Alternative Careers for Law Graduates This article is aimed at two principal categories of readers. First, those readers who wish to study law but have no intention of becoming professionally qualified and practicing as a solicitor or at the Bar, and secondly, those readers who started their legal education with every intention of practicing law but who, for one reason or another now finds that that particular... (1369 views)
Wanting Out of Law by Any Means Necessary: Even If It Means Hiring a Consultant to Help You Quit Summary: Many lawyers quit law due to the stress of the profession. This article offers lawyers advice as to how to take the next steps in their post-legal careers. (1225 views)
Finding the Perfect In-House Legal Position: A Guide for Aspiring Lawyers Every day at 5:30 p.m., the deception begins. Needing to pick up her child from daycare, a female attorney places a full cup of coffee on her desk, leaves the lights on, pretends to visit the ladies' room, and then sneaks down five flights of stairs to her car, where she has purposely left her purse to help speed a swift getaway that enables her to avoid being seen by her... (1084 views)
What To Do When You Are Disenchanted With Being A Lawyer? There are over three-quarters of a million lawyers, give or take, in this country. More are on the way. The law school mills continue running at full capacity. They produce graduates in numbers incomprehensible a generation ago. Practicing law affects differently those who do it. Many love it and that is great. Everyone should be able to work at what they truly love to do. (1041 views)
How to Be a District Attorney Becoming an attorney takes a lot of work and dedication. The truth is that the path to obtaining your law degree is not necessarily an easy one, but it can lead to a fulfilling and wonderful career. In fact, there are few fields that are as widely respected as the field of law, and the career of a district attorney is no exception. The high-profile, appointed position of a... (965 views)
The Main Reasons Staff Attorneys Are Valuable for Law Firms Staff attorneys are often considered "less than" in the legal industry. They may sometimes do the same amount of work for a law firm and even have titles like associate or counsel on the firm's documents. However, they earn significantly less than their full-time counterparts. They do not have the same advancement opportunities. Many major law firms do not consider... (907 views)
Choosing Not To Practice Law: Here Are Some Non-Legal Career-Options It is worth noting that not all of those licensed to practice law are actually engaged in the practice of law. Some are in private industry, or the public sector. (825 views)
Alternative Legal Careers: What are your options if you are planning to leave your legal career? This guide is intended as a reference for career services professionals and as a workbook for law students seeking alternatives to traditional careers in law. (753 views)
Thinking of Taking Up a Job in the Corporate Legal Department – What Differences Should You Expect? Not all brilliant law school graduates get to land an attorney position with a big law firm. Some have to look for an appropriate opening in the corporate private sector. There are plenty of jobs to choose from in this sector for lawyers, as it is the second largest employment source for lawyers. However, working as an attorney in the private corporate sector is quite... (706 views)
Non-Attorney Legal Careers: The Crossroads of Changing Jobs While it has become commonplace for most people to have multiple careers throughout their lives, some professions, such as the practice of law, are largely considered to be lifetime choices. The time, hard work, and expense involved in attaining a law degree, and the subsequent paychecks, are strong incentives for a lawyer to remain in the field. However, more and more... (694 views)
Scott Turow, Renowned Lawyer & Best-Selling Author, Joins Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Chicago, IL This week, we profile Scott Turow, partner at Chicago's Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and acclaimed novelist of some of the most popular legal fiction of our times. His career, while unlikely to be duplicated anytime soon, serves as a model for attorneys with more than one passion. (689 views)
Legal Interviews for Career Change First, let's define some key terms. By a "lateral hire", meaning a job change made after one has been practicing law for a while, in which one is looking for a job in a different legal environment - for example, from a large law firm to a smaller law firm, from a law firm in City A to a law firm in City B, or from a law firm to a corporate legal department or government... (686 views)
Strategies for Successfully Transitioning From In-House to Law Firm Environments With law firms increasingly re-establishing themselves as the most stable work environments for attorneys, what can an in house attorney who hopes to get work at a law firm expect? (662 views)
The Advantages of Boutique Law Firms for Attorneys Most attorneys focus on spending their legal careers and providing legal services only in major law firms in the"top 50" or "top 25" list. However, a boutique law firm can often offer much more stability and happiness in an attorney's life. Read on to find out why a boutique firm might be the better choice for you and your legal career. (650 views)
Lawyers Overcome Relocation Obstacles: How to Relocate Your Legal Practice Successfully The American job market is a whirlwind of hiring, outsourcing, and downsizing, particularly in recent years, leaving many lawyers wondering whether it is the right time to attempt a lateral move. (566 views)
Overcome Your Legal Mindset: There’s Life Beyond The Law Firm Can I do anything else except practice law? This is an often asked question. The simple answer is, yes you can, but first you must overcome the legal mindset. Many people develop this frame of mind in law school. Some develop it even before they get there. It is how they deal with the stresses of law school. In their quest to overcome the tribulations of law school,... (514 views)
The Truth About Being a Workaholic in Legal Industry The legal industry has a reputation for demanding long hours and intense work schedules, and many lawyers and legal professionals describe themselves as "workaholics." But what does it really mean to be a workaholic in the legal industry, and is it a healthy or necessary part of the job? (501 views)
Can Attorneys Become Successful Entrepreneurs? Reasons Why so Many Lawyers Fail as Businesspeople The legal profession is a very specific industry that works on a set of rigid rules attorneys are not supposed to break. One of the most important rules is that if you want to succeed as a law firm attorney, you have to be committed and never leave the legal industry. Still, many attorneys dream of becoming business owners in fields that have nothing to do with the law.... (470 views)
Uncovering the Career Opportunities with a Law Degree: What Can You Do? Legal Authority offers insight into seven different careers where your law degree can be put to good use — and they all involve the law. (443 views)
1st Day Introductions At Your New Legal Job Today is your first day on the job and you’re prepared: You have your outfit picked out, you packed your lunch last night, and you’ve plotted out the best route on Waze. Suddenly you break out in a cold sweat as flashbacks of being the new kid in school all those years ago sets off memories of awkward introductions and curious eyes flashing in your direction. (368 views)
Challenges of Shifting In-House From a Law Firm As an attorney in private practice, it might seem that an in-house job may be preferable to the billable hours’ sweatshop environment in private law firms. Sometimes it may be true, but otherwise the only shift that happens is a change in work environment. It does not relieve you from carrying your work home, even if it is only in your mind, but you can carry it... (352 views)
How To Make Transition From Legal Jobs To Business Jobs Seamless And Stress-free? There is a dissimilarity between changing a job and making a career transition. A job change means just changing your job, but doing the same thing, albeit at a different location and amongst different people. However, when you leave a job for another that involves doing something totally unlike what you were doing earlier; you are making a career transition. Job changes... (347 views)
The Right and Wrong Reasons To Quit Practicing Law As a legal recruiter and a former lawyer, I come into contact with a lot of attorneys on a daily basis. What I have noticed is that too many attorneys quit practicing law and choose alternative careers for all the wrong reasons. (343 views)
Tailoring Your Resume To Push Yourself Strongly For Non-Legal Jobs The vast majority of resumes look the same. Why? They look the same because the vast majority of job seekers do not put enough of their own thought or effort into writing them. They use a form resume out of a book as a template. Then, all that is left to do is slap together one page of seemingly unrelated data that ends up reading like an obituary notice, make a lot of... (312 views)
Defining the Legal "Profession" The fact is, when you start asking what it means to be a lawyer, you hear some peculiar answers, and you might like to ponder them before charting your future. (297 views)
Alternative Legal Careers: Planning for a Job Change as a Lawyer The career planning process will go on throughout your lifetime. Although you have chosen to pursue the study of law or are currently practic¬ing law, there are still a number of decisions that you will need to make. There are also a number of myths that you need to dispel as you make your career decisions. Probably the first and foremost myth to dispel is that career... (284 views)
The Life and Career of Jeffrey Hughes, Owner, Legal Grind Thirsty for justice? Jeffrey Hughes' two Legal Grind cafes in the Los Angeles area offer ''Coffee and Counsel'' to those who may not otherwise seek legal advice. Through his innovative venture, Hughes has worked hard to both provide a valuable service to his community and change the public perception of attorneys. (258 views)
Had Enough of Law Firm Demands and Grueling Hours? Become an In-House Counsel Summary: Tired of law firm hours and demands? If you are willing to earn a little less, consider being an in-house counsel. (231 views)
The 'dark Side' Of Going In House Introduction The purpose of this article is to provide you with insight as to whether or not you should go in-house. Many attorneys claim that going in-house was their best career move. Conversely, some attorneys claim it was their biggest career mistake. In the end, going in-house is entirely up to you. You need to understand, however, that the decision to go in-house... (222 views)