u/IAmMrBaker

I’ve got a question for those of you who’ve set up your own law practice — whether in the US, UK, or elsewhere, but especially those who went through the American law school route.

How much did where you went to law school actually matter when it came to starting your own practice?

I understand that for some people, it’s a big factor — especially if they go straight from undergrad into law school and take on significant student debt. But I’ve also seen quite a few people who worked beforehand, went to law school later, and graduated with little to no debt.

So I’m trying to get a clearer picture of this:
When you graduate and decide to start your own firm — whether it’s client representation, advisory work, etc. — how much does your law school’s name or prestige realistically affect things early on?

Did it help with:
Getting initial clients?
Building credibility?
Networking or referrals?
Practical skills or preparation?
Or does it quickly become irrelevant once you gain experience?

More specifically, is there a noticeable difference between attending a top-tier school (e.g. T14), a strong but less elite school, or a solid state school — particularly if your goal isn’t Big Law but running your own practice?

I can see how prestige might matter more internationally, but I’m curious how it plays out at the start, before you’ve built years of experience.

One thing I keep seeing from people giving advice about law school is that you need to be really clear and articulate about why you want to go into law and what you actually want to do with it.

And that makes sense. From what I understand, law schools also care a lot about that—like they want to see a proper reason behind the decision, not just “it sounds like a good idea”.

But I’ve been struggling a bit with figuring out how people actually got to that point.

So for those of you who didn’t start off on a “law path” from the beginning—how did you realize it was the right move?

I’m mainly asking people who did degrees that could’ve led somewhere completely different. Like engineering, finance, maybe even medicine; something where law wasn’t the obvious next step. Not so much people who always knew they wanted to do law or did something like history/languages and transitioned straight into it.

How did you go from “this is my degree” to “actually, I want to do law”?

Was there a specific moment, or was it more gradual?

And more importantly, how did you properly figure out and articulate your reason in a way that made sense (both to yourself and for applications)?

I feel like I might be leaning towards law, but I’m still trying to figure out if that’s a real conviction or just a passing idea. So I’m trying to understand how other people navigated that process.