanding.
2. Law school (in most cases) will be expensive.

 
To be sure, this is nothing new among prospective law students as well as students who are already attending law school.
 
What is new, however, is the year-to-year rise in law school tuition, and the sudden reality to graduated law students that they now face exorbitant student debt due to their legal studies.
 
To that end, one action an increasing amount of law students choose to take to help mitigate their law school debt is by taking on a part-time job.
 
Of course, in doing so, there’s a risk-to-reward ratio that many law students will face as they attempt to study and work.
 
This article outlines the rewards, the risks, and the various types of part-time work that can help counter the eventuality of law school student debt, but at the same time be beneficial for a law student’s studies.
 
Working while attending law school.
 
It used to be that when one attended not just law school, but any sort of graduate program, that working either part time or full time was logistically impossible.
 
This is because the school portion of one’s life at this time was simply too intense and required too much time to afford little else, particularly a part- or even full-time job.
 
Well, these days it seems not working while in a graduate program is no longer an option for many graduate students, particularly law students. In some cases, it’s actually become a requirement.
 
To that point, an article recently published by Enjuris analyzes the pros and cons of being a working law student that both incoming and current law students should be aware of.
 
As the article states, law school tuition is rapidly rising and job salaries are slipping. This new reality has forced many prospective law students to consider working during law school to cover their living expenses as well as the expenses they incur simply by going to law school. 
 
There are, however, certain disadvantages to working during law school. 
 
What’s more, some law schools flat-out prohibit students from working and others urge students to limit the number of hours they work.
 
Of course, there is no one size fits all, and each need of each student will vary, so it is urged that new and existing law students read the following with their own financial situations in mind.
 
Pros of working during law school.
 
Approximately 75% of law school students take out loans to finance their education. Of the students who took out loans in 2018, the average amount borrowed (not including interest) was $115,481.
 
The main advantage of working during law school is that you’ll need fewer loans to survive and therefore you’ll have fewer loans to pay back after you graduate. However, there are 3 less-obvious benefits to working during law school that you should consider: 
 

• An opportunity to clear your mind. Studying the law can be grueling. What’s more, law students have a difficult time “stepping away” from the law because they spend most of their time surrounded by law students who are constantly thinking about the law, talking about the law, and (in some cases) trying to intimidate or undermine the confidence of other law students. Having a job forces you to step away from the law and interact with people outside of law school. As a result, you’ll gain perspective and avoid law school drama and anxiety.  
• Time management. Although working during law school gives you less time to study, this might actually be a good thing. People with less time to accomplish something are forced to be more efficient with their time. Having a job can help you avoid procrastination and learn to work smarter rather than harder. 
• Resume building. If you’re able to get good grades and work during law school, it will be seen as a plus by potential employers. Law firms trying to determine which candidates can handle multiple cases and grueling hours will be impressed by your ability to successfully manage both work and law school.  

 
Cons of working during law school.
 
During your first year of law school, you can expect to be in class roughly 12–15 hours per week. In addition, you can expect to spend roughly 45 hours per week studying. At roughly 57–60 hours per week, law school is a full-time job, and this doesn’t even include the other demands that you’ll likely have to deal with in your second and third years of law school, such as law review, moot court competitions, and mock interviews. 
 
Having less time to study is particularly problematic because your law school success determines, in part, the jobs you can get after law school. For example, most large law firms won’t consider candidates who don’t finish in the top 15% of their class. 
 
While having less time to study is the biggest disadvantage to working during law school, there are a couple of less-obvious disadvantages as well: 
 

• No free time. The research shows that having “downtime” actually makes people more productive. Most law students attempt to turn off their brains by watching movies or taking walks outside. Working during law school may limit or completely eliminate your downtime. 
• Summer conflicts. The vast majority of law students spend their summers participating in legal internships (some of which are paid). There are many benefits to legal internships, including networking, resume building, and setting yourself up to receive a job offer from the internship. Students who work may not be able to get the time off necessary to participate in a legal internship. 

 
The best part-time jobs for law students.
 
The type of job you perform can mitigate or intensify the disadvantages of working during law school. Let’s take a look at two hypotheticals to illustrate this point: 
 
The Enjuris article highlights two law students, Laura and Rick, and charts how working while in law school has affected not just their studies, but their lives as well.
 
Laura is a law student at Harvard Law School. Housing in Boston costs a small fortune and she wants to work during law school to help with the expenses. She takes a job working as a parking attendant where she spends most of her time sitting in a quiet booth. Her employer allows her to bring her books to work and so she is able to study for most of her shift.
 
Rick is a law student at Gonzaga Law School. He decides to work while attending law school and takes a job as a bartender. The bar is loud and busy, and Rick often doesn’t get home until 3:00 in the morning. Because of his schedule, Rick is frequently exhausted and can hardly stay awake during his classes. What’s more, his employer needs him to work during the summer and he must, therefore, turn down a prestigious internship offer.
 
Clearly Laura’s working situation is more conducive to the demands of law school than Rick’s job.
 
What’s worse – at least for Rick – is his work will severely debilitate his legal education and most importantly, his work options once he graduates from law school and begins to apply to law firms.
 
Laura is ahead of the game; it takes little effort to direct drivers to parking spaces or collect their parking fees when they leave. Add to that the fact that she wisely uses her downtime at her job to study, and her work situation positively compliments her law school studies.
 
Rick, on the other hand, may potentially miss out on a summer internship, which has been proven to be crucial to a future lawyer’s ability to be hired into a good law firm.
 
To that end, Enjuris lists what it believes are solid part-time jobs for law students, though to be honest, there are many other jobs that can benefit law school attendees.
 
Types of jobs that tend to be ideal for law students include:
 

• Library assistant
• Dorm receptionist/security monitor
• Campus tour guide
• Research assistant
• Receptionist
• Retail employer
• Parking attendant

 
If these jobs do two things – 1) Pay reasonably and 2) Allow for more time to study, then they are keepers. What both prospective and already attending law students do not need is a job that will hamper their studies.
 
So, to that fact, it is incumbent upon the law student to clearly analyze who they are as a student and a person, and with that, weigh the pros and cons of any part-time job that can supplement their law school costs.
 
Be selective about the type of part-time work you choose.
 
The best part-time jobs for any sort of student, including, of course, law students, will probably be on campus.
 
Sure, a library assistant or dorm receptionist can provide a reasonable side income, but will they supplement your law school chops while providing you income?
 
This is why you need to be selective about the type of part-time work you choose for yourself. You will want work that compliments your studies. Therefore, the following on-campus jobs are suggested:
 

• Assisting part-time in a writing lab
• Working part time in the law school’s administrative office
• Working part time as a counselor for incoming law students

 
These part-time gigs will keep you close to your classes, professors and keep your mind sharp and focused when it comes time for you to go to class, write a legal paper, or take a test.
 
If you’re going to work part time while in law school, you better be disciplined.
 
Law School HQ maintains that while working during a law school career is entirely possible, discipline is the only glue that will hold together both your law studies and your work.
 
Even if a law student receives a partial or full scholarship from the school they attend, a six-figure student loan debt might still hover on the horizon.
 
And if you choose to take summer classes (including unpaid internships) you can expect to add more costs to your tuition.
 
Many students will want to work during law school in some form or another but choosing whether you have enough time to devote to a job, and where to work are two very important considerations.
 
Working in law school can be done, but at a cost.
 
Working while in law school can be done. In fact, as Law School HQ states, in many cases it should be done as working while in law school can be a great way to get extra money for fun and/or to offset student debt.
 
But if you’re familiar with the history of The American Bar Association (ABA), it previously limited students to maximum of 20 hours per week of working while in law school.
 
However, because of economic pressures on law school students, particularly with the rising cost of law school tuition, it looks like that limit was dropped a few years ago. However, some legal learning institutions still feel the regulation as necessary.
 
Whatever the case, if you are thinking of working while in law school, you should consider the following:
 

• Can you be extremely disciplined and manage your time for both areas?
• Will your job allow you to step away if you need to devote more time to studying?
• How much income will you have as a result of this job?
• Will the additional income outweigh the loss of time devoted to studying?
• Will this job help you towards your ultimate goal of becoming a lawyer?

 
This last question is important. You may be someone who has worked at a local coffee shop, you have the skillset and can get the job done, and make some easy money, but will it help you develop the skills necessary to be an attorney? If not, it may be worth considering other jobs to help you towards your ultimate goal.
 
When should you start working in law school?
 
If you are considering working (and are a full-time student) start thinking about your job prospects after the first semester has been completed. Most students start thinking about summer internships, or clerking positions after they receive their first semester grades (it is also a great way for prospective employers to gauge your experience).
 
Is working in law school worth it?
 
Working in law school can be a very rewarding experience. However, it is a very personal question as to whether working while in law school is truly worth it. It requires, however, that you maintain a good work life balance and consideration as to how working will move your career forward.
 
You really don’t want to burn yourself out while in law school. If you do, you’ll face a tough haul in your legal career.
 
So to that point, if you are in a job with low pay, and not offering a great experience that will help you develop the skills necessary to practice law, then consider speaking with your school’s career counselor (after all, they are supposed to help you prepare your resume, and come up with a game plan on how to launch into a successful law career).
 
3 Important tips for the law school student-worker.
 
Find Law.com offers 3 important tips that can make the most of your attempts to work part time (or even full time) while studying law.
 
As the website states, there's no doubt about the fact that law school is expensive. Most law students have to take out student loans in order to afford their education. To reduce the financial burden, many students will seek out summer work, or explore working during the school year.
 
Although going to law school full-time leaves very little time for anything else, working a part-time job, particularly a legal job, is possible, and even good for your resume, especially if you can keep your grades up too.
 
If going to law school part-time is out of the question for you, then working full-time during the school year should be, too.
 
Below are three tips to help you work while attending law school.
 
1. Follow the rules.
 
Under the ABA rules, technically, you're not supposed to work more than 20 hours a week while attending law school full time (12 or more credits). Given that 12 credits will roughly translate to about 40-50 hours of combined class and study time (at least for your first year or two), working more than 20 hours a week could cut into the time you need to take care of your basic needs, like sleeping, eating, bathing, and paying your bills. If you are blessed with superhuman levels of energy, you can likely get away with working more hours as enforcement of the 20 hour a week rule is traditionally unheard of.
 
2. School Is your priority.
 
Even if you're only working 10 hours a week, beware of burnout, as law school and legal work can both be mentally taxing; you don't want to burnout a week or month before exams (or at any time).
 
Simply put, you cannot put work ahead of school on your list of priorities. After all, what's the point of your law clerking job if you don't graduate, let alone sit for and pass the bar exam?
Unless you have mouths to feed, work has to take a back seat to anything related to your education.
 
3. Discipline, discipline, discipline.
 
Being disciplined and keeping a regular routine around your work-school schedule is incredibly helpful in maintaining your sanity, health, and grades. In addition to study-time, you need to build time into your routine for everyday tasks, including taking personal time for relaxation, exercise, and social interaction, and, of course, adequate sleeping time.
 
Writing down your weekly schedule in an hour by hour format will help you stick to it. Creating and sticking to a routine that accounts for all your needs will definitely help you perform your best; however, don't be afraid to tweak your routine.
 
Ultimately, the decision is up to you.
 
In the U.S. News and World Report article, How to Decide if You Should Work During Law School, it is asserted that as law school applicants and students know, the three years spent studying law is extremely expensive, both in tuition dollars and the income you forgo while in school. 
 
Sure, financial aid is the most efficient way to limit student debt, but not everyone can receive a full scholarship. This leads many students to contemplate working during school, even if they do have a full ride to cover their educational expenses, though not necessarily their living expenses.
 
However, another well-known truth about law school is the importance of grades and the competitive academic environment where you are graded on a curve against your peers.
 
So, will working distract from your studies? Only you can answer that question.
 
Full-time law students
 
If you plan to attend law school full time, be very cautious about committing to responsibilities outside of classes and assignments. 
 
While it’s been previously stated that the American Bar Association imposes a 20-hour employment limit on any law student enrolled in more than 12 class hours, those 12 hours are usually the maximum for part-time students so this rule, in effect, only applies to full-time law students.
 
How strictly this rule is enforced varies dramatically from school to school, so it’s recommended that students be careful to not overcommit themselves. 
 
Your class rank affects employment opportunities after graduation, so if your grades suffer as a result of working, the consequences can be much more costly than the money you make working part time.
 
Additionally, keep in mind that even if you choose to get a part-time job, many of your peers will not. You will compete against students who have more time to study than you do.
 
U.S. News and World Report recommends law students focus on classes during their first year, known as the 1L year, or at least during their first semester.
 
Your 1L grades are of utmost importance because they are the only grades available for evaluation when you apply for internships between your second and third years.
 
Many law students obtain job offers from these internships or get excellent recommendations and experiences that impact their job search.
 
So, with that, take that summer internship very seriously and your 1L grades very seriously.
 
The first year of law school is also known to be the most challenging. Many students mistakenly believe it will be like their freshman year of college, where emphasis is placed on exploring various subject areas and socializing.
 
In the first year of law school, however, students are thrown into dense material with hundreds of pages of reading per week. If there is a year to not work during law school, it is 1L.
 
After your first year, if you feel you are up to the challenge of balancing law classes and work, it is recommended that you limit your work commitment to 5 to 10 hours per week.
 
If you need to work a lot during a semester, consider taking 12 or fewer class hours, and if you have teaching talent, consider LSAT tutoring as a way to earn money, while working flexible hours at a good hourly rate.
 
And finally, the part-time law student 
 
Many students choose to attend law school part time in order to generate income simultaneously or save a bit of “ready cash” they otherwise would not be able to obtain if they were full-time law students.
 
It is certainly possible to work full time while attending law school on evenings or weekends. However, it is the belief of many in the legal business that if you decide to pay for a legal education, you should dedicate the majority of your focus to studies.
 
You may wish to consider working 15 to 30 hours per week and going to school part time. It is ideal if you currently have a full-time employer that will permit you to switch to part-time status during your studies.
 
In that scenario, you are familiar with the work environment and hopefully have a good relationship with your supervisor, whose understanding and flexibility will be invaluable during school.
 
If that is not possible, consider searching for part-time work.
 
In the end, it is up to your personal learning style, and you should evaluate what level you believe you can balance.
 
Conclusion
 
If anything, this article showcases how much larger the decision to go to law school is than law school itself. Many considerations need to be hammered out once you decide to begin legal studies; your financial situation and needs is just one of the considerations.
 
To that point, think clearly and carefully about how much you can handle in part- or even full-time work while attending law school. And lastly, know your priorities while attending law school and working. Only you know what’s best for you.