So you want to be a lawyer. You understand it is going to mean a lot of studying, a lot of time spent with books – but you like reading, and figuring things out, and you enjoy words, language, and all the semantic nuances involved.

You even know that the LSAT exam for admission to law school is tough, and something to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for, for special prep courses, coaching classes and the like. You also realize that law school itself will be difficult as nails, at least throughout the all-too-crucial First Year.

Great. Maybe you even know that you will be forever hitting the books as a practicing lawyer, forever taking online CPE courses and their tests, one after the other, in order to maintain your standing with the professional association governing your licensure.

Super.

But are you aware that it will be pretty tough getting a high-enough-paying job as lawyer in order to repay your student loans? In reality, those online CPE courses will definitely cost some money, too.

Oh, you probably think you have that covered. You’ll graduate at the top of your class, or you’ll be accepted into an Ivy League law school and graduate none too low in the positions so as to get hired by a top corporate law firm and effortlessly recoup your investment in two to three years’ time.

And indeed, if such a thing does happen, your odds would be a lot better than those for essentially the rest of your peers, even in this economy. But “better than” does not mean “inherently good.” ’Cause you know what – globalization is coming to the legal profession too.

Yes, that’s right – outsourcing. Indeed, some of the online CPE courses available on the worldwide web were produced overseas! And though the legal profession has tried to resist it (after all, it took a whole decade for everyone to swap from WordPerfect to Microsoft Word!), it’s finally started to affect the industry.