Types of Lawyers

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hi everyone. I'm 18 years old and a freshman in college, and I've been thinking about maybe becoming a lawyer somewhere down the line. I love debating things, and I'm pretty analytical when it comes to solving problems. I also have pretty good people skills. </p>

<p>The problem with me is that I'm not very assertive or confrontational, and my public speaking skills aren't the greatest. I have no desire to march into a courtroom and put people on the stand to prosecute them. </p>

<p>Basically, I want to be a lawyer, but I want to do something that doesn't entail actually being in a courtroom? What other types of lawyers are there?</p>

2

<p>too many episodes of Law & Order may do that to ya…j/k</p>

<p>seriously, Law is very broad field…what interests you the most…i.e. helping people, corporate, business, helping the less fortunate, etc. etc.</p>

<p>best of luck to ya and me too!</p>

3

<p>Go to nalpdirectory.com, which will allow you to seach employers by various categories. One possible way to search is via every conceivable legal field (administrative law, IP, corporate, bankruptcy...). Scroll through there.</p>

<p>Debating things is not a prerequisite for law school! IMO, being able to persuasively argue in WRITING is a lot more important than being able to bicker with someone.</p>

<p>Most lawyers do very little work in a courtroom. As I've said before, the work that most lawyers do just isn't sexy enough for prime time television. </p>

<p>Try to spend a summer as a paralegal (or in some legal capacity), which will give you a better idea of what the legal field is like. Meander on over to the law school there and sit in on a class. You have several years to decide what to do with your life, so do not get too wrapped up in a specific field of law.</p>

4

<p>Here are two pages off the LSAC website which provide some general info on fields of law and career tracks:</p>

<p><a href="http://officialguide.lsac.org/ref/cgi-bin/ref.asp?Topic=Jobs&Section=3%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://officialguide.lsac.org/ref/cgi-bin/ref.asp?Topic=Jobs&Section=3&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://officialguide.lsac.org/ref/cgi-bin/ref.asp?Topic=Fields&Section=0%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://officialguide.lsac.org/ref/cgi-bin/ref.asp?Topic=Fields&Section=0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Also, some law schools offer concentrations or certificates in certain specialties and you can get a lot of information just by browsing their websites.</p>