Career change for lawyers handbook

Another in: Convince corporate HR departments to let you train a group of employees on how to resolve disputes. Then train staff on how to improve their compliance and perhaps rewrite employer documents: for example, employee handbooks, standard contracts, etc.

Law librarian within a law firm, corporation or university. This usually requires a one-to-two year masters of library science. Legal instructor. Or teach at a school that trains paralegals, legal assistants, or court reporters.

At a community college, you could teach such courses as business law, ethics, real estate law and criminal justice. Perhaps you might create an online version of your training and sell it to law firms to use as continuing education. Work at a law school.

Work for a bar association, for example, as director of continuing education, complaint reviewer, disciplinary proceeding prosecutor, supervisor of community service efforts, membership director, or public affairs specialist. Writer or editor for a print or online legal publication or book publisher such as Nolo Press.

You draft, monitor, and shepherd legislation, usually on behalf of a special interest group. Courts hire a surprising number of lawyers as researchers, administrators, even bailiffs with some police training.

Nonprofit work: Lawyers are frequently hired in development fundraising , especially planned giving. Provide a service or product to law firms , for example, computer systems, management consulting, insurance. For other ideas, check out the display ads in legal publications. Contract administrator. Government agencies and government contractors hire these people. Risk manager for an insurance company, government agency, corporation, university or hospital.

Do you recall all 1,,? Foreign service officer. Bantu, anyone? Career coach to lawyers. I have more lawyer clients than in are employed in any other profession.

Consider these: intellectual property, internet, estate planning, education representing schools, colleges, or students elder, employment, environmental, immigration, health care, bankruptcy.

Your chances of success also increase if you rent a desk in an existing law firm or adjacent to a business that might offer potential for cross-referral, for example, an accounting firm or insurance brokerage. If you are experienced but without a book of business, consider small law firms or government agencies. My daughter is a prosecutor for the U. Justice Dept. Many federal, state, and local agencies also hire lawyers, for example, consumer affairs, health, and real estate.

Magistrates are judges that handle cases related to government, for example, crimes committed on government land. Administrative law judges are employed by many government agencies and handle, for example, special education lawsuits against the public schools.

All attorneys research the intent of laws and judicial decisions and apply the laws to the specific circumstances that their clients face. Lawyers often oversee the work of support staff, such as paralegals and legal assistants and legal secretaries. In law firms, lawyers, sometimes called associates , perform legal work for individuals or businesses. Those who represent and defend the accused may be called criminal law attorneys or defense attorneys.

Attorneys also work for federal, state, and local governments. Prosecutors typically work for the government to file a lawsuit, or charge, against an individual or corporation accused of violating the law.

Some may also work as public defense attorneys , representing individuals who could not afford to hire their own private attorney. Others may work as government counsels for administrative bodies and executive or legislative branches of government. They write and interpret laws and regulations and set up procedures to enforce them. Government counsels also write legal reviews of agency decisions. They argue civil and criminal cases on behalf of the government.

Corporate counsels , also called in-house counsels , are lawyers who work for corporations. These issues may involve patents, government regulations, contracts with other companies, property interests, taxes, or collective-bargaining agreements with unions.

Public-interest lawyers work for private, nonprofit organizations that provide legal services to disadvantaged people or others who otherwise might not be able to afford legal representation. They generally handle civil cases, such as those having to do with leases, job discrimination, and wage disputes, rather than criminal cases.

In addition to working in different industries, lawyers may specialize in particular legal fields. Following are examples of types of lawyers in these fields:. Environmental lawyers deal with issues and regulations that are related to the environment.

For example, they may work for advocacy groups, waste disposal companies, or government agencies to help ensure compliance with relevant laws. Tax lawyers handle a variety of tax-related issues for individuals and corporations.

They may help clients navigate complex tax regulations, so that clients pay the appropriate tax on items such as income, profits, and property. For example, tax lawyers may advise a corporation on how much tax it needs to pay from profits made in different states in order to comply with Internal Revenue Service IRS rules.

Intellectual property lawyers deal with the laws related to inventions, patents, trademarks, and creative works, such as music, books, and movies. Family lawyers handle a variety of legal issues that pertain to the family. They may advise clients regarding divorce, child custody, and adoption proceedings. Securities lawyers work on legal issues arising from the buying and selling of stocks, ensuring that all disclosure requirements are met.

They may advise corporations that are interested in listing in the stock exchange through an initial public offering IPO or in buying shares in another corporation.

Lawyers work mostly in offices. However, some travel to attend meetings with clients at various locations, such as homes, hospitals, or prisons. Others travel to appear before courts. Lawyers may face heavy pressure during work—for example, during trials or when trying to meet deadlines. The majority of lawyers work full time and many work more than 40 hours per week. Lawyers who are in private practice and those who work in large firms often work additional hours, conducting research and preparing and reviewing documents.

Becoming a lawyer usually takes 7 years of full-time study after high school—4 years of undergraduate study, followed by 3 years of law school. Most states and jurisdictions require lawyers to complete a Juris Doctor J.

ABA accreditation signifies that the law school—particularly its curricula and faculty—meets certain standards. A bachelor's degree is typically required for entry into most law schools.

Undergraduate fields of study may include law and legal studies , history , or social science. Law students may choose specialized courses in areas such as tax, labor, and corporate law. The requirements vary by state and jurisdiction. For more details on individual state and jurisdiction requirements, visit the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Most states require that applicants graduate from an ABA-accredited law school, pass one or more written bar exams, and be found by an admitting board to have the character to represent and advise others.

Prior felony convictions, academic misconduct, and a history of substance abuse are just some factors that may disqualify an applicant from being admitted to the bar.

After graduation, lawyers must keep informed about legal developments that affect their practices. Almost all states require lawyers to participate in continuing legal education either every year or every 3 years.

Many law schools and state and local bar associations provide continuing legal education courses that help lawyers stay current with recent developments. Courses vary by state and generally cover a subject within the practice of law, such as legal ethics, taxes and tax fraud, and healthcare. Some states allow lawyers to take continuing education credits through online courses.

Newly hired attorneys usually start as associates and work on teams with more experienced lawyers. After several years, some lawyers may advance to partnership in their firm, meaning that they become partial owners of the firm.

After gaining a few years of work experience, some lawyers go into practice for themselves or move to the legal department of a large corporation. Very few in-house attorneys are hired directly out of law school. Part-time jobs or summer internships in law firms, government agencies, and corporate legal departments provide valuable experience.

Some smaller firms, government agencies, and public-interest organizations may hire students as summer associates after they have completed their first year at law school. All of these experiences can help law students decide what kind of legal work they want to focus on in their careers and may lead directly to a job after graduation. Analytical skills. Lawyers help their clients resolve problems and issues.

As a result, they must be able to analyze large amounts of information, determine relevant facts, and propose viable solutions. Interpersonal skills. Lawyers must win the respect and confidence of their clients by building a trusting relationship so that clients feel comfortable enough to share personal information related to their case. Problem-solving skills. Therefore, good problem-solving skills are important for lawyers, to prepare the best defense and recommendations for their clients.

Research skills. Lawyers need to be able to find those laws and regulations which apply to a specific matter, in order to provide the appropriate legal advice for their clients. Speaking skills. Lawyers must be able to clearly present and explain their case to arbitrators, mediators, opposing parties, judges, or juries, because they are speaking on behalf of their clients. Writing skills. Lawyers need to be precise and specific when preparing documents, such as wills, trusts, and powers of attorney.

Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U. Source: U. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. In May , the median annual wages for lawyers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:. Lawyers who own their own practices usually earn less than those who work in law firms or other business establishments. Occupational Employment Statistics OES survey wage data only includes lawyers working in business establishments.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program. Demand for legal work is expected to continue as individuals, businesses, and all levels of government require legal services in many areas. Despite this need for legal services, more price competition over the next decade may lead law firms to rethink their project staffing in order to reduce costs to clients. Clients are expected to cut back on legal expenses by demanding less expensive rates and scrutinizing invoices.

Work that was previously assigned to lawyers, such as document review, may now be given to paralegals and legal assistants. Also, some routine legal work may be outsourced to other, lower cost legal providers located overseas. Although law firms will continue to be among the largest employers of lawyers, many large corporations are increasing their in-house legal departments in order to cut costs.

For many companies, the high cost of hiring outside counsel lawyers and their support staffs makes it more economical to shift work to their in-house legal department.