Any Lawyers here?

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I am interested in going to Law school, and was wondering if there are any practicing lawyers here. It would possibly be a tough job for someone with AS, but I am interested in it, that is why I ask.

I do not mean to crush your dream or anything but here:" http://www.asperger-marriage.info/survg ... ter15.html " a guy with Asperger's think that being a lawyer is a bad choice if you have this "condition".
But you seem motivated and I have heard that being a doctor isn't something for someone with Asperger's syndrome aswell, but some of them do good.
Personally I don't know much about this profession, but I would guess that generally people with asperger could do very good in analyzing the laws etc.(if they are interested in this ofcourse), as for the social part I am not that sure.
Anyways, I hope someone more qualified can give you better advices.

Good luck!

EDIT: Just found this, so check it out if you haven't read it: http://wrongplanet.net/modules.php?name ... ic&t=19931

Dreams don't mean much to me anymore, I am trying not to have any expectations of life, and to just live one day at a time I know a few lawyers in real life, maybe they can give me some advice. I think you're right that it's a people-person job. Many of the law students I see at my school are extroverted, pretentious, narcissistic types. Then again, that's like a lot of students here

As an aspie and someone with a history of working in the legal field I think you should pursue the career if you're interested in it. Aspies can be great lawyers and I don't want to hear anyone who says otherwise. The fact of the matter is that there are tons of different types of litigation. Some lawyers handle only legal advice and some lawyers handle only criminal cases, some lawyers handle civil cases. Don't forget, however, that more than half of the laywers are employed in business law. Many divisions and fields and careers involved with law rarely ever see the courtroom or any social situations therein. In fact, paralegals and other employees generally deal with the 'customers' more than the lawyer himself will.

Even in a courtroom situation, an aspie will have more of an advantage than a disadvantage, in that you are presenting evidence about which you have already researched and you are speaking only about things that you know. You're using a pre-written script of how the courtroom events are going to unfold. Court room litigation is not a social situation. It is a public speaking skill. And skills are what Aspies are best at.

Hm thanks for the advice, I'll try not to give up just yet It's such a long process just to get into Law school.. It will likely be a few years before that happens, but hopefully, I will eventually get where I want to be .

Depends on the type of law. I was interested in real estate law, which wouldn't be too taxing in most circumstances. Almost any job requires that you deal with people to some extent anyway.

I'm currently a 2L in law school. I studied physics before, and I am now working in the field of patent prosecution. This, to me, seems the perfect field for an Aspie because basically all you do is distinguish between two pieces of technology, and there isn't much client interaction (What interaction there is is mostly with other technical people who also aren't great socially). Law school is completely do-able for an Aspie, although I would like to point out some difficulties:

- If you have a very strong moral/ethic code of your own, it can sometimes interfere with your enjoyment of your classes. Sometimes the things that are discussed in class just don't seem relevent (like discussing property rights only when there have been other egregious human rights violations). Of course, if you're more the type that values technicalities more than getting an outcome that you feel is just, law school will be much more palatable.

- Networking is something that pretty much everyone does, and Aspies have a hard time dealing with this type of random, chit-chatty human interaction (i.e. cocktail parties). The bigger law firms care especially about their associate's ability to do well at this sort of thing. If you find networking hard or exhausting, this will be an area you'll find difficult. But there are things that you can do to compensate, such as emailing, focusing your efforts on getting good grades and not worrying about networking, or looking to other avenues of employment where that type of thing isn't as important (like working for the government).

Sorry I don't know what a "2l in law school" is. And out of curiosity what country/state do you study law in? I don't want you to have to reveal yourself to the internet, but I am just curious. I am in Canada, by the way.

Sorry Space,

2L means second year student. I'm a student in the U.S. (In North Carolina) where law school is always for 3 years. 1L is first year, 2L is second year, and 3L is third year. I have one more year to go.

Same with me, I'm trying to live in the present as well, as I discovered that fretting about my future only results in my brain burning out.

I would have thought that this is areally valid point.

I wouldn't find contract law at all stimulating but something like criminal law the exact opposite.

It would come down to areas of personal interest as it always does with us.

Well, if an Aspie could make it through medical school, then they could go on to fields of medicine with little patient involvement.

Pathology, Radiology to name a couple.

As others have said, there are different kinds of law. Some would be a great fit for someone with AS. Others like criminal law require very good social skills (arguing your position to judge/jury) and probably would not work out so well.

Hi. I've been a practicing lawyer almost 15 years. How can I help?

What sort of law do you practice? How do you like it? What is the nature of your day to day work?

I concentrate in Internet and e-commerce law. My clients are generally small companies who need contracts, policies for the Web sites, advice on how to avoid liability for copyright infringement, and other transactional/counseling matters. I don't do litigation these days because I run a one-man law firm and when I was doing litigation, I enjoyed it but I also went 4 years without taking a vacation. That didn't work so well.

I also write a lot. I have published a three-volume book about Internet law that I update quarterly. (I think that might be a classic aspie behavior, but honestly I am pretty new to this and I am not sure.)

I rented office space for the first 14 years of my practice. In April, my lease was terminated so I had to move out. Since then, I have been working at my home office and at cafes that have wifi access. That is going pretty well.

I like my work. Since I focus on technology issues, I am able to do much of it online, so I don't have a lot of interaction with clients. When I meet them, it is usually for an initial consultation, but we don't work face to face very often. That is fine with me because it gives me a more flexible schedule which has become very important to me.

I am pretty disciplined about getting work done, so I am able to enjoy a flexible work schedule and still remain productive. As I mentioned, that is important to me. The importance derives, in part, from the fact that I also have bipolar disorder type II and have had to deal with recurring depressions that have been at least temporarily disabling. For that reason, I am very careful to limit the number of clients I have at any given time so that I can serve them all professionally and responsibly. Providing first-rate, even exemplary, service to clients is very important to me. If I had to work at a traditional job at a law firm, it would probably be very difficult for me; seeing what some of my friends and colleagues go through, I really doubt I could do it.

I'll be happy to answer any additional questions you may have. Everyone's experience is different, of course, so what works for me might not be a good fit for you.

Also, my undergraduate degree is in computer science, with a technical concentration, and a minor in math. Doing a lot of research and writing also seems to suit me well. Creating this kind of career seems like a natural thing for me. While I enjoy some time with clients, too much can be stressful. I get lots of opportunities to dive into my work and make use of my ability to master details while being able to grasp the big picture.

Does this help? What else would you like to know?

I'm new here and am still getting familiar with the site (as well as Asperger's Syndrome generally). However, I am finding it very helpful and I'd like to help others, if I can.

Last edited by regularguy on 16 Dec 2007, 5:02 am, edited 1 time in total.