<p>Hello! I have a question. I know for certain that I want to be a lawyer. The field in general seems fascinating and exciting to me. It truly opens many pathways such as business, politics, etc, etc. I am not in law school yet, but I am not sure of which FIELD of law that I would like to pursue(ie:trial lawyer, patent lawyer, litigator,) Does a prospective law student HAVE to know which field of law that he would like to pursue prior to attending law school? As I said before, I am not sure of which field of law to pursue, but was wondering if this is something that you find out while in law school. Goodness, does a graduating law student even know what they will do after graduating? Thanks!</p>
<p>I didn't have a clue when I graduated from law school what I would be doing five years later. I didn't have a clue five years after I graduated from law school what I would be doing now.</p>
<p>I think I have a clearer idea about what I will be doing five years from now. But it may well turn out that I'm as clueless today about the path my career will take as I was fifteen or twenty years ago.</p>
<p>You do not need to know an area of specialization before entering law school. In fact, law school is mainly designed not to be a time for specializing but instead learning core concepts, how to think like a lawyer, and gaining a good general background in a variety of legal areas. </p>
<p>Many lawyers end up specializing in an area of the law via serendipity. Out of law school, the lawyer joins a law firm as an associate. One day the associate happens to be the associate available for some immediate project in an area of the law that he knows nothing about and probably never thought of doing. He does well on the project and then is given more in the same area; before long he becomes the person in the firm who knows the most about that area and the go-to person for future matters in that area and his specialization is born.</p>