When someone tells you dating a lawyer is just like dating anyone else, they are lying! This might be too straightforward for you, but after dating a lawyer for a year and a half, I know that lies have no room between you and your legal expert. Because they are so used to people who tell hundreds of lies, lawyers are able to sniff a lie from a mile, so there is no point in trying to hide something from them. On the other hand, you will notice how objective and sincere a lawyer is in a relationship.
Lawyers are stubborn and they are used to finding arguments in everything – and this is just the start of it all. Here are the main things you need to know before diving into a relationship with a lawyer.
1. Lawyers think differently.
This is the starting point: lawyers and law students think completely different from the rest of us. They are trained to think differently from the first day they decide to become a successful lawyer, so you will have to get used to this. Lawyers can be highly objective in the most subjective situations, which is a double-edged sword. In critical situations, this is an advantage, which enables your date to act quickly and correctly.
But in love… it’s another thing. Because they are used to being objective, lawyers might be cold and lack affection sometimes, but this doesn’t mean your date doesn’t like you. It’s just he/she is very objective about it.
2. Legal field is filled with parties.
Dating a lawyer? You must have a killer party wardrobe because lawyers attend a lot of events and most of these are high class. Prepare to meet people from Congress, politicians, celebrities, and many more public personalities at these parties. Despite what most people think, lawyer gatherings are never boring, so you will have a lot of fun!
Another thing you need to know about lawyers is they get over-excited over free-time plans, simply because they have so little free time.
3. You will be alone a lot.
Dating a lawyer sometimes feels like dating a ghost because they work a lot. A whole lot! You will often find yourself alone while your lawyer friend is at the office preparing a case. If you are the kind of person who likes to go out at 6 PM in the evening, you will be disappointed, because lawyers often work late hours. You will probably find yourself first going out on the town around 9 or 10pm.
Another thing you have to get used to when dating a lawyer is cancellations: don’t be surprised if your date cancels all your plans because he or she needs to go through a massive pile of books and laws, in order to build the case they are working on. Of course, this is one of the main reasons law is among the most swiped professions on Tinder.
4. You will learn legalese.
One of the perks of dating a lawyer is you will learn legalese. This is also valid if you are dating a law student, who is going to practice his/her speeches around the house, forcing you to hear those legal terms over and over again. The next time you are confronted with reading a contract, you will notice you understand it a lot better, which is a huge advantage.
5. You will never pay full price again.
Lawyers are great at negotiating, which means you will never have to pay full price again. For anything! Your date is always going to make use of the proverbial lawyer charm and get some freebies or discounts. If you pay enough attention to them, you will also be able to negotiate next time you go shopping. But lawyers use their charm for a good reason…
6. Lawyers have a huge student debt.
Lawyers not only practice their skills for work when they negotiate, but also to make their life easier because they can’t afford too many things in the first few years of practice. This is due to the huge student loan debt a lawyer has, and he or she is forced to use all their skills to make a living so they can manage to repair their debt.
7. You will never win another argument again.
Lawyers argue for a living, so there is no way they are going to lose back home, on their own “field”. Also, if you propose white, they will instinctively reject it and propose black instead. They can’t help it, so don’t be mad about it.
8. Lawyers love commitment.
This one is big: lawyers love hard facts both in work and love, so they want to be in a solid relationship. They love to be clear about their dating status and will want to have their significant other write on the calendar when their anniversary is. As a rule of thumb, keep things as clear and solid as possible in all areas of your relationship.
9. Your friends will look up to you for dating a lawyer.
As strange as it sounds, no one will ever look at you the same again after hearing you are dating a lawyer. I don’t know why this happens, but it does happen. My friends are now a lot more polite (not that they weren’t before) and their entire attitude towards me has changed. They somehow make me feel like a celebrity since I started dating my lawyer.
Bottom line, there are pros and cons to dating a lawyer, but it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth the trouble. Or you could leave it to the jury. :)
Featured photo credit: Cosmopolitan UK via cosmopolitan.co.uk
