Alternative Law Careers: What To Do If You Don’t Want To Be A Lawyer
You took the LSAT, and after you were accepted to law school, you worked hard for three years reading, studying, writing, and researching. You spent night after night doing the tremendous preparation necessary to study for and pass the bar exam. Later, Juris Doctor in hand, he tried his hand at a career as a lawyer. You worked for the city, the state or started in a company. Hours upon hours of grueling research and long nights writing reports and motions. Or maybe you went into private practice. He advertised, he hung his sign, he got into the brutal litigation process in the courtroom.
You did your best, but when all is said and done, you don’t think being a lawyer is for you. Then what do you do? You have a JD but you don’t want to be a lawyer! Do not despair. You’re not alone. A law degree can be a valuable tool to help you break into a number of other fields for those working as lawyers who just aren’t the right fit.
Tangential legal careers
There are many lawyers who, while they enjoy the theoretical aspects of the law, simply do not enjoy the mundane aspects, such as the paperwork and research involved. They require different types of encouragement and incentive in their career. A popular career path is the variety of legal sales oriented jobs. There is a large industry in support of the legal profession that provides data, software and other related information and services to lawyers and law firms. These firms are in dire need of law-savvy sales associates who can communicate with attorney clients at their level.
The advantages of working in sales include a bonus and commission structure that can offer substantial financial rewards, and all without the tremendous paperwork, research, and isolation that typical legal work entails. Those who enjoy working with many different people and developing relationships, as well as enjoying flexibility in scheduling and traveling often, also find this career field rewarding. Some companies even offer the option to work part-time or full-time from home, and many sales calls are done via computer with teleconference. While definitely for the more ‘starter’ personalities, a legal sales career can be a very rewarding alternative legal degree track.
Business and commercial activities
Many former lawyers complain about the stifling environment they found in law firms or in their private practice. As they envision the exciting, fast-paced legal world on TV shows like LA Law or Law and Order while in law school, when they’re out in the real world they find the reality is much different. Associates often go weeks and months without leaving the research libraries and paperwork involved in even the simplest of cases…and the constraints and legal gymnastics required to solve a case can take away all the excitement and gratification that comes with it. the young lawyer thought he was going to have. be a part of his career. So it’s no surprise that many lawyers decide to pursue more entrepreneurial pursuits by leaving their practices.
Fortunately, many of the skills and talents you honed as a lawyer can be put to good use in the business world. Many lawyers start their own businesses, often in fields far removed from the legal profession. The time management, attention to detail, and project management and completion skills he honed in law can make for great success in the free market. Pick any interest, hobby or passion and there is guaranteed to be a Juris Doctor holder who has made a successful business out of it.
An innovative soul opened a coffee shop where he offered free legal advice on certain days. Others have opened restaurants, developed online businesses, or created innovative ‘green’ companies by leveraging their knowledge of environmental law. Still others have started nonprofits or nature and conservation companies that were able to use their particular specialties in their former legal fields. It is not uncommon for law graduates to go into investment banking or use their real estate legal skills to work in real estate development or financing. The added credibility of a Juris Doctor degree will help build credibility in any venture you undertake, and can often help convince institutions of your trustworthiness when considering new business loans.
creative fields
A third alternative law career popular with those with a creative edge is the many novel paths that take advantage of strong writing and organizational skills honed in a legal career. Many television writers and journalists are known to have JD. In addition, television and radio journalists with law degrees are appreciated for a variety of roles, from legal commentary to specialized topics such as civil rights, criminal law, and entertainment law. Still others use their legal experience to work as legal advisers or become writers on important legal topics.
Another potential avenue is those professions that take advantage of the networking and dealing aspects of legal work. Many Hollywood talent agents and managers have law degrees that help them with the job and their contract negotiations. Recruiters for high-level positions and political advisers are often required to have a legal degree or similar as part of their credentials to reach the heights of their profession. Finally, a small but dedicated subset of law graduates become artists in their own right, becoming filmmakers, poets, and painters, often drawing on their legal expertise to create works that comment on or discuss important issues. Several famous novelists started out as lawyers, from the famous trial lawyer Vincent Bugliosi to the now famous…but unknown as a lawyer, John Grisham.
Earning your Juris Doctor is a great achievement in itself. Just because one finds working as a lawyer unsatisfying does not mean that the work done to gain her status as a lawyer is wasteful. This essay merely hints at the possibilities that are available to the law graduate in the workplace.