<p>What type of lawyer has the most court room time?
What type of lawyer would be the one to work on cases that involve murder, kidnapping, etc.?</p>
<p>Criminal. Or general litigation, like class action.
Criminal defense or prosecutor.</p>
<p>what type of lawyers work on law and order? I love that show.</p>
<p>You want to look into criminal law. Either as a prosecutor (known as an assistant district attorney or deputy district attorney) or a defense attorney, you will be in about 6-10 trials per year, speaking to friends who do this work.</p>
<p>If you want info on jobs as a prosecutor, Google "[Insert city name] Human Resources" or "District Attorney" and you will find salary and job information.</p>
<p>Depending on the city, (where major cities being the areas in which the jobs as prosecutors are more coveted, therefore you want to get into a higher tier school-- try Manhattan) you may not need to attend a top school. </p>
<p>Having looked up this info, the salary for an ADA in New York City is $50,000, the salary for a DDA in San Diego is $56,000, and that is the comparable salary throughout much of the US, where cities in the South can have salaries in the mid-to-high 40's. </p>
<p>I am focusing mainly on prosecutors because as a criminal defense attorney you may not be working solely on the cases you see on shows like Law and Order but also on white collar crimes. . .</p>
<p>As you can see, salaries in the DA's office are not as lucrative as salaries in Big Law. If you attend a top law school and work hard, you may be able to attain a job as an attorney for a big firm focusing on litigation or White Collar Criminal Defense, where salaries can be as high as $160,000 plus bonuses in the $30,000's.</p>
<p>Ha, sorry, I was only being sarcastic. (I know, I'm an a******) Does no one else see the humor? (For what it's worth, I do enjoy law and order)</p>
<p>Sarcasm, what's that? :D</p>
<p>So wait, chessiestyle, are you saying you legal career won't be a thrill-a-minute spectacle like on Law & Order if you go to law school? Maybe I'll go to medical school instead so my life can be like those guys on Scrubs. I love that show!</p>
<p>You could also work in the public defender's office.</p>
<p>haha, ok, so lotus got it</p>
<p>...so because i want to work helping people who have been wronged rather than a huge corporate law firm, i MUST watch law and order and not know what its really like to be a lawyer?
I think not.
Sorry if thats not what you meant, but theres nothing more annoying to me personally than people assuming that i think those shows portray reality at all. I know whats involved, and how most of the work is research, and how very little, if any, of the time is spent in a court room.</p>
<p>And thank you nglez and futurenyustudent for answering. :)</p>
<p>"general litigation, like class action"</p>
<p>I'm a class action lawyer. We do get into court, but there's no comparison between us and the typical prosecutor or public defender. They're in court every day, and a lot of that time they're talking to a jury. I'm in court every couple of weeks or so, and a lot of that is motion practice, not trials. It's interesting to me, but for the rough-and-tumble the OP seems to be looking for, criminal practice in the state courts is where it's at.</p>
<p>Biglaw white-collar criminal defense can be a really cool practice, but it won't necessarily get you into court any more often than other biglaw litigation will.</p>
<p>Another avenue to consider for someone who may want to spend a lot of time in the courtroom (eventually) while still making some money to pay off student loans is to join a biglaw firm in its litigation practice, stay for 3-4 years, and then apply for a job as an AUSA (Assistant United States Attorney -- basically representing the federal government). The AUSA jobs are prestigious, competitive to obtain (so there are no guarantees that you will be able to get one of these jobs) and pay fairly well for government jobs, and many AUSAs are hired out of prestigious law firms. I don't believe that one can obtain a job as an AUSA right out of law school (only experienced lawyers are hired). Just a thought . . .</p>
<p>I interned at a nonprofit legal clinic this summer and the attorneys went to court rather frequently. We didn't handle criminal cases, so most of the time they were in the landlord-tenant or family divisions, with some cases in the superior court (the general civil court for our jurisdiction). </p>
<p>Most of the time, they were just dealing with a judge--nearly everything settled or was disposed of through motions. But occasionally there would be a jury trial.</p>