The Student Room Group

Can I become a good lawyer?

I am going to study law in university this coming September and I've recently (for a few months) been in doubt whether I'd actually make it as a lawyer. I have a few worries including:
1. For starters I've always been good at the sciences and maths and English has always been a weak point. For a long time I was contemplating medicine since my parents wanted it and I was strong in the subjects (it all came naturally) but I really dislike the thought of the long journey, the environment, the daily life just doesn't appeal much to me and them pushing it too much also turned me off. Also I prefer subjects more intellectually stimulating and problem solvy like physics and maths compared to heavy memorisation in biology. Chemistry was a mix so I quite enjoyed it but not as much. Same with stem, I don't really like the thought of engineering as I don't like creating stuff or understanding parts and maths and physics felt a bit too general of degrees, that my parents would for sure not let me do. So in conclusion my first point is that I feel I would be fit for and be able to excel in the above subjects mentioned and dont want to feel like im wasting my potential.
2. As previously mentioned English is a weak point of mine (essays in general) and law is mainly essay writing. I say it's a weak point but in both NAT 5 and higher English I got A1's (just barely because I was lucky with what showed up in the exams). For this reason I do think I'm good enough at essay writing but not nearly as good as I am with the sciences. Is this a reason to not do law?
3. I'm a quiet, shy person in general. I'm not argumentative at all which I've heard is a good trait and I'm not out spoken which helps to stand out. I honestly hate to start arguments for the sole reason that when I do argue I never feel confident with the knowledge I have. If I haven't done prior research I'm the type to not just say what I think. Unless I'm sure that there's evidence and it is properly backed up I hate making claims. I also much prefer looking up and weighing both sides of the argument before making judgements so that I can be completely truthful and unbiased. For this reason I tend to not start arguments ever as I'm never able to trust what I know as fact or perhaps the random false article I read. I've also been raised in a household where being wrong is punishable so I'm the type of person who very very carefully, and usually not confidently, make judgements and give answers. I feel like some of these traits aren't the most suitable for this profession so I would like to hear your thoughts.

Lastly, the reason I chose law (apart from the money) is the daily life, and it's intellectually stimulating course work. It may not be maths heavy but it's problem solvy in its own way. I also find learning about the rules and regulations we live by to be super interesting, I really consider knowledge as power and feel it is a super interesting subject to understand our society. I may not be good at essay writing but in this past year taking advanced higher English (maybe I failed) has really helped me open up to essay writing. If anything being able to write fluent, clear essays is a goal and something I aspire to do now! I did two short work experience opportunities and really enjoyed both of them and there are many areas of law I am interested in and want to learn about. I tend to never be able to make decisions which I believe isn't the best of traits to have but I have confidence that I will be able to improve those parts about me in the future. Taking all of this into consideration, I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Thank you
Reply 1
Original post by Hyacinth*
I am going to study law in university this coming September and I've recently (for a few months) been in doubt whether I'd actually make it as a lawyer. I have a few worries including:
1. For starters I've always been good at the sciences and maths and English has always been a weak point. For a long time I was contemplating medicine since my parents wanted it and I was strong in the subjects (it all came naturally) but I really dislike the thought of the long journey, the environment, the daily life just doesn't appeal much to me and them pushing it too much also turned me off. Also I prefer subjects more intellectually stimulating and problem solvy like physics and maths compared to heavy memorisation in biology. Chemistry was a mix so I quite enjoyed it but not as much. Same with stem, I don't really like the thought of engineering as I don't like creating stuff or understanding parts and maths and physics felt a bit too general of degrees, that my parents would for sure not let me do. So in conclusion my first point is that I feel I would be fit for and be able to excel in the above subjects mentioned and dont want to feel like im wasting my potential.
2. As previously mentioned English is a weak point of mine (essays in general) and law is mainly essay writing. I say it's a weak point but in both NAT 5 and higher English I got A1's (just barely because I was lucky with what showed up in the exams). For this reason I do think I'm good enough at essay writing but not nearly as good as I am with the sciences. Is this a reason to not do law?
3. I'm a quiet, shy person in general. I'm not argumentative at all which I've heard is a good trait and I'm not out spoken which helps to stand out. I honestly hate to start arguments for the sole reason that when I do argue I never feel confident with the knowledge I have. If I haven't done prior research I'm the type to not just say what I think. Unless I'm sure that there's evidence and it is properly backed up I hate making claims. I also much prefer looking up and weighing both sides of the argument before making judgements so that I can be completely truthful and unbiased. For this reason I tend to not start arguments ever as I'm never able to trust what I know as fact or perhaps the random false article I read. I've also been raised in a household where being wrong is punishable so I'm the type of person who very very carefully, and usually not confidently, make judgements and give answers. I feel like some of these traits aren't the most suitable for this profession so I would like to hear your thoughts.
Lastly, the reason I chose law (apart from the money) is the daily life, and it's intellectually stimulating course work. It may not be maths heavy but it's problem solvy in its own way. I also find learning about the rules and regulations we live by to be super interesting, I really consider knowledge as power and feel it is a super interesting subject to understand our society. I may not be good at essay writing but in this past year taking advanced higher English (maybe I failed) has really helped me open up to essay writing. If anything being able to write fluent, clear essays is a goal and something I aspire to do now! I did two short work experience opportunities and really enjoyed both of them and there are many areas of law I am interested in and want to learn about. I tend to never be able to make decisions which I believe isn't the best of traits to have but I have confidence that I will be able to improve those parts about me in the future. Taking all of this into consideration, I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Thank you

Play to your strengths and do what you enjoy, this will mean you will perform well and not always fighting yourself. Things will fall in place.
Reply 2
Original post by Hyacinth*
I am going to study law in university this coming September and I've recently (for a few months) been in doubt whether I'd actually make it as a lawyer. I have a few worries including:
1. For starters I've always been good at the sciences and maths and English has always been a weak point. For a long time I was contemplating medicine since my parents wanted it and I was strong in the subjects (it all came naturally) but I really dislike the thought of the long journey, the environment, the daily life just doesn't appeal much to me and them pushing it too much also turned me off. Also I prefer subjects more intellectually stimulating and problem solvy like physics and maths compared to heavy memorisation in biology. Chemistry was a mix so I quite enjoyed it but not as much. Same with stem, I don't really like the thought of engineering as I don't like creating stuff or understanding parts and maths and physics felt a bit too general of degrees, that my parents would for sure not let me do. So in conclusion my first point is that I feel I would be fit for and be able to excel in the above subjects mentioned and dont want to feel like im wasting my potential.
2. As previously mentioned English is a weak point of mine (essays in general) and law is mainly essay writing. I say it's a weak point but in both NAT 5 and higher English I got A1's (just barely because I was lucky with what showed up in the exams). For this reason I do think I'm good enough at essay writing but not nearly as good as I am with the sciences. Is this a reason to not do law?
3. I'm a quiet, shy person in general. I'm not argumentative at all which I've heard is a good trait and I'm not out spoken which helps to stand out. I honestly hate to start arguments for the sole reason that when I do argue I never feel confident with the knowledge I have. If I haven't done prior research I'm the type to not just say what I think. Unless I'm sure that there's evidence and it is properly backed up I hate making claims. I also much prefer looking up and weighing both sides of the argument before making judgements so that I can be completely truthful and unbiased. For this reason I tend to not start arguments ever as I'm never able to trust what I know as fact or perhaps the random false article I read. I've also been raised in a household where being wrong is punishable so I'm the type of person who very very carefully, and usually not confidently, make judgements and give answers. I feel like some of these traits aren't the most suitable for this profession so I would like to hear your thoughts.
Lastly, the reason I chose law (apart from the money) is the daily life, and it's intellectually stimulating course work. It may not be maths heavy but it's problem solvy in its own way. I also find learning about the rules and regulations we live by to be super interesting, I really consider knowledge as power and feel it is a super interesting subject to understand our society. I may not be good at essay writing but in this past year taking advanced higher English (maybe I failed) has really helped me open up to essay writing. If anything being able to write fluent, clear essays is a goal and something I aspire to do now! I did two short work experience opportunities and really enjoyed both of them and there are many areas of law I am interested in and want to learn about. I tend to never be able to make decisions which I believe isn't the best of traits to have but I have confidence that I will be able to improve those parts about me in the future. Taking all of this into consideration, I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Thank you

You'll probably quite enjoy the law degree but absolutely detest being a lawyer.

The practise of commercial law is overwhelmingly about moving documents around and sending emails until you either achieve what you set out to do, or your client runs out of money; or more likely you agree some mutually unacceptable compromise. The practise of criminal law is generally about telling a horrendous person to keep their mouth shut and hope that the CPS is too lazy or incompetent to proceed against them.
(edited 9 months ago)

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