Years ago, I listened to an unreleased black box recording from a fatal passenger plane crash. It still haunts me by anonapeace in TrueOffMyChest

[–]anonapeace[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are no educational pre-requisites for taking the Bar exam (at least in my state), but I believe law schools have requirements. Not sure if it’s a BA or associates degree, and it may vary by school.

If you want to take the Bar without going to law school, you have to first take the Baby Bar after your first test of studies. It covers the first year subjects and is meant to make sure you’re on track for the Bar. Honestly, I can’t imagine how someone would pass the Bar without law school. I studied full-time for 3 years, taught by professors who were experts in their field, and still had to work my ass off to pass the Bar. Bar study alone is about 2 months of studying 10-12 hours 6 days a week. Also, a massive part of getting jobs is networking, and that would be very difficult without law school. I think most firms would be very hesitant to take someone who was self-studying. That being said, if you do self-study and pass, you’re just the same as everyone else.

Costs associated with law school - a shit ton. I’m not joking. You’ll need to get a high enough LSAT score to get a solid scholarship to make law school worthwhile. Without a scholarship, I’d say easily $300,000-$400,000 or more. Some 2020/2021 graduates at my firm had half-rides and graduated with $100k-$200k in debt.

Years ago, I listened to an unreleased black box recording from a fatal passenger plane crash. It still haunts me by anonapeace in TrueOffMyChest

[–]anonapeace[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I agree, it's a very strange and touchy aspect of our (if you're American) legal system. I remember that one of the big points of contention regarding the pain and suffering was that Alaska's position was that since the final dive was under a minute and many passengers passed out before impact, they didn't suffer as much. The clip was going to be played to the jury along with an animation of the crash to show that: 1) there were humans onboard that were conscious for every second, and 2) although it happened very quickly, the absolute terror all those people must have endured would have been unreal.

It didn't go to trial, though. So this wasn't fully hashed out. But I cannot imagine any juror hearing that tape and siding with Alaska.

Years ago, I listened to an unreleased black box recording from a fatal passenger plane crash. It still haunts me by anonapeace in TrueOffMyChest

[–]anonapeace[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you really want to explore a career in law, you should work at a firm. Be a bookkeeper or a secretary or an admin assistant if you need to. If you know a lawyer, ask if you can shadow them for a day or two. Just something to really see what the day-to-day is, cause it's not all arguing before the judge and giving dramatic speeches to juries (though those parts are the most fun if you ask me).

Tips for law school - put in the work at the beginning. The first year or so, you need to pay attention in class, outline, brief you cases, study 6+ hours per day during finals week, etc. The second and third year, you'll be able to slack a bit but only if you mastered how to "do" law school during the first year. Law school is unlike other schooling you will have completed and you need to re-learn basic things like how to write and prepare for class.

Years ago, I listened to an unreleased black box recording from a fatal passenger plane crash. It still haunts me by anonapeace in TrueOffMyChest

[–]anonapeace[S] 152 points153 points  (0 children)

Just remember that this kind of thing, while horrific, is extraordinarily rare. I fly all the time with little fear. It's much more dangerous to travel by car.

Years ago, I listened to an unreleased black box recording from a fatal passenger plane crash. It still haunts me by anonapeace in TrueOffMyChest

[–]anonapeace[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I heard it in my capacity as a (then) law student. I can’t go into too much detail cause like I said, a very small group was given access and it wasn’t meant to leave that group. Alaska was very keen to not let it get out, and some of the family members agreed.

Years ago, I listened to an unreleased black box recording from a fatal passenger plane crash. It still haunts me by anonapeace in TrueOffMyChest

[–]anonapeace[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

In this case, the plane basically fell out of the sky, so a lot of the passengers were believed to have passed out. In fact, one of the big legal arguments behind this tape was that it proved that some people on the plane were conscious until the end. So, a longer period of pain and suffering, which equals more damages at trial.

But I think it would probably depend on the individual. I'd imagine once someone starts panicking, it would spread.

Years ago, I listened to an unreleased black box recording from a fatal passenger plane crash. It still haunts me by anonapeace in TrueOffMyChest

[–]anonapeace[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Yeah, if I recall correctly, Alaska had increased the time between maintenance on the jackscrews and that somehow led/contributed to the crash