The Spooky Side of Law

While some kids (and adults) enjoy spooky season by decorating, playing dress-up, and trick-or-treating, we figured this is a fitting occasion to explore some of the fears, or, at least, hesitations some people may have about law school and the legal profession.

Law School is Scary Expensive

According to the latest information from the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of law school is about $200,000. [1] In the academic year of 2025-2026, according to the same source:

• The average tuition plus fees were $50,720;

• Some of the top-tier law schools charged over $80,000 in tuition and fees;

• Living expenses averaged $27,242 for law students living on campus and $28,791 for off- campus students; and

• The cost of a law degree from a private law school was $214,791 for the Class of 2026.[2]

According to the latest data from the Law School Admission Council in their LSAC’s Knowledge Report: The Composition of the First-Year Law School Class and Enrollment Trends, the majority of 1Ls (or first-year law students) range from 23 to 26 years old.[3]

For context, according to a recent Bank of America Better Money Habits® financial education study, Gen Z—the generation encompassing the majority of current and forthcoming 1Ls—reports living paycheck to paycheck as follows:

• 73% with a household income under $50,000 a year;

• 48% with a household income of $50,000 to $100,000; and

• 29% with a household income of $100,000 or more.[4]

For many prospective law students, the choice to attend law school can be daunting when looking solely at the sticker price of a law degree including, but not limited to, tuition, living expenses, cost of books and technology, application costs, professional wardrobe for interviews/internships, etc.

Conquering Your Fears

Assess your finances and personal circumstances/goals (e.g., difference between in-state vs. out-of-state tuition or cost of living on campus vs. off campus, etc.) and start researching or talking with experts (e.g., financial aid officers) about financial aid opportunities that may be available to you based on your merits (e.g., GPA, LSAT score) and financial needs so you can begin to have an idea of your short-term and long-term financial budget and needs.

Decades ago, when I was a high school student about to apply to college, a mentor advised a group of us to apply to where we want to go (e.g., places where we could best pursue our passions) and not to limit our options based on the advertised cost of attendance at an institution. My mentor was not telling us to live in a dream world where money does not matter, but she explained that the sticker price as advertised may not match the actual cost of attendance for each student due to different factors, including individual merit and financial need plus institution specific resources that can offset education costs outside of public or private loans (e.g., school-specific grants and scholarships, work-study opportunities, etc.).

The cost of a legal education and earnings from a legal career are specific to each person, so don’t let the general numbers as advertised deter you from following your dreams. When you let your goals guide your path, you can turn your passion into opportunities for career and financial growth.

The Fear of the Unknown

Connected to the topic of financing law school is earning potential and job security after law school. The future is unknown and the unknown is scary, especially when you can't know the details of your short-term and long-term return on investment in pursuing a career in law (e.g., time, money, and effort in going to law school). Additionally, the landscape of the legal market is changing due to various factors, including the overall health of the economy, number of entry-level positions available to recent law graduates, shifts in timing and prioritization of recruitment efforts by legal employers, etc.[5] The uncertainty of the job market may cause some to worry whether law school debt is worth it.

Conquering Your Fears

Understanding market trends can help you make an informed decision about your specific goals and choices. We recommend doing research by tapping into your network and reviewing reliable sources for discussion of data and issues related to the legal job market. For example, the August 2026 edition of our newsletter, The Legal Brief, explores hiring trends concerning lateral hires and law students + the Topical Musings section of the newsletter often refers to external sources for further information. Knowledge is power, but at a certain point, no amount of research can tell us our exact future. Like with any decision, deciding to go to law school (or not) carries certain risks (e.g., financial, professional, personal, etc.), but “old keys won’t open new doors,” and the versatility of a law degree and/or legal experience can open so many more doors to a brighter future.  

Cold Calls Sending Shivers Down Your Spine

Using the Socratic Method (i.e., dialogue through open-ended and probing questions on a topic), law school professors are known for “cold calling” their students as the primary technique for discussing case law. Typically, a professor will call on a student without any warning to summarize significant facts and procedure of a case before discussing—in detail—the legal issues and analysis of the case through hypotheticals and/or comparisons with other cases. For those unfamiliar with law school, this can feel like a professor is having a one-on-one conversation with you, except it’s in front of all of your classmates (so all eyes are on you), the questions and direction of the discussion may often be unexpected, despite your preparation, and because of the nature of law, the questions can sometimes feel like a trap because, ultimately—as any lawyer will tell you—most answers to any legal question is “it depends.” For those who have “stage fright” or any fear or anxiety related to public speaking or otherwise being the center of attention, this teaching method may seem scary.

Conquering Your Fears

Knowing what to expect in law school through research (e.g., reading blog posts like this one or talking with mentors about their own experiences, etc.) can help you prepare and ease any fears associated with cold calling or the law school experience in general. Also, asking questions during law school tours can give you a better sense of the teaching styles often used at a particular institution. It may also help to remember that one of the reasons behind cold calling is to help prepare and train for the realities of courtroom practice or interacting with clients, such as thinking quickly on your feet and working calmly and effectively under pressure and in front of an audience (e.g., judge, jury, clients, counsel, etc.). Like any other skill, with practice you will strengthen your public speaking skills and gain more confidence. Of course, if the idea of cold calling or the technique itself causes anxiety affecting your daily life, it is important to seek professional help or support from a trusted friend, relative, or mentor.

Moreover, not all lawyers or legal professionals practice in a courtroom setting or other fast paced or high-pressure environment. Working for a variety of employers, industries, and practice areas prior to law school, during law school (e.g., internships, externships, clerkships, clinics, etc.), or post-law school (e.g., lateral movement as a legal professional) can help you identify your preferences (e.g., size of employer, pacing of work, volume of work/clients, nature of work and typical day-to-day activities/responsibilities, etc.). You can then use that information to make choices that best align with your personal and professional goals and needs.   

The Horror of the Curve

Typically, law school professors grade students on a curve (e.g., a fixed distribution of grades). As illustrated by Barbri in a recent article: “the median grade is set at B or B+ (roughly a 3.0-3.3 GPA); about half the class will receive grades at or below that median; and only a small percentage of students will earn top grades like A or A+.”[6]

Moreover, your final grade for a particular class is often determined by your performance on a single final exam at the end of the semester. As such, your final grade for a class reflects your performance as it compares to your classmates’ performance on a single exam as opposed to your actual knowledge or mastery of a particular subject based on a fixed standard (e.g., 90% is always an A regardless of how many people in a class performed at that level).

For many students, grading on a curve in law school when your final grade is typically based on one exam can be stressful. Other than the possibility that your final grade may not reflect your actual effort and knowledge of a subject, some also fear the possibility of performing poorly on “game day” and how that impacts their final grade and overall GPA, which is an important factor in securing internships, on-campus-interviews, etc.

Conquering Your Fears

Shift your mindset away from worst case scenarios to what you can control, which includes strengthening your own skills that will help your performance on exam day (e.g., issue-spotting, analytical writing, time-management, comprehension of black-letter law and case law, etc.). It’s worth noting the curve accounts for difficulty of an exam. For example, if the highest “raw score” of a law school exam is 70%, which is usually a C in a standard grading system, that 70% becomes an A when grading on a curve and other scores follow suit to align with the curve distribution.

Recognizing not everyone can get an A in a particular class is important to protecting your mental health and maintaining your confidence in an environment full of high achievers. The same is true for practicing law—not everyone wins at trial or gets everything they want in a contract, etc. Legal professionals learn success is not often black and white and doing well for your client (or yourself) cannot mean winning everything all the time. With experience, law students and lawyers build resilience by redefining traditional views on what it means to win and succeed when met with challenges and setbacks.

Feeling Like You’re Buried Alive

The idea of law school or practicing law can seem like a nightmare to some people because both involve high stakes with respect to performing well on exam day (including the bar exam) and during other important events (e.g., court appearances, depositions, deal negotiations, etc.). Both legal study and work often require long hours and sacrifice to work-life balance, high volume and/or in-depth understanding of facts and issues in a relatively short period of time, and navigating adversarial interactions with opposing counsel or sometimes professors, your own clients or colleagues and supervisors. The high pressure of performing well in law school in pursuit of a dream job/career, the ongoing pressure of being a zealous advocate for your client(s) and achieving personal, financial, and professional success, and the emotional strain of certain practice areas and legal issues (e.g., child custody, criminal law, etc.) can feel intense and overwhelming leading to burnout.

Conquering Your Fears

We explore the topic of burnout in the February 2026 edition of our newsletter, The Legal Brief, including advice on how to prevent burnout, such as creating moments of stillness to slow down when work is starting to feel overwhelming or sticking to a realistic routine of self-care to preserve physical, mental, and emotional health. Moreover, having a network or support system can help alleviate the stress associated with the legal profession, and of course, being in the right environment where you can thrive is important to stability, success, and overall health. Growing your network by talking with other legal professionals about their experiences along with other experts (like legal recruiters) can help you make informed decisions about what is best for your career path, including the different pressures common to certain practice areas or types of employers (e.g., Big Law versus boutique law firm versus public interest, etc.). The practice of law is intense and requires resilience and perseverance, but you can have a fulfilling legal career in the right role and environment.

Although there are shared and common experiences among lawyers and other legal professionals, the law school and legal experience varies among individuals due to differences with law schools and other academic programs (e.g., paralegal certification courses), employers, volume and nature of work, work schedules, clients, supervisors, colleagues, adversaries, markets and industries, individual career goals and needs, personal responsibilities and circumstances (including finances), and access to opportunities, etc. This spooky season remember “horror” stories are meant to be captivating and do not necessarily reflect day-to-day or common occurrences.

Introspection and research are two ways to help you make informed decisions about your future and help you better prepare for potential obstacles and challenges, whether pervasive in a particular profession or practice area. Zerega Consulting offers complimentary resources to help with your career planning at any stage, such as the Self-Assessment and Goal-Setting Action Plan, which can help you determine what role, employer, industry, etc. best fits your needs. Other resources to help with your exploration and decision-making with respect to your career path include our CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: An Immersive Guide for Your Legal Career and The Legal Professional’s Summer Bucket List, both of which can help with self-reflection and research into the versatility of a law degree and legal experience.

Working with a legal recruiter can help take the fear out of trying something new. Whether you are a legal professional (attorney or legal staff) looking to be hired or an employer looking to hire and grow your team, reach out to the recruitment team of Zerega Consulting and visit our website for more information and guidance.

Sources:

[1] Melanie Hanson, Average Cost of Law School, Education Data Initiative (May 21, 2026), https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-law-school.

[2] Id.

[3] Anna Russian, MAS, PhD and Elizabeth Bodamer, JD, PhD, LSAC’s Knowledge Report:

The Composition of the First-Year Law School Class and Enrollment Trends, Law School Admission Council, https://www.lsac.org/sites/default/files/research/2025-Composition-Report.pdf (last visited October 22, 2026).

[4] Gen Z & The Cost of Adulting 2026, Bank of America, https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/dam/newsroom/docs/2026/BofA_BMH_2026_GenZ_Report.pdf (last visited October 22, 2026).

[5] See e.g., Nikia L. Gray and Danielle A. Taylor, Jobs & JDs: Employment for the Class of 2025, National Association for Law Placement, https://www.nalp.org/uploads/Research/Classof2025_SelectedFindings_5Aug2026.pdf (last visited October 22, 2026.

[6] Law School Grading Curve Explained: What a B+ Means for Your Future, Barbri (May 1, 2026), https://www.barbri.com/resources/law-school-grading-curve-explained.