Law career with ADHD &OCD

[TippingWood]

I have lovely bright DS 14yrs old, doing very well at school BUT with a history of the adhd & OCD. He is being medicated for adhd to help with his concentration and after many trials and error he is happy with his doses etc. He has an underlying neurological condition (which I don’t want to mention for fear of outing) but for which the aforementioned are co morbidities. He has terrible organisational skills or executive function impaired and so needs a lot of support in this area and he is working hard to improve on it. This includes estimating time properly, remembering where he is meant to be, remembering multiple instructions etc. He has had episodes of OCD, intrusive thoughts and that is frightening but has received CBT and doing well.

He’s been talking a lot lately about what he might like to do for a career in future. He has lots of different interests. He had always said he would like to start his own business and so interested in what he could study at uni that would give him the right skills for that. However, he recently dropped a bombshell (as far as I’m concerned), that he might be interested in a Law career infact with an International element to it.. He has all the right strengths to build on for this academically. But I am terrified.

A career in Law for someone with his condition? All those long hours. Hours and hours of reading, cut throat work ethic in big firms. Basically highly stressed.

Please tell me am i THAT crazy helicopter mum? Should I just leave him be or should I steer him gently away from this.

Bump.

I can't hugely help but I work in education (not a teacher) and my DS1 is 10 and also has ADHD with a likely diagnosis of OCD as well. He has a genetic condition with these conditions having high co-morbidity.
While I would never discourage anyone from investigating and pursuing their dreams, I do think those particular conditions would make getting the qualifications and especially, working in that field very difficult.

Sadly, I don't think you're wrong. However bright your DS might be, his conditions will make it extremely difficult for him to study and most importantly, they will make him close to unemployable, at least in private practice. I'm really sorry but time keeping, organisation and being able to take instructions from clients or senior colleagues are essential parts of the job. Perhaps someone might be able to suggest other options within the legal profession, maybe within the civil service, I'm not overly familiar with it as a career.

It would be very difficult as I assume if he was drafting he would spend too long on each document to make him viable to a client as he tries to perfect each one. Also how would he react to his boss amending his work or indeed the other side in a transaction.

Would he have the requisite concentration skills to focus on a case file, reading through documents. Remember that although lawyers charge on a time basis it has to be justifiable time. If he spends too long or becomes distracted he simply won't earn his keep.

Again I wouldn't want to put people off their dreams but in terms of employability would it work?

You should encourage him to post on the reddit forum for ADHD, r/ADHD. It's really supportive on there and IME people are likely to be realistic about what's a good expectation and what is a poor plan.

Lawyer here. My work means time keeping is vital, and likewise concentration. Long hours in court, long hours after court. Travelling all over the place (and the need to catch trains on time etc.). My only query is whether he might overcome the ADHD sufficiently to function in this type of job. And I'm in crime, not fancy international law! It's difficult to advise, but there are many different law-related careers.

Reading is actually one of his greatest academic strengths. He is a voracious reader and writer and won some mini school awards for his writing. So i'm not actually worried about that angle. My worry is more the likeliness of too much reading triggering OCD but don't know from a medical point wether there is no link there. I'm also wondering about the working hours.

I would be cautious and realistic but encouraging as far as you can be. My dd with adhd is the same age and responded very well to medication which helped her at school but has developed worrying side effects and despite trying several different medications is now on nothing and really struggling with everyday life.

To give another perspective though - what would he have to lose from studying law? If he finds it's not for him are those skills transferable? Could he still not start his own business later if he finds it's too competitive or too stressful or whatever? I would not write it off for him before he has even started. But perhaps it would be useful for him to seek some contacts within the industry and find out a bit about what it's honestly like without any sugar coating.

I've said this a few times for all sorts of people but Real Estate Management may suit. Lots of law but lots of other stuff too and a really wide range of employers, including public sector. Lots of different subjects each term with real life emphasis.

I really struggled with my academic degree but REM suited really well. I don't have the OCD tho...

Great comments all.

Bertie -That's a really good point. A degree in Law would definitely open doors to other things for him, so he won't lose anything by doing the degree itself.

Usernc - Do you know why very few universities offer degrees in Real estate/Property management? and it seems hardly any of those are top or even middle rang unis. Is it because all you need is a generic degree?

My DH works area a construction professional - his theory about the lack of courses is around the huge recession we've had! When he did his degree there were lots of estate management type degrees but there were no employment prospects so the unis dropped the courses.

I think, OP, that you have not factored in that you are not qualified as a solicitor by doing a law degree. You cannot be a self employed solicitor by just doing Law at university. Solicitors need a training contract afterwards if they have a law degree. That’s the part that’s hugely competitive. If you don’t get a training contract, you can pay for yourself but there possibly no job at the end of it.

In addition, what does he mean by international law? If he means laws covering our international agreements, this is a very academic area of law. If you want human rights or similar, it’s fiercely competitive. There is also EU law but is that worthwhile now? All people involved in these areas of work are very bright and work long hours.
There are government lawyers who work in this field.

In short, these jobs are hugely difficult to get and really will be ludicrous hours. It might be better to look at what high powered lawyers actually have to learn and the pathways into it. If that looks too onerous, consider less exalted areas of law. Other jobs are available.

I used to work in international commercial law, which in my case consisted of conveyancing, company law and in general taking care of everything related to international investment from the planning stage to the actual purchase and then ensuring the smooth running of the business (getting the necessary business licences, etc.), as well as dealing with any potential litigation at any stage.

Maybe this is what your DS means and trust me, it's not half as glamorous as it looks. It's interesting, I won't lie, and it pays well but it requires long hours, juggling several projects at the same time, talking to numerous parties and keeping track of who does what and when, coordinating other lawyers (those who do the actual work on site on your behalf and those who are retained by the other side or by business parties...), sometimes you need to travel but most of the time it's done through email and phone calls. It's relentless and if you can't multitask it's simply impossible.

Being the "on-site lawyer" dealing with foreign clients is also complex because you obviously have several clients at one time, all expecting to be treated as if they were the only one. I was dealing with colleagues so I tried to make their lifes easier; more than once I had to explain to my clients why the on-site lawyer hadn't been able to deliver whatever it was that they wanted done for yesterday but when you're dealing with clients without that filter and also getting pressured by your firm's partners it's tough. I wouldn't have done their job and mine wasn't easy either.

I'm not trying to discourage your DS, I'm sure he's really bright but that's not always enough. I nearly burnt out after a decade and I'm neurotypical and pretty tough myself. I'm still practicing but changed gears completely and I'm much happier (and healthier) now. Yes, it's exciting and glamorous -at least at first- and you get to say that today you closed a multimillion transaction and all that but it's probably not his best option.

And before I forget, does he speak any foreign languages? A good command, not just a smattering. International law requires good knowledge of at least one foreign language, as well as familiarity with other legal systems, which you cannot possibly obtain if you only speak English. Clients, other lawyers, public officials from the destination, some will speak your language but most will expect you to speak theirs and quite rightly so.

"their lives", obviously.

Business partners. My proofreading skills are shit today.

By the way, I worked in house, which is supposed to be comfier or less stressful or something but it wasn't (for me).

He is still young and developing. He might , with maturity , develop good coping strategies for both conditions and it might turn out that his personality is well suited to a highly detailed type of work. I would be 'waiting to see' aiming for a good degree in a subject he likes rather than law necessarily and seeing how he manages stress as he gets older. I am thinking particularly of the extra pressure that a tendency to ocd can bring with it in a highly competitive workplace with potentially demanding clients and deadlines.

Weebara - That makes sense plus there are obviously other degree students that could also lead to a career in real estate management.

Bubbles - DS isn’ t interested in working self employed as a Solicitor. My comment as to ‘Law opening the door to other things’, was meant as in outside of Law.

Andromache. - Thanks for sharing that. I think DS is thinking environmental law (if there’s such a thing), working with developing countries? Perhaps. Theses are all just ideas so don’t even know if it’s a field but DH works in Oil and Gas so I think that’s where he’s got the idea from.

Bubbles just to clarify- if he wants to work within the sector then he will have to be fully qualified. But my comment was in response to Bertie and User who commented that a degree in Law will not be wasted. if he just does choose to do a degree in Law then that can open the door to other careers outside of Law.

I'm not very well acquainted with the opportunities that there may be in the field of environmental law but I would expect them to be either working for "the dark side", that is, consulting for companies wishing to ensure compliance while doing the absolute minimum they can get away with or international organisations or NGOs. In either case I would expect these positions to be relatively few and far between, but as I said I'm not very knowledgeable in this field.

Working with developing countries, whether in connection with environmental law or otherwise, will probably be restricted to international organisations and NGOs and similarly hard to get although perhaps a large international organisation might have the appropriate infrastructure and internal policies to make allowances for his conditions (as long as he fulfills the requirements for the job, of course)

I can understand the attraction of such "idealistic" work, I really do, but I come back to my previous question, does he speak any foreign languages? It's a must in international law and it also helps set you apart in a very competitive field, besides being a large part of the recruitment requirements for international organisations, which may actually be his best shot as I would expect the work environment to be less pressured compared to private companies or law firms.

Why couldn’t law be perfect. Adhd includes interest driven motivation. And Hyper focus. Could be right up his street if that’s what he wants to do.

I am in law. Brilliant he is working hard on various skills and things may change significantly for him (have experience of similar diagnoses of similar conditions where huge change has occurred over the years). I would be really concerned for him entering either office based employed legal work or court based whether solicitor or barrister. All require (if hope to enjoy it/succeed), as prerequisite, huge organisiational skills. You need to be 100% reliable at every turn with clients, fellow professionals, other parties, judges, clerks, professional bodies who regulate and oversee your career, time limits at every turn, frequent (constant) need to put life to one side to meet deadlines etc etc. If you are 100% organised it doable but if not it can be a miserable misfit. Agree a law degree can open doors to other (non practice) careers which may be really rewarding for him also and may better fit his skills and interests. Get some good careers advice. Law education is going through huge changes right now. Might be an idea for him to study something other than law at u/g level - postgraduate one year conversion to law will still be option by which point the fit/not may be clearer. Ie not all eggs in one basket. Good luck to him.

It might be worth investigating about paralegal apprenticeships. That would be a way to build up legal skills whilst earning. If he completes all levels he would be the same as qualified solicitor. If in fact it doesn’t suit he will still have built up many of the skills which studying law brings.

I would suggest he applies for some work experience to get a better idea what the legal profession involves.

www.indeed.co.uk/m/viewjob?jk=fb421427866412fc&from=serp

This is the sort of legal apprenticeship I mean which takes people after A levels.

You’ll need at least B’s at A level so they are equally robust option to doing a degree.