Lawyer Boy: A Case Study on Growing Up

by Rick Lax

After college, Rick Lax moved back into his parents’ house. The closest thing he had to a job was eating his parents’ food, sitting on his parents’ couch, and watching The Price is Right . An amateur magician, he spent the rest of his time practicing card tricks and rope tricks. And though he could tie four different slipknots, the necktie posed some difficulties. Rick’s father, a successful Michigan attorney, told Rick it was time to move out and enter the real world. Rick certainly wasn’t going to get a job, so he went to law school instead. This is the story of Rick’s journey from childhood to lawyerhood. In Lawyer Boy , Rick uses the skills he developed as a magician to succeed in class, and learns how to become a lawyer without becoming his father. His journey through law school was exhausting, exciting, and infuriating, and, the way he tells it, so funny it’s criminal.

Genres: Nonfiction, Law, Memoir

288 pages, Hardcover

First published July 8, 2008

Reviews

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be the first to admit that my interest in all things law-related rarely goes beyond Law & Order and an occasional John Grisham novel. I've never had any interest in pursuing law (a decision this memoir confirmed), and I don't particularly like lawyers either. I heard about Lawyer Boy through one of my favorite bands, Tally Hall, whose members are close friends with author Rick Lax. Out of curiosity, I read the first chapter on Lax's website and was hooked from the first word. Unlike other reviewers of the book, I found the footnotes defining various legal terms helpful and often entertaining. Not only did I find the memoir hysterically funny at times, but I also found it educational. Lax did an excellent job of taking a topic that is boring to the majority of the population and turning it into a book that is interesting and funny. He may never fulfill his dream of becoming a full-time magician, and he may never find success as a lawyer... but I think Rick Lax may have found his true calling as an author. Excellent book!

[Ensiform · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author, a twenty-something amateur magician who lives with his parents, comes from a family of lawyers, and eventually resigns himself to following in his father’s footsteps. He recounts, with flair and humor, his struggle with the LSAT, his entrance to DePaul Law School, and his experiences with the professors there – some good, some frustrating. He also manages to spice things up with a romantic relationship with a very attractive girl, but eventually law school demands too much attention, and she breaks up with him. It’s a very amusing, fun read, a bit lightweight, and since it ends with only his first year of law school under his belt, I felt a bit disappointed, as if Lax had rushed out the book without bothering to finish his own story first.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

很有笑點的一本書, 把法律生的苦悶生活很有趣的寫了出來, 連註腳都是詼諧不已.
但聽說作者最後不當律師了就是...

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gets three stars for truth, but for entertainment value would probably only be getting two and a half. As the girlfriend of a former law school student, I can vouch that nearly all of Rick Lax's experiences had a very familiar ring, but the main trouble with this book is that it gets its audience wrong. Lax compulsively footnotes explanations of legal terms and liberally drops big chunks of case excerpts into the narrative. I wanted to read this book based on the fact that I was living with a law student during his first year of school and even I with my rough secondhand knowledge of legalese and the cases mentioned felt insulted. Wouldn't the main audience of this book be either potential law students, current law students, or former law students? I suspect these readers are not looking to read The Legal System for Dummies and are not looking to reminisce about the content of exam questions or talking points from their first year Civ Pro or Torts classes, but were looking for the human element, the humor, etc. One of Lax's professors put it best: "For the next year, the American Legal system will be your girlfriend. She will demand your time and your undivided attention." When Rick tells him that he's on his way to a date his professor remarks, "That makes you a cheater, Rick. And you will pay for it." Unfortunately in this case, Lax's readers are like the friends who have to hear him talk ad infinitum about the new love of his life and they're the ones that pay. Rick Lax is so caught up in regurgitating all the things that he learned about the law that as the book goes along he pays shorter and shorter shrift to the personal experiences of being a student trying to have friends in an uber-competitive environment and trying to have a romantic life in a scenario where you have no free time, energy, patience or flexibility, which is what we all really want to read about. Surprisingly disappointing considering how much material there is to work with.

[Jack Knorps · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is basically Scott Turow's ONE L, but at a TTT or TT instead of Harvard Law, shortly before such acronyms were coined. That is, the law school memoir, coming out of DePaul. While the book is a page-turner and reads quickly, it may not be very interesting to those that haven't gone to law school or aren't interested in going. I also felt the second half was weaker than the first, that the Fall semester received much more attention than the Spring semester.

Many people who have been through the experience will find a great deal in common with Lax. Personally, his experience of going to University of Michigan for undergrad and not having a prayer at getting into their law school, matched mine with NYU. We also had the same LSAT score. And we had the same experience in being accepted by DePaul, with the large t-shirt gift. The difference is that Lax's part-time schtick is performing magic, and ultimately it seems that became his ruling passion over law. This is quite charming in the book, as the Appendix offers a couple of simpler tricks for the reader to try.

The review below is more autobiographical than critical, and features a comment by the most outstanding commenter on the blog, as yet anonymous and perhaps an abandoner of FH. Basically, the book made me feel that the experience at Brooklyn Law School was almost exactly the same as at DePaul Law School. Chillingly similar.

http://flyinghouses.blogspot.com/2014...

[Nathalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a current law school applicant, this book was a lot more helpful and insightful than Scott Turow's One L. Although, of course Turow's book is a classic and should be read in preparation anyway. Lax's book is way more updated and shows the challenges that law students face today. It also hit close to home since I'm from Chicago, have seen DePaul and a lot of the places Lax mentions. Lax shares some pretty funny experiences when it comes to the individuals you encounter in law school. He also does an excellent job of portraying how legal speak creeps into your life and your relationships. I definitely would recommend this book for anyone considering law school. It was a quick read and I enjoyed it immensely.

I got to see Lax in person at a book reading/signing. Totally charming and he's got some cool magic tricks!

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly interesting year in the life of a law student book. I bought it because I thought it was more about being a young attorney, but instead it was solely about the first year of law school. Although this has been done before (most famously in One L), I think this was a refreshing retake on the experience. Instead of Harvard, this author went to DePaul (a 2nd or 3rd tier law school). He, and his classmates, didn't really go to law school to be lawyers, they went because they didn't know how to get a different job. The role of law school to a law student has changed greatly, and this book is fairly accurate in describing the more common law experience. It would actually be good for older lawyers to read so they can understand where the young ones are coming from.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the rare instance where you say I (possibly specifically me, Margaret) could have written this, and that makes it brilliant instead of annoying and self-indulgent. Lax is hysterical but all of it is with content that has a purpose in being conveyed--he's not just throwing out one-liners. Witty footnotes add to an already hilarious tale of his reluctance to apply to law school, his admissions process, and his eventual matriculation and how he balances it with a social life and mooching more off his parents. So good.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friend in law school prevailed upon me to read this book. It was pretty entertaining. It left me with a general impression that law school is a deeply, almost ridiculously unpleasant experience for virtually everyone who endures it. I also, rather paradoxically, came away with a bizarre and somewhat perverse desire to take the LSAT just to see how I'd do. Probably not something I will ever follow through on, though the practice test on the Princeton Review site is strangely tempting . . .

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read. I think I finished it in a day. I found the family/personal stuff in the book a lot more interesting than the law school related stuff. I graduated from law school 3 years ago and I'm kind of over reading about life during law school. I think that is why the book is so good. The writer is funny and tells interesting facts about himself and his life. Therefore, you can enjoy the book without necessarily having an interest in law school.

[Peter Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the book - thanks to Lax's witty style - I think it's best enjoyed by lawyers and future lawyers. The story covers his first year of law school and lessons learned along the way - literally. In between his personal adventures are clips of cases he had to study and many legal terms. Thank God for the foot notes! Fans of his magic might be interested in this if only to understand his background

[Dwgoldstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly accurate depiction of one's first year of law school. Despite being written by a pretentious know-it-all, this makes the book even more authentic. At times, I wanted to reach through and punch the author in the face (he was the Torts Brown-noser), but it was fairly entertaining, and it can be read in an afternoon.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Would be funnier if I didn't go to law school. I don't really see why this guy can regurgitate cases and basic, black letter law and call it part of his book. It seems like it is intended for a non-legal audience, in a way that would make law school seem more interesting or impressive than it actually is. It's not. And everybody's doing it.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a pre law student, I strongly recommend reading this book. It is insightful and has a lot of little information and advice in it that you just dont get from Kaplan or other LSAT prep books. The story line and dialogue is excellent and enjoyable as well. I wish that it would never end!

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like a big inside joke for lawyers - funny but ultimately, as it turns out, I have no desire to revisit law school...

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

a very entertaining, easy read - was written by one of my sister's classmates and had great references to u of m.

[AJ Conroy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funnier than I thought it would be. Not sure if it translates off of planet lawschool.

[Odoublegood · Rating 3 out of 5]

a very good-humored book that makes for fine reading aloud and often causes the reader and listener to laugh

[Nicky Enriquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming, humorous, and intriguing look into law school. Very much enjoyed Mr. Lax' style of writing, and his story!