Legal Career-Options In The Non-Government Sectors

A legal degree prepares you for jobs not only in the legal sector but also for jobs in the non-legal sector. But student who are willing to undergo the rigors of law school, eventually want to end up as lawyers or at least use their degrees as a passport to a job in the legal profession. Here are some career-options available to law-school graduates in the private legal sector.



Administrators:

There is always a demand for legal administrators to manage or supervise human and financial resources. Administrators are needed in law firms, the courts at all three levels of government-local, state, and federal-businesses, educational institutions, bar associations, foundations, labor unions, social service organizations and community groups.

Advanced Law Degree:

Rather than choosing to practice law immediately upon graduation from law school, some students are opting to obtain graduate law degrees in such fields as taxation or international law. Consider this choice, however, only if you have a need for the additional degree. Don't delay life any longer than you have to.

Business Practice:

Businesses need attorneys not only when problems arise, but also to prevent problems from occurring. A business lawyer's responsibilities vary from such simple tasks as drafting articles of partnership or articles of incorporation to negotiating and closing multi-million dollar deals. Business lawyers also tend to play the role of counselor to their clients, advising them on day-to-day business affairs and long-term business planning.

A successful business law practice tends to emphasize cooperation and a "win-win" scenario if more than one party is involved, as compared to the courtroom setting which emphasizes cutthroat competition and a "winner-takes-all" attitude. Most individuals with whom business lawyers come in contact will have to be dealt with again so it is advisable to arrive at mutually acceptable decisions.

Examples of work a business lawyer might perform include negotiating friendly mergers, acquisitions, or hostile takeovers. During the course of a merger or acquisition, lawyers must pore over numerous documents, which often include employment contracts, titles to real estate, promissory notes, security agreements, insurance coverage, licenses, permits, stockholder agreements, minutes of directors' meetings and may perform analyses of financial statements of both companies to work out the best deal for their party and one that hopefully will be satisfactory to the other party as well.

If the company is publicly held, proxy statements must be prepared so stockholders may vote on the proposed merger or acquisition. Additional documents, including the acquisition or merger agreement and new financial statements, must then be prepared after the merger or acquisition has occurred. In the event of a hostile takeover, business lawyers work closely with litigators in their own firm, should litigation be the only viable means of resolution.
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Other areas that have shown a strong demand for business lawyers include finance, partnerships, securities, and planning. Corporate and individual borrowers often utilize business lawyers to review loan agreements to determine compliance with applicable laws. Financial institutions may, in addition, use bankruptcy lawyers if an individual or corporation is deemed insolvent for purposes of liquidation or for workout of a compromise settlement.

Business lawyers may also engage in tax planning, financial planning, and estate planning and administration. The possibilities are endless; opportunities for specialization are available in virtually any area of interest to you.

Consultants (Legal):

Lawyers possessing special knowledge and expertise in a particular area of the law can offer their services to law firms, business organizations, and government agencies, to name just a few. To be successful at consulting, lawyers must network extensively and keep abreast of current developments. Many lawyers who now serve as legal consultants first held positions with law firms or began consulting after years in education, having become recognized authorities in their specialties.

Continuing education instructors are employed by state and local bar associations and law firms on a per-course basis. Prerequisites to teaching continuing legal education courses include expertise and experience in a particular area of law.

Corporate Counsel:

Rather than having many employers (namely clients), corporate lawyers have only one employer. It is the corporation they serve. However, there are numerous separate billable accounts utilized to represent corporate divisions or subsidiaries on which time is expended during a particular month. In-house legal departments have their own secretaries, file clerks, and computer terminals. Corporate counsel may provide specific services to the corporation to meet the unique needs of their employer or, depending on the size of the corporation, may be involved in numerous areas of practice.

The head of the legal department, often referred to as "general counsel," as well as those associated with the legal department, are often considered part of management and, therefore, may qualify for management incentives and bonuses. Corporations may also accommodate legal counsel by allowing them to job share work on a flex-time basis, part-time, or even at home, and in many instances also provide child care.

Corporations employ lawyers with varying levels of experience, although most have previous government or private firm experience. Corporations with millions of dollars to lose, however, generally do not entrust their affairs to counsel unless that counsel has earned a significant amount of respect and possibly, gray hair in the process.

As is true with new associates at large private firms, corporate lawyers may be allowed to rotate through various divisions and segments within a corporation to learn how each operates so they can more effectively represent the needs of the entire corporation.

There is really no such thing as a typical corporate lawyer's responsibilities. Some corporations hire in-house counsel to assist management in determining which outside legal counsel should be retained to handle and resolve a particular legal issue and then to oversee outside counsel's representation. Other in-house counsel simply serves an administrative function without actually doing the legal work themselves. These in-house counsel often make excellent supervisors due to their familiarity with corporate policy, personnel, and operations. In addition, they work closely with outside counsel to implement optimum solutions and strategies. At the other extreme, corporations rely solely on in-house counsel to render legal advice or litigate issues on their behalf. The extent to which a corporation must rely on outside corporate counsel depends on the nature of the legal problem and the extent to which in-house counsel is qualified to resolve the issue.

A corporate lawyer's greatest concern, if the corporation is large, lies in the potential conflict of loyalty between the head of the specific division or segment for which he or she is employed, and the corporation as a whole. Professional responsibility dictates that a lawyer owes a duty of care and loyalty toward his or her client- the corporation as a whole. Therefore, in-house lawyers must exercise great caution to maintain a balance and avoid potential loyalty conflicts. As a result, lawyers may be evaluated by both their department head and the corporation as a whole.

Due to mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, dissolutions, and reorganizations, some corporate lawyers may face the possibility of unemployment. However, those who possess the necessary knowledge and skills may actually benefit from management unrest.

As is true with movement from small to large firms, corporate lawyers normally encounter some difficulty in transferring from the corporate arena to a private law firm. This is due to a different set of skills required in working for a single client, a corporation, versus working with many clients on various unrelated, independent matters. Private law firms may, however, employ former corporate counsel who possess expertise in an area of interest to the firm and/or who have developed numerous contacts that may provide additional revenue for the firm.

Working as corporate counsel can provide many exciting challenges as well as a potentially higher quality of life due to regular hours and the opportunity for lifetime friendships.

Law Librarians:

Law librarians are required wherever a large law library exists. Law schools, large law firms, large corporations, various courts, government agencies, and bar associations all have tremendous need for a librarian's assistance. Prerequisites include a master's degree in library science and computer literacy.

Legal Publishing Companies:

Lawyers are employed by legal publishing companies in such positions as sales representatives, editors, and writers of such publications as law school texts and legal newsletters. They possess the legal background necessary to assist them to evaluate another's work, product.

Lobbyist:

Lobbyists may be employed to represent special interest groups such as corporations, trade groups, unions, consulting firms, and citizens' action groups at both the state and federal levels. Prerequisites to securing a position as a lobbyist include expertise in a highly specialized area of law such as taxation or foreign affairs as well as political experience.

Media:

Television, radio, newspapers, and magazines employ lawyers as special reporters covering trials and legal activities. Communication and journalism courses are necessary prerequisites.
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