Ask any ten children what they want to be when they grow up and you're almost guaranteed to find one who wants to be a lawyer. However, few of them understand what this profession actually entails.
The truth is that being a lawyer isn’t always as glamorous a career as television shows and movies make it out to be. Being a lawyer isn't all courtroom trials and criminal investigations – in fact, a lawyer’s duties can vary widely, depending on what branch of law they choose to specialize in.
Working as a Lawyer
It's important to remember that even though there are a lot of lawyers working today, the market won't likely be flooded any time soon. This is because every facet of modern life requires legal maneuvering – so there are quite a few different areas that lawyers can specialize in. For example, there are lawyers who handle nothing but real estate and probate cases.
There may be some instances when these lawyers need to go to court, but more often than not, their duties involve meeting with city and state planning officials and dealing with lots of paperwork.
The majority of lawyers who go into practice do so in private practice, working on either civil or criminal law cases.
For the most part, it's the criminal law side of legal practice that receives most of the media's attention. Criminal law practice involves representing those who have been criminally charged by presenting their cases in front of a court and jury. Some of these lawyers work within large legal firms that dictated which clients they'll work with; while other criminal lawyers are self-employed and get to choose their clients. In addition, some lawyers choose to work within a legal aid system that helps out those who cannot afford legal representation.
Civil lawyers focus primarily on lawsuits and other civil matters. Some lawyers in this field choose to work with special interest cases or handle pro bono work in order to make a difference in the way the law is handled or applied. Other lawyers specialize in handling medical malpractice or worker’s compensation cases, for which they tend to be handsomely rewarded financially. If you choose to specialize in civil law, the number of different ways that you can specialize is so vast that you'll have a great deal of flexibility in picking and choosing the field you like most.
Whichever field you choose to specialize in, the one caveat you should be aware of before entering the legal field is that lawyers tend to work long, hard hours. If you enter a private practice after law school, you may find yourself working 60-80 hours/week in order to prove yourself and get higher up on the corporate ladder. Conversely, if you choose a life of public service, you may not work these killer hours, but you will earn substantially less money. While this may not be a problem for some people, be sure that any job you take on allows you to cover the student loan expenses you may have incurred during law school.
The job description and duties of a lawyer are so wide-ranging that it's almost impossible not to find a career that you enjoy and that earns you a good lifestyle. In addition, legal careers allow you to specialize in a niche that's specifically targeted to your interests. There aren't many jobs in the workplace today that offer that kind of flexibility – which is just one of the reasons why so many people strive to become lawyers or pursue one of the many law careers available.
