How to Deal with Critics of Your Decision to Quit Law School

Listen to them.

Of course, listening doesn't mean you have to heed their advice.  Like I mentioned in my first post, my family and friends were all very supportive of my decision to quit.  It was fairly clearly a good choice, if not the best, for me.

I did, however, have one very strong voice to seriously consider the things I was giving up.  There are many opportunities that just having a JD can present.  (Admittedly less in this economy than in times past, but still, having a JD on your resume can put you in a better standing with almost any employer than not having one.)  I was very glad that this individual was there to be that voice.  He reminded me of just what law school could mean to me.  I listened to him for a good hour while he chatted with me about my decision.  I didn't fill him in on everything, but he knew pretty much the whole picture.  He gave good advice.

He made a compelling case for sticking with it, but I still chose to quit.  I am very grateful that he forced me through that.  Having had that conversation let me know just how seriously I was taking this decision.  Moreover, even in the face of a fairly comprehensive list of what I was giving up, I still felt strongly enough about quitting to do so.  While I did have some pangs of regret, I came out of the conversation stronger in my resolve to make this life-changing decision count.

This critic had my best interests at heart.  I know, though, that there are many people that have familial or other pressures that land them in law school in the first place.  If you have overbearing parents, or people in your life with lofty expectations of you, they may be extremely critical of your decision.  Maybe you have a family that's relying on you for support, and don't want to make any risky moves with your career plans.  I'm sorry.  Those situations are elements to your law school experience that I don't know much about.  I'm sure that makes law school feel even more like a prison if you hate it.  I hope you have others with whom you can speak.  Heck, talk to me!  Ask me questions in the comments, or I'll give you my email upon request.  Just try to include as many voices as you can so that the possibly overbearing ones aren't the only ones you're hearing.  (Or just tell them to shove it?  Your choice.  But probably not the best choice for the sake of preserving familial/other relationships.)

My point, I think, is remember that in quitting, you are/would be giving up a lot.  But in facing the comprehensive list of "but if you just finish"-isms that your critics will throw at you, you may still find the benefits of quitting to weigh more.  Take your critics' comments in stride.  They'll be for the better when it comes to needing the resolve to make something great of your decision to quit and do something else.

Next time on How to Quit Law School:  Quitting law school just blew up my résumé.  What to do with your résumé after quitting law school.