Bronies with a Legal Bent: Where are You?

[OptimisticNeighsayer 479]

As I transition from undergraduate college to either work, graduate school, or law school, I thought I'd put up this thread to network with those bronies who find their calling in the profession of law, or at least are keenly interested in the legal aspects of life and their social implications.

 

A cursory survey of this site seems to reveal that this is not something that usually inspires passion in bronies.  So far, I am the only one I know who has expressed "law" or "jurisprudence" as an interest on this site, and I've met only two bronies elsewhere so far who have expressed such an interest-- one of them the author of the Tumblr "Lawyer Warrior" who has not updated in over two years.

 

There's fairly good reason to believe that law students (prospective and current) and lawyers are at least underrepresented here. Not only do the demands of the training and profession seem to preclude trifles such as posting on a site devoted to a little kid's show (however sophisticated it may be), but the brony and lawyer personalities seem divergent:  While both bronies and lawyers are considerably more likely to have the INTJ personality type than the general population, bronies tend to be less neurotic and more agreeable than the general population while for lawyers it is the opposite (this link focuses on "skepticism" rather than "agreeableness", but I find the substitution at least party valid; another study seems to indicate that traits associated with agreeableness are also less common in lawyers).

 

As for me, my interest in law is mostly in intellectual property, although I'm also fairly attracted to constitutional law and planning law.  I won't repeat the personal statement I've already sent to several law schools, but I once wrote a paper on the now-discontinued "moral utility doctrine" of patent law where I explored the possible need and necessary reforms for revival.

 

So if you're a lawyer, law school student (prospective or current), or merely interested in the field of law, feel free to share your ambitions, trials (both literal and figurative), and difficulties here.  (If you want to discuss specific legal concepts that's probably best left to the Debate Pit.)  

 

 

[Twilight Dirac 721]

I have often been told that I would make a good lawyer, but I went into physics and engineering instead.  And that seems about as far as you are going to get on this forum.  It seems most members are the artistic type, with a few math and science nerds thrown in for good measure.  Can't say I have seen anybody expressing interest in law.

Edited March 13, 2015 by Twilight Dirac

[Simon 4,557]

Law School graduate here checking in.  Also have my AA and BA in Criminal Justice (which hints at my area of interest).  Always open to any questions anybody has about law school in the US, LSAT's, the legal practice or anything else on that subject... it's definitely a unique experience. 

 

 

 

 While both bronies and lawyers are considerably more likely to have the INTJ personality type than the general population, bronies tend to be less neurotic and more agreeable than the general population while for lawyers it is the opposite (this link focuses on "skepticism" rather than "agreeableness", but I find the substitution at least party valid; another study seems to indicate that traits associated with agreeableness are also less common in lawyers)

 

Honestly that sounds pretty accurate.  I'm not a practicing lawyer right now for a long variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that my personality just didn't mesh well with others in the field... it's not a bad profession by any means, and it's still a field that holds a certain place in my heart, but it's something I realized I couldn't spend my life doing and be a happy person.  It's just not the field for everybody.  (Insert long ranty privileged stories here I can't talk about to splain why I'm not practicing xD)

 

Of course I think lawyer personalities also are extremely highly dependent on the area of the law.  My field of interest was criminal law which is a *very* unique field filled with a unique personality of lawyer.  Criminal lawyers tend to be much more extroverted than most attorneys, have some unique ways of looking at problems and ethical conflicts... it's just unique.  Over in the more office/business type areas of law such as intellectual property, lawyers tend to be much more introverted and hold an entirely different personality type.  Much more work and business oriented where criminal law tends to be focused more on public speaking, investigation and analysis, etc.

 

But regardless of the fact that I'm not a practicing attorney and have moved away from the law, it's still a field I'm very attached to and interested in and like I said, I'm always open to discussion about the field or answering anybody's questions who might be interested in getting into the field of law or going to law school. 

[OptimisticNeighsayer 479]

 

 

Of course I think lawyer personalities also are extremely highly dependent on the area of the law.  My field of interest was criminal law which is a *very* unique field filled with a unique personality of lawyer.  Criminal lawyers tend to be much more extroverted than most attorneys, have some unique ways of looking at problems and ethical conflicts... it's just unique.  Over in the more office/business type areas of law such as intellectual property, lawyers tend to be much more introverted and hold an entirely different personality type.  Much more work and business oriented where criminal law tends to be focused more on public speaking, investigation and analysis, etc.

As an introvert myself, the quieter world of IP appeals to me a lot more than the wheeling and dealing of criminal law.

 

One of the law schools I'm applying to is relatively specific about the requirements for the personal statement (as compared to others) in that it asks me to "choose a topic that is relevant to [me]".  As such, the "general" statement of all my achievements will probably not fly there.  Do you think it is best that I choose a topic that specifically expresses my interest in law, or is the judgement really geared toward my analytic abilities and writing skills?

[Simon 4,557]

 

 

One of the law schools I'm applying to is relatively specific about the requirements for the personal statement (as compared to others) in that it asks me to "choose a topic that is relevant to [me]".  As such, the "general" statement of all my achievements will probably not fly there.  Do you think it is best that I choose a topic that specifically expresses my interest in law, or is the judgement really geared toward my analytic abilities and writing skills?

 

Hm, that's kind of an interesting dilemma.  Personal statements are very much primarily viewed as a writing assignment, but it's also really your only opportunity to present something the admissions panel will see to separate you from the other dozen or two people that apply with roughly the same LSAT score and GPA as your own.  Outside of something particularly significant on your resume, there's not really much else that separates similarly scoring candidates besides the personal statement.  I'd be hesitant to choose a topic for the personal statement that doesn't show you off and help to separate you from the other candidates in the pool.  One strategy that may work with that personal statement is to focus in on one particular noteworthy accomplishment of yours that's relevant to the practice of law, and discuss that in greater depth and detail.  For example, if there's some legally-relevant internship or volunteer program you've done, you could spend the personal statement discussing how that impacted your life.  That way you would be responding to what they asked you to do, but still allowing your personal statement to show off your accomplishments.

[OptimisticNeighsayer 479]

Hm, that's kind of an interesting dilemma.  Personal statements are very much primarily viewed as a writing assignment, but it's also really your only opportunity to present something the admissions panel will see to separate you from the other dozen or two people that apply with roughly the same LSAT score and GPA as your own.  Outside of something particularly significant on your resume, there's not really much else that separates similarly scoring candidates besides the personal statement.  I'd be hesitant to choose a topic for the personal statement that doesn't show you off and help to separate you from the other candidates in the pool.  One strategy that may work with that personal statement is to focus in on one particular noteworthy accomplishment of yours that's relevant to the practice of law, and discuss that in greater depth and detail.  For example, if there's some legally-relevant internship or volunteer program you've done, you could spend the personal statement discussing how that impacted your life.  That way you would be responding to what they asked you to do, but still allowing your personal statement to show off your accomplishments.

That's certainly something to think about.  Problem is I'm primarily trained as a chemist (as well as having a philosophy major), so I don't necessarily have that exact experience.

 

I'm guessing the essays about patent law that I wrote aren't necessarily "noteworthy accomplishments" either.  I do have one essay that was eventually published in a peer-reviewed journal, so that could be a potential subject.

[Simon 4,557]

@@OptimisticNeighsayer,

 

How about writing about what led you to deciding to use your Chemistry background in a non-traditional career field?  Discussing the moment or series of events that led you to finding an interest in patent law as opposed to getting into some more traditional field for Chemistry majors like pharmaceuticals and chemical engineering might be interesting and do the job of showing off your background & passion for the law.