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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   1577 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for June 19, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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So I'm a software engineer at a no-name startup for nearly 5 years. And recently I suddenly have an interest in learning law. Has anyone gotten on this path or have opinions about this? I suppose in my fantasy future, I would be doing appellate law and someday argue Supreme Court cases, but everything I read up shows that law is a high-stress, singular life. What are pros and cons here? What are things that should encourage me and what are things that should discourage me? If someone wants to pour a basin of water over my head on this whole romantic notion please feel free.

Your best chances are to utilize your specific characteristics to be relevant to a specific case that might come before the supreme court.

I have a friend that is a historian. His focus was on the 1800s. He wrote a book on Lincoln. He has relevant knowledge of 1800s trade policy. But he is one of the few people with that specialty. So when tariff stuff came up he was one of the few relevant authorities on the topic.

He was suddenly meeting with pence and others to oppose trump tariffs at the supreme court. Felt very big, might be like the dream you have.

That sounds very serendipitous and not something in my control. I suppose the better way to phrase what I want is actualization/making an impact. I suppose post-law-school careers that also seems amazing to me are like Avril Haines or Lina Khan. Not sure if that's even possible for an immigrant (hasn't even gotten my green card yet).

Becoming a world class legal expert on a topic is under your control. The more nuanced or obscure the topic the easier it is, but obviously getting a case on a more obscure topic is less likely.

I still think it is the best shot you have, because realistically you don't really have a shot.

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