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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 1975)
iii.uiii.wu, OlWIIUbl l 135 daily, nebrsskan page 5 : xsx ycN VoTx Sr ir " ': I lf a! To La w Schoo I : j - . -: Y IX IX the well-beaten path f 1 Sf Ta) sr is getting . "' " S ' more crowded I aNs xS, vs - if IHl iMft' : w taj - , . f il iir . . . rmiawtit'iiifiriii''iit.ifl.'1MnTi,ilil iHHmwHilliW T i W'niwirTtrJut' i--'''' ' n-trirtirrw ni.iiwi .furnniiifmMiwtiMtHMt n iirwatoaitiairiiyiiiiiMitaMMMMfiiWfii tagaimmmmmmsmmmatmmummmmmmmmaMrtn m mm i iniiii ....mmmmHqMWWIMI By Randy Bhuvelt , Law School. L, The very thought conjures up visions of thick books, big words, midnight oU, hard work and a iot of money. But to many NU law students and UNL undergraduates considering a legal career, these visions are outweighed by a variety of other reasons. Reasons that make the three-year-grind" worthwhile. "I'd like to be a respected person in the community and make a lot of money ,,f Randy Jauken, a senior accounting and economics major, said. "Lawyers have always held a position of respect in society." Jauken, who is scheduled to take the Law School Admis sion Test (LSAT) Oct. 11, said he always has been interest ed In law because it is basic to social structure. ; The law holds society together," he said. -r-i Nelson Karre, a UNL junior law student, claims one reason he went to law school was because he couldn t do "ave' B.A. degree in American Studies," he said. "There wasn't a lot of other things I could have done. I think many others have the same problem. , Strengthened the impetus Karre said his brother's graduation from law school strengthened the Impetus for him to go but there were also other reasons. Having a law degree opens up a lot of opportunities, he said. "It is just good training." - Karre said making big money as a lawyer wasntamajor reason for going to law school, but "it doesn t hurt. Jeanne Wetta! also a junior law student, said money wasn't a factor in her decision to study law. "Lawyers aren't making that much anymore," she said. "I went into law because I like to read and I didn t want a nine-to-five job, doing the same thing every day," she said. ' - Wetta said pressure from family and friends probably cause: many students to enter lw school, but it wasn't her reason. Del Gustafson, a senior studying political science, said "money per se" isn't his reason for wanting to go to law school. He said a law degree would help him reach his ultimate goals. , "It sounds interesting" "I've always felt that a career in law would be helpful for the achievement of some of my personal goals of a political and social nature," he said. "Besides, it sounds interesting and it wouldn't be the same thing everyday." Gustafson will take the LSAT Oct. 11, Elaine Waggoner, a freshman law student, said she has wanted to be a lawyer ever since she was five years old. "It always seemed interesting to me," she said. "Then, when someone told me that women just aren't lawyers, it made me all the more determined." ' Cynthia Peters, also a freshman law student, said being a woman had nothing to do with her studying law, but that her previous job started her on her way. "I worked for different attorneys for two years," she said. "I finally got tired of being talked down to and decided that legal training would equalize the situation." Both Waggoner and Peters said money was not a factor in their decision to go to law school. Freshman law student Barry Waid traced his interest in law back to eighth grade. Likes to discus, and argue "I was an expert witness in a breach of contract case when I was 14," Waid said. "Since then, I've really been interested in law." Waid, who received a B.A. in Political Science when he graduated last December, said law was best suited to him because he likes to discuss and argue. Robert Dewey, a pre-law advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences, noted other reasons why students choose . legal careers. "Many are interested in law school because they see it as a challenging field," he said. "Other students have a particular interest in law school to supplement other careers such as construction management or agriculture. "Some have said they have relatives who are lawyers and like the way they live," Dewey added. 'That's what they base their decision on." , Dewey said students have never told him they want to go into law to make money or because of the prestiege associated with a law career, but said these could be under lying reasons. . Declining market for Ph.D'i Dorf Shaneyfelt, assistant dean of the NU College of Law, gave two main reasons why students decide on law careers. First, he cited a declining market for many Ph.D's. "So the law college siphons off students from many areas," he said. Shaneyfelt also said many people become interested in law because of national and international situations where law is gaining importance. For the most part, law students and prospective law students agree that the law itself is interesting enough to make the three year stay in law school worthwhile. Only one prospective law student, who wished to remain anonymous, said she wants to go to law school solely be cause it will delay getting out of school for three years.
