It’s a cliché that if you don’t know what you want to do with your life, you go to law school. This is a very expensive and stressful avenue for “killing time” and hoping a passion pops up. It’s also why many law school students don’t end up using their degree and instead spend years pursuing a field that’s not a right fit. It’s not easy to be a great lawyer, and clients deserve better than someone who scraped by without having their heart in it.
The good news is that sometimes these law degree holders do go on to find their right match: Being a celebrity. Whether it’s acting, music or being a personality, there are quite a few celebrities with law degrees. Here are some of the most famous attorneys in waiting:
John Grisham
This is one celebrity whose law degree has served him well. Author Grisham tried a slew of different jobs from selling underwear to being a plumber’s apprentice before he became one of the most famous living writers of today. However, he had early pursuits of becoming a tax lawyer, but found it too challenging so switch to trial law which has helped form the basis of his legal thrillers.
Gerard Butler
The beloved actor actually worked as a lawyer in Edinburgh for a couple of years, but was fired at the end of his trainee period. However, Butler has readily agreed that knowing a thing or two about law has helped him deal with his own legal scuffles.
John Cleese
This comedian received his law degree from Cambridge, but he never practiced. Instead, he teamed up with Graham Chapman, his writing partner, and fell in love with comedy. The Monty Python troupe was born, and Cleese never looked back. However, many wonder what his kind of courtroom presence would be like.
Gandhi
World leader Gandhi studied at University College of London, passing the bar in 1981, and then went back to Mumbai to practice. He only discovered later that law wasn’t a good match for him, since he was too reserved to make a solid presence in court. Of course, he went on to find a platform that suited him much better.
Henri Matisse
This famed artist had a father with dreams of an attorney son, and that’s solely what made the French artist go to Paris to study in 1887. Returning to Saint-Quentin, he took a job as a law clerk, but soon after developed appendicitis. While healing, his mother gave him oil paints and that’s how he discovered his talent. He famously said, “From the moment I held that box of colors in my hand, I knew this would be my life.”
Law isn’t for everyone, but fortunately many people find out before it’s too late.
