The job outlook for lawyers looks promising. In fact, it’s projected that the job growth of attorney positions until 2012 will be roughly the same as the growth in other fields. This is basically due to the growth of business activity and the population. Also, it’s expected that the demand for particular legal services will also grow significantly during the next few years. That includes services in the areas of environmental, antitrust, and intellectual-property law.
With a significant increase in demand for attorney law work, why is the growth of attorney positions only expected to be “average”? To reduce the potential high costs of legal fees, several companies are hiring paralegals and huge accounting firms to perform some of the tasks that lawyers have historically handled. Another important factor is that dispute resolution and mediation are becoming increasingly popular as alternatives to legal proceedings.
Along with a moderate increase in the demand for attorneys, you should also expect the competition for those job openings to be quite competitive. That’s due to the extraordinarily high number of students that annually graduate from law school. Those students with the highest grades and those who graduate from the most prestigious law schools will have the best employment opportunities upon graduating.
Description
On the other hand, lawyers also function as advisers to their clients, by directing them about their rights and duties. Lawyers perform this function by using their knowledge of the law to provide the best advice available, to his or her client. The key is that the lawyer must have a working knowledge of the laws legal precedence that is related to the client’s case. Due to the enormity of the laws within a particular jurisdiction, this is one of the reasons why lawyers typically specialize in a particular area of the law.
While it’s understandable that Hollywood tends to focus on the excitement that lawyers can create in the courtroom, the majority of attorneys’ work takes place outside of the courtroom. This involves researching legal precedents, which are based on previous interpretations of particular laws, and judicial decisions that were founded on those interpretations. While research isn’t the most thrilling activity for lawyers, a wealth of resources (such as computer databases and public documents) has made the research required by attorney jobs less tedious.
When choosing a career as an attorney, you have the option to choose a specialization such as civil, criminal, or corporate law. For instance, those specializing in civil cases might specialize in labor law, real estate law, divorce, and so on. Not only will this allow a lawyer to find a niche market for lawyers, but it also benefits potential clients as well. When they need legal services for a particular area, finding a specialist in that area will make it easier to find a quality attorney.
Requirements
Usually those interested in law employment as a lawyer earn both undergraduate and law school degrees. It’s crucial for those who want to specialize in a particular legal field to earn undergraduate degrees that are related to such fields. For instance, potential patent attorneys frequently earn a B.S. in engineering, while those interested in becoming tax lawyers typically earn an undergraduate accounting degree. People interested in entering law school must pass the Law School Aptitude Test. Graduates of law schools must then pass the bar exam for the state where they want to practice law. Those who haven’t studied law formally must engage in self-study, in order to pass the bar exam.
It’s highly advisable that a potential attorney earn a pre-law undergraduate degree, before proceeding to law school. The main reason is that the student will have a better opportunity to determine which legal area he or she should specialize in. In fact, after earning a pre-law undergraduate degree, the student may decide to earn a Master’s in a field that’s outside the realm of law.
One of the main concerns that law students understandably have, is the sky-high cost of law school. However, the key is to keep the eye on the ball. Yes, law school is pricey. But completing it and then passing the bar exam (before your lawyer employment) will significantly boost your earning potential!
Job Locations
While lawyers work in courtrooms, they perform the bulk of their work in law firms, and in the field. Those who are interested in becoming lawyers should be prepared to conduct a significant amount of time doing legal research. As noted, Hollywood often sensationalizes the typical everyday nature of an attorney’s work.
If you’re interested in law work and working as an attorney, then visit LawCrossing.com to find a listing of various job openings. After signing up for a FREE trail, you’ll have instant access to thousands of attorney jobs throughout the country.
