I might have made different choices if I had had more real life experience especially before law school. Also I would have looked at different types of law and avoided big firm life. I learned the hard way that I like being involved in problem solving long before anyone would call a lawyer. I doubt that I could have come to that realization without work experience. Of the different careers I've had, being an ombudsman/internal advocate for an organization suited me best.
I think real life experience before law school would have been an excellent idea for me as well.
My biggest problem was a complete failure to adjust to college life. Also, my mother died from cancer when I was there and that just made everything worse. I was having a poor college experience (socially) and got a family death on top of that.
In my case, I probably should have worked at a larger law firm (it would have been easier to bill hours without having to cut my own time) than I did and in a different area. I went with intellectual property/patent law, which turned out to be an area in which I have no interest, although I can do it quite well.
I'm now essentially a litigator, also something in which I have no interest, although I can do it, as well.
So, the moral of the story is, definitely get real world experience before law school.
In terms of what I would have done differently, I would have gone to a smaller college, majored in something in which I had an interest, and not gone to law school. I would have also gotten work experience instead of going through 8 years straight of school while being completely miserable most of that time.
