Law School: Yes, It's Worth It!

“Why are you’re here?” was the question I heard a lot in law school, from fellow students and professors.

It seemed like a mystery that an already successful consultant--someone who was prominent in his field and even did frequent “Phoners,” guest appearances via cell phone with radio stations worldwide from the school’s parking lot—why would he NEED a law degree?

To placate them, I’d tell them that I wanted the knowledge for defensive reasons, to protect the intellectual property rights I was accumulating at a fast clip with my books, audio and video programs, seminars, and other media.

Partly true, that wasn’t the only reason, though technically I suppose it was one of the best.

I wanted the law degree largely because I wanted it.

It was a mountain to climb, and having finished a Ph.D. seven years before that, I was itching for a real intellectual challenge.

I got what I had bargained for. Pursuing my consulting gig and attending classes was a real challenge. It meant restricting my clientele largely to west coast companies.

I finished the program, early as it turned out, and I was the only person to walk through graduation having already passed the bar exam.

Soon after that, I was asked: “Was it worth it?”

In today’s dollars, I was out of pocket more than $150,000, and I had foregone some lucrative consulting engagements that could have brought in a lot more. Pegging the true cost of the experience at about $750,000-$1 million, that “value” question loomed large.

Was it actually worth it?

The answer is yes.

Doing a little self-lawyering, I recouped my tuition within a few short years. Armed with the knowledge, I undertook even larger consulting engagements with fully open eyes about the risks versus rewards that were involved.

But most important, I realized a dream, an aspiration that was suitable for me. I proved something to myself; broadened my outlook and abilities, and boosted my self-confidence.

Along the way, I’ve helped some other people, as well.

If you decide to go to law school or to any graduate school, you’ll probably ask yourself many, many times, as you’re bogged down with interminable homework, “Is this worth it?”

Money aside, if it’s what YOU want to do, of course it is!!

Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 850 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered "The Gold Standard"--the foremost expert in sales development, customer service, and telephone effectiveness. Top-rated as a speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the globe and the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.