Non-legal Jobs for Lawyers: Because Maybe You Don’t Want to Practice Law Forever

There are some lawyers who know early that a non-legal job is something that is a better fit for them. Then, there are lawyers who enjoy the practice of law for decades. They decide after retirement that they want to stay busy and use their skills to do something new. Regardless of when a lawyer decides to look into a non-legal job, their reasoning is perfectly valid and fully personal.
 

What If You Want a Non-Legal Job Before You Finish Law School?


This is still a perfectly valid decision (and, again, fully personal). If you decide you want a non-legal job before you finish law school, you should still finish law school. Then, decide whether you want to sit for the bar. There are some alternative jobs for lawyers that do not require an active bar license. A few examples include:

• Working for the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a Patent Examiner. The minimum requirements for becoming a Patent Examiner include holding at least a Bachelor’s degree in an engineering or scientific field. Patent Examiners determine whether patent applications should be granted by determining if the invention presented is unique and new, ensuring that the application meets the formal requirements, and draft written communications related to your findings regarding whether patentability exists.
• Working in the financial services sector in compliance is another great option for putting your JD to good use without passing the bar exam. According to Payscale.com, within one to four years, the average salary is $60,805. Compare that to Payscale.com data of an associate attorney of a starting salary of $63,811. And keep in mind that working in compliance, you don’t have to pass the bar or worry about billable hours. You’ll also have a better work-life balance compared to most attorneys. Of course, data for both industries may vary depending on location.
• Working in the insurance sector. In many states, holding a JD (and not passing the bar) makes you automatically eligible to not only hold an active insurance agent license, but also eligible to become an insurance broker, which is a separate licensing process. However, each state has their own licensing requirements for becoming an insurance agent as well as an insurance broker. If becoming an insurance agent or insurance broker interests you, check with the state’s Department of Insurance that you’re interested in working in. You will need a separate license, or a reciprocal license, for each state in which you plan to do business.
• Working in human resources. As someone with a JD, you have the skills and education to locate and identify laws related to working with individuals as well as the industry of the business.
• Working for a state legislator. In addition to experiencing the legislative process from beginning to end, having legal research and writing skills can make you an attractive prospect for this type of job opening even without passing (or even taking) the bar exam.

And if you’re worried about repaying your law school debt, there are government programs that exist that may help you repay some or all of what you owe even if you do not work as an attorney. Some of the qualifying employment options include working for a government organization at any level (federal, state, local, or even tribal), working for a qualifying not-for-profit organization or serving full time in the AmeriCorps or Peace Corps as a volunteer. Labor unions, partisan political organizations, for-profit organizations, and for-profit government contractors are not eligible employers. There are other eligibility requirements as well, including what counts as full time, what is considered an eligible loan, qualifying payments, and qualifying repayment plans (because you cannot be in default on your prior or current loans to apply).

Finding the Right Non-legal Job as a Lawyer

Whether you’re a highly experienced lawyer or new lawyer ready to find a non-legal job, you may wondering how you’ll find the right non-legal job. As we’ve previously discussed, there are a lot of alternative jobs for lawyers available. And, honestly, you don’t have to stay in the legal field unless that’s what you really want to do. One of the benefits of finishing law school is all of the transferable skills you have. Think about everything you learned to do in law school: legal research, application of facts, clear and concise writing, how to bury unflattering information about your position in a brief or other legal argument, and how to be an effective communicator (just to name a few skills). Think about the classes you took and enjoyed. What was it about those classes that you enjoyed? Is there a way that you can take those aspects out of the law practice and into the non-legal jobs realm?

Start by talking to those in your network to find non-legal jobs as a lawyer. Just like finding a traditional legal job, finding an alternative job that capitalizes on what you learned in law school can (and often should) start by talking to everyone in your network. In addition to learning about positions that may not be published on job boards, your network may even be willing and able to put in a good word for you which could help improve the likelihood of you getting an interview compared to simply applying for the position. Employers are often quite pleased to accept the recommendation of a loyal employee when they have an open job they need to fill.

Consider the reality of what may happen if you don’t enjoy life in a non-legal job. It truly is possible that you’re not happy in a non-legal job. There are several things that could make you unhappy:

• The job itself might make you unhappy. That in itself may be an easy fix, depending on the job market, since you could look for a new employer in the same non-legal sector or even a new industry.
• You aren’t making enough money to support your current or desired lifestyle. If working a non-legal job isn’t paying enough to cover your current lifestyle or the lifestyle you’d prefer to have, you have some options. The first is to consider your expenses. Are there any expenses that you can cut? If there are expenses that you can cut so that you can keep your position, assuming that you’re otherwise happy in it, that could be the way to go in order to remain in a peaceful state. Otherwise, you may need to look for a similar position with a business that pays more.
• Maybe you discover you do enjoy working in law, but just not in a traditional, billable hour format. That’s okay, too. There are options that you can explore. It’s okay to work in law without resorting to the billable hour format. If you haven’t taken and passed the bar exam, that’s the first thing you must do. If you’re license isn’t active or you need to pay bar dues, make sure you get that done. Subscription models are very hot right now. Those likely aren’t going away any time soon. That is one example of how you could get away from the billable hour while still working as a lawyer. You could explore the possibility of working in a legal department as an in-house attorney or even in a general counsel position. Then, you represent one client: the business. You have no billable hours. You still work as an attorney, but you generally still have a better work-life balance.

Think about what you don’t enjoy doing. Much like how we talked about focusing on the things from law school (or even practicing law) that you enjoyed, think about the things you absolutely hated. Those are things you want to avoid. This is more than avoiding billable hours or working as a practicing lawyer. It could be working with the general public, working certain hours, or any number of things that you just do not enjoy or do not want to do.

Above All, Don’t Forget to Have a Life Outside of Work

One of the biggest reasons attorneys burn out is because they are taught (and pushed) to do nothing but work. Billable hours simply aren’t reasonable. While that trend appears to be changing, many attorneys still do not have a grasp of work-life balance. While true balance is never achieved by anyone, separating work and home life is especially difficult for attorneys who are taught to be analytical and work until the job is done (on tight and often unreasonable deadlines).

Every professional should set work aside and have some kind of life outside of work. Otherwise, it increases the risk of burn out. Even if you really love what you do, burn out is a real threat. It’s known as compassion fatigue. It can increase your risk of anxiety, depression, and even substance abuse even if you’re not a practicing attorney. So, engage in activities you enjoy.