Did you work full-time while in law school? If not, how were you able to afford going to school? What type of paid jobs did you have while attending?
- ally
I didn't work full-time while I was in law school. The American Bar Association (ABA) actually prohibited 1Ls from working more than 20 hours per week when I was in law school. (The ABA has since dropped that prohibition.) I, like many of my peers, took out student loans to cover living expenses during the school year. Student loans are incredibly easy to get (probably too easy, tbh), and most students I knew didn't take on paid jobs during the school year, spending their time instead on journals, clinics, and other student organizations.
In all honesty, I think Harvard Law students treated loans way too cavalierly, which was only possible due to the privilege of knowing that we really had to screw up majorly to not get a biglaw job and the existence of the Low Income Protection Plan for aspiring public interest lawyers. This privilege meant that not a lot of students worked during the school year. (One guy I know even bought an engagement ring with his student loans.) For HLS students and those similarly situated, summer fellowship funding and biglaw summer internships (which pay first-year associate salary, just prorated for the summer) supplemented our student loans to cover living costs. I wouldn't recommend this route unless you (A) want to work in biglaw and attend a school that reasonably guarantees that you will find employment in biglaw or (B) your law school's loan repayment assistance or forgiveness program (or the federal loan forgiveness program) covers your intended public interest career.
While it's not advisable to work during 1L, you can definitely work during the school year of 2L and 3L (in addition to any paid summer work you may do). Chloe Diaz, one of my favorite lawtokers, has videos about working during law school. See her videos about how she figured out when she could balance work with school and how much she got paid during law school. You'll still probably have to take out an eye-popping amount in student loans (unless you have scholarships--which you should really try to get during your admissions cycle!), but paid legal work during the school year and summer can decrease the amount of loans you'll have to take out.
Have a question for Cece? Submit it here.