Husband shares his truth with likely law students

Dear Miss Manners: My husband was a lawyer and is now retired. Several times a year, people ask him to talk to their children who are considering applying to law school.

Miss Manners, my husband hated every minute of his law career and doesn’t mind describing why. (The several years when a credible source threatened to burn down our house – they had burned down others! – was probably the worst.)

My concern is that there are perfectly bright, perfectly capable young people who would make perfectly good lawyers but, because they ran across my husband, went into some other field that they ended up hating even more than they would have hated law. Should I try to get him to moderate his position? If so, how?

Gentle Reader: Why do you think it necessary to protect possible future lawyers from hearing about difficulties that may be associated with the profession? Those who ask your husband probably ask others, and the wider the view they get, the better.

Besides, Miss Manners recalls asking an excellent drama teacher why she was advising her most talented student not to seek a career as an actress. “Because if that discourages her, she doesn’t belong in the theater,” was the reply.

By Judith Martin and Nicholas Ivor Martin UNIVERSAL UCLICK

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