How To Get Attorney Jobs

To become an attorney, one must have extensive, specialized training in law. First, you need to have a bachelor's degree at an accredited university. The degrees that most lawyers attain usually are congruent with the type of law they want to practice and pursue in the future. A bachelor's degree usually takes four years to complete, depending on the course of study and the university you attend.

Then, once you have that bachelor's degree, you need to attend an accredited law school for a law degree. Attending law school should give you the knowledge you need to pass the bar exam, which is required for you to become a lawyer in anywhere in the United States. Make sure that you keep in mind that the admissions into law school in the United States are extremely competitive.


While you are in law school, you should obtain some clerkship in law firms part-time or during the summer. Make sure that you pick clerkship positions that pertain to the specific field of law that you want to pursue in the future. This way, you can weigh the pros and cons of that field to make sure that you should pursue it.

Getting clerkship within a law firm that you choose can help you start to build a contact list. Make sure that you keep in touch with these contacts, because it can lead to attorney jobs in the future. Since you have experience in that law firm, they already know your work ethic, so they may hire you. If they do not hire you, you can still use their connection to find a job through networking.

There are two types of attorney jobs, criminal and civil. Criminal attorneys can work for the government and serve as a prosecuting or defending lawyer. Civil attorneys deal with non-criminal cases.

The day to day work environment is going to be different for almost every lawyer. Most lawyers work in an office setting, some lawyers working together in one office, often times working as an associate for a partner of a law firm. Some lawyers never step into a court room, while others spend a good majority of their time in court rooms.

The work load for attorney can also vary greatly from lawyer to lawyer. The hours can often be irregular and long. This can be especially true for an attorney that has private clients.

Since the job experience for each lawyer can be different, there is also a discrepancy is the salaries of practicing attorneys. The average salary for a lawyer employment in the United States is $110,000 annually. There are also many other factors that exist that can affect the salary of a lawyer, including: type of practice (criminal or civil), location (area of practice), the employer, and work experience.

Lawyer employment is very competitive, and most attorneys are hired after three to six years after completing their law school education.

If you did not use your connections to any clerkship positions you may have held while you were in law school, there are other way of getting a job as an attorney.

Your local phonebook can be a good source to find attorney positions. Look for law firms, or for federal agencies under the "U.S. Government" section in the phonebook for work as a federal lawyer. Once you find a place, call or write these places to find out if they have any lawyer positions available that you could apply for.

Some federal agencies advertise for attorney positions on college campuses. This can be a great way for you to find out about law firms and federal agencies that you could apply to. Attorney job openings can also be found at local job fairs.

Also, you could use internet-based job finders to help you find lawyer employment. These websites usually post open attorney positions at law firms and federal agencies around you to make your job hunt even easier.

A career as an attorney can be an exciting and very satisfying career that requires skill and determination to succeed. Since attorneys are keys to our law-filled society, attorney jobs will always be on the rise, even in today's economy.