Paul Ford on Going to Law School

Paul Ford is one of the best essayists of our day. He writes in a style so unexpectedly and refreshingly linear, you can almost almost see his punchline before you’ve finished the opening sentence. Young writers trying to make a mark for themselves on the web need look no further than Ford.

Let us look at a recent piece of advice he gave a young college student on the prospect of applying to law school:

There are two kinds of lawyers: good, and evil.

The good lawyer works for a nonprofit foundation or local government, faces a lifetime of crushing loan payments, burns out at 34, and opens a vegan bakery.

The evil lawyer, working for a faceless real estate conglomerate, and with the help of crony judges, misapplies eminent domain to take over the good lawyer’s vegan bakery so the land can be developed into a pork-rendering plant that also makes guns.

—via The Morning News