This article discusses important aspects of legal profession, areas of specialization and several guidelines that a lawyer is expected to follow. Here you will also learn about law schools, law school admissions, legal job hunting, areas of specialization, work environment and more.
Becoming a lawyer is not an easy task as you need to be a law school graduate in the first place. Legal procedures are practically the backbone of our social framework and it is necessary that lawyers should adhere to a strict code of conduct. If you are planning to become a legal expert, you must defend your client at civil and criminal trials, other than advising them about strategies for tackling problems. Lawyers also carry out legal searches and apply the legal implications to the case or context.
- Law schools: One needs to be a law graduate from a reputable law school to become a successful lawyer although that depend on the rules of the region you wish to practice in. Mostly, a regional or national institute looks into legal practice and representatives suffice people with the requisite information. Generally however, the candidate is required to pass the bar, or act in a legal capacity acting as an intern in a law office or judicial chamber.
- Law school admissions: Getting into a law school requires passing the LSAT Examination or the Law School Admission Test. The factors determining your admission to law schools are your GPA scores, LSAT scores, recommendation letters, personal statements, etc.
- Legal job hunting: Begin your legal job hunting with basic skills and strategies such as preparing a professional resume with the required parameters mentioned. There are a few strategies you need to follow such as getting your homework done about the company you are applying to, prepare Q&A networks in advance so that you can face the interview board effectively. Market your skills by generating a pitch or even establishing a connection with your interviewer. One of the major requirements of legal job hunting is to know how to negotiate a raise by developing a backup plan by soliciting other plans, etc.
- Areas of specialization: Lawyers of various disciplines are required to specialize in different areas. Marriage lawyers are required to specialize in areas like marriage, divorce, child custody, domestic partnerships and gay marriages as well. In fact, family lawyers today serve families on an economic level. Criminal lawyers deal with DUI and trials for murder etc. Civil legal professionals handle disputes between the individual and the government for suing a firm.
- Work environment: The typical work environment for the lawyers are offices, courts and law libraries. They may even meet clients in homes and commercial places, or even in prisons and hospitals, if so required. Other necessities include traveling, attending meets, or appearing before the jury, legislative units, etc. While preparing for a case, lawyers need to learn all about the latest laws or judicial pronouncements. Lawyers who work on a salaried basis have a set schedule. Those in private practice require putting in irregular working hours for around 50 hours a week.
Lawyers who spend most of their time in the precincts of the court are trial lawyers or attorneys; others specialize in private practice or are engaged in the varied governments, corporations or legal aid programs. Widespread use of technology in law (like video conferencing and electric filing) has focused lawyers toward seeking services of legal software and databases for retrieving legal literature and legal information for indexing.
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Harrison Barnes does a weekly free webinar with live Q&A for attorneys and law students each Wednesday at 10:00 am PST. You can attend anonymously and ask questions about your career, this article, or any other legal career-related topics. You can sign up for the weekly webinar here: Register on Zoom
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You can browse a list of past webinars here: Webinar Replays
You can also listen to Harrison Barnes Podcasts here: Attorney Career Advice Podcasts
You can also read Harrison Barnes' articles and books here: Harrison's Perspectives
Harrison Barnes is the legal profession's mentor and may be the only person in your legal career who will tell you why you are not reaching your full potential and what you really need to do to grow as an attorney--regardless of how much it hurts. If you prefer truth to stagnation, growth to comfort, and actionable ideas instead of fluffy concepts, you and Harrison will get along just fine. If, however, you want to stay where you are, talk about your past successes, and feel comfortable, Harrison is not for you.
Truly great mentors are like parents, doctors, therapists, spiritual figures, and others because in order to help you they need to expose you to pain and expose your weaknesses. But suppose you act on the advice and pain created by a mentor. In that case, you will become better: a better attorney, better employees, a better boss, know where you are going, and appreciate where you have been--you will hopefully also become a happier and better person. As you learn from Harrison, he hopes he will become your mentor.
To read more career and life advice articles visit Harrison's personal blog.
