Vocalist.org archive


From:  "Margaret L. Harrison"<peggyh@i...>
Date:  Fri Jun 14, 2002  12:55 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Law Degree??

On Thu, 13 Jun 2002 10:28:55 -0700 (PDT) Dolphin aura <dolphin_aura@y...>
wrote:

>>My Mother is trying to convince me to go to Law School after I graduate or go
to graduate school. She thinks that it would help me while I"m trying to make a
career in music. She wants me to work on cases while I am trying to make a
career and not be the "starving artist". I'm just curious as to what any of
you think of this. I dont see how I would really work out...

My husband is (and my late father was) a lawyer. I don't see a law degree as a
"backup". It's 3 years of school, and then a year or two or experience to know
what you're doing. It's not cheap. It takes a lot of time to keep up with the
classwork, especially in the first year. The bar exam is a major stress inducer
- probably worse than any audition you'd ever do. My husband is an excellent
test-taker, but after he took the 2-day test, he believed he'd failed it, and
was an emotional wreck for weeks while he was waiting to hear the results. As
it happened, he passed easily the first time, but some people (like the late JFK
Jr) end up taking the bar exam several times before they pass.

On the other hand, my sister's cello teacher in high school, who currently plays
with the National Symphony Orchestra, got his law degree part-time while my
sister was studying with him - he was playing in the Kennedy Center Opera House
orchestra at the time. At one point he had an entertainment law practice on the
side (and may still have one).

Peggy



Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.



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