Something I didn’t know much about in law school was the different options for lawyers upon graduating from school. I always knew I loved to “fight,” so that always meant being a litigator for me. But turns out there are so many other careers in law. Here are a few:
Litigation. To start, just since it’s what I chose, you can “litigate.” It means you’ll be representing parties who are involved in disputes. There are so many different types of litigation – intellectual property, breach of contract, white collar crime, just to name a few. For me, I have really enjoyed intellectual property litigation because you help protect what entrepreneurs and creators have created, and prevent others from copying their hard work.
Transactional. I still have yet to explore this area of the law, so this will be my butchered rendition of what it is. From what I understand, you’re more of a “corporate lawyer,” in the sense that you represent companies when they are either being bought or sold by other companies. Companies also re-structure their own businesses, which requires corporate attorneys as well. Corporate attorneys rarely see the courthouse because they are working more with companies in structuring their businesses pre-litigation.
Those are pretty much the biggest two buckets within law. But there are also so many other things you can do, and so many other kinds of law. Some examples are immigration, healthcare law, environmental law. Honestly, the possibilities are endless. Which sometimes is good having so many options, but also it can be tough to find what you ultimately love the most!
Another aspect of different careers in the law is where you want to work. There are so many different places where you can practice law:
At a firm. This is probably the most well-known route, but it certainly isn’t the only one. Also, you can work at a large law firm, or a small one. Firms come in all different shapes and sizes, and they are all pretty different. It can sometimes take time to find a firm that 1) has the areas of practice that you like, and 2) the right culture. I wish I could say this is a easy mission, but to be honest, it isn’t. Maintaining your network is really important so you can ask around town to find out what firms are really like for the people who work there.
Going “in-house.” If you asked me 5 years ago whether I knew what that term meant, I’d probably be super confused. Going in-house basically means going “in-house” to work for a company. You’d be their on-site lawyer, as opposed to working at a firm. Often, some of the happiest lawyers I know are all in-house. In the past, going in-house was often known for better hours and more work-life balance, but these days, as more and more companies are trying to bring legal skills in house, the roles have gotten to be more demanding. But still, most in-house lawyers enjoy being a integral part of the internal corporate team working towards a common purpose.
Other options are always working for non-profit organizations, and maybe even doing something unrelated to law while still using the benefit of your law degree! In all, having a law degree can open many doors, you just need to know which one you want to walk into :).