The Lure of the Law

I only wish I'd read this before going to law school. Moll went around and conducted interviews of attorneys, former attorneys who've changed careers, law students, and people who are married to or are involved with attorneys. There are a great many interesting perspectives given by the attorneys as to their motivations and general feelings about the law, as well as a little bit about how they got to where they are. It's like a book full of informational interviews. I urge prospective law students to read this, and the rest of society might also enjoy learning what makes lawyers tick.

This book captures both the joys and pitfalls of wanting a career in law. I recently received an email message from someone discussing what they would do if they had their life to live over again. As someone who succumbed to the lure of the law, I certainly agree with those attorneys in this book who would NEVER even consider going to law school if they could go back in time! For me, like some people in Moll's book, law school was more than a means to a living - it was a way to finally fit in. Tired of being outsiders, some of us felt that law school would offer a way to be with people like ourselves: smart; witty; analytical; quick at times with the sharp tongue. Moll captures how this dream was more than deferred for some attorneys in his book. Instead of encountering people like themselves - legal people who worked hard when they had to but were essentially good at heart - they met mean, sometimes over-controlling attorneys, who were so jaded by their pasts that they imposed their anger on everyone around them (and even those far away) who didn't fit their mold of being a 'good little lawyer.' Some attorneys in Moll's book love their jobs. Those, in my view, are either the exceptions or those who had the family backgrounds, connections and money to make the law work for them, even before they entered law school. The others, like myself, have been disillusioned by attempting to work for and learning first hand about some of the most powerful attorneys who they at one time admired and sought out as mentors. It was especially revealing to consider the views of the minority attorneys who Moll presented in his book. Many undertook law careers as a way to make the world less of an uneven place for men and women of ethnicity. What makes me really sad about some of the self-proclaimed great attorneys (some in this book; some that I've encountered personally) is the fact that they profess a love for the law and its notions about equality. However, it is the same powerful attorneys who, at times, don't hesitate to use their control to deny opportunities to and even eliminate the career opportunities for those less powerful in the profession. It would be helpful for those lawyers to read - actually read - this book. Maybe Moll's book would lead some of them to the fact that becoming a mentor and ally to other legal professionals instead of attacking and seizing on other attorneys' shortcomings would go far in making their lives less empty and in making the law more of what it purports to be -- a place of equality.