re: How tough is law school?

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Gunner alert.

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I was going to use a different word.

Don't hold back on my account.

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Ah, you're one of those. For what it's worth, I'm a lawyer too. Not sure where you went to school or what you do now, but I don't subscribe to the "law is a knack" or special priesthood thing.

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Those are different concepts for me. Law comes somewhat naturally to me, and I did really well in undergrad legal-oriented courses as well. I know some smart people who didn't. People have different skill sets. A lot of it can be overcome, but I have engineer friends who just aren't wired the same way people who excel in law are. Doesn't mean they couldn't be competent attorneys, just that they're better at something else. I think, given how I've learned to work and learn, that I could go back and do well with math or engineering given the right amount of effort. But it would be a much harder slog for me than for most of my buddies who are in engineering and were naturally drawn to the field.

That concept is different, in my mind, from this "the law is beyond a profession, it's a way of life" shite. That's just narcissism cloaked in dumb adages to make shitty elements of the law feel better. Now I do think the law is necessary and I think practicing can be noble, but it's no different than any other profession that can have a big impact (medicine, journalism, politics, etc.). All of which suffer from the same narcissistic tendencies.

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Don't hold back on my account.

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OK. You seem like one of those douchey people that somehow thinks being in law school or being a lawyer makes you smarter and/or better than other people. They're everywhere.

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Those are different concepts for me. Law comes somewhat naturally to me, and I did really well in undergrad legal-oriented courses as well. I know some smart people who didn't. People have different skill sets. A lot of it can be overcome, but I have engineer friends who just aren't wired the same way people who excel in law are. Doesn't mean they couldn't be competent attorneys, just that they're better at something else. I think, given how I've learned to work and learn, that I could go back and do well with math or engineering given the right amount of effort. But it would be a much harder slog for me than for most of my buddies who are in engineering and were naturally drawn to the field.

That concept is different, in my mind, from this "the law is beyond a profession, it's a way of life" shite. That's just narcissism cloaked in dumb adages to make shitty elements of the law feel better. Now I do think the law is necessary and I think practicing can be noble, but it's no different than any other profession that can have a big impact (medicine, journalism, politics, etc.). All of which suffer from the same narcissistic tendencies

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Well said.

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You seem like one of those douchey people that somehow thinks being in law school or being a lawyer makes you smarter and/or better than other people.

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Nope. I'm not even all that smart. Nor am I a member of a "priesthood." I consider it more of a craft. You have to be good at it to be good at it. Many smart people aren't. Some not so smart people are.

Suffice to say that there are great engineers that couldn't hack it as attorneys, and great attorneys that couldn't hack it as engineers.

Certainly within law school grading there are some unique approaches (my property professor certainly falls in this caregory), but the idea that grades are really unpredictable is ridiculous. Plus, being able to give the specific teacher what they want is part of the puzzle. This isn't a math problem with a precise answer. Every answer needs to be written for and tailored to its intended audience.

What type of law do you practice?

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Certainly within law school grading there are some unique approaches (my property professor certainly falls in this caregory), but the idea that grades are really unpredictable is ridiculous. Plus, being able to give the specific teacher what they want is part of the puzzle. This isn't a math problem with a precise answer. Every answer needs to be written for and tailored to its intended audience.

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Yep. I was slow to do this with one prof in particular, and while I think I got screwed substantively, avoiding that is part of the deal.

in what sense? You can easily track a non-random distribution of grades amongst any law school class.