Career Options for a Lawyer

Essentially, all Lawyers start with completing Law schools and doing internships with other professional Lawyers. As they go on in their career, they generally choose a particular career path which they find to be suitable. Lawyers can choose to practice privately, join a law firm or even work for a particular company or corporation. The career path you will choose will generally depend on your aptitude, skills and personality.

 

Private Practice

One of the most common types of career paths that Lawyers choose is to work as a private practitioner of law. They work in their private offices and chambers and attend to the clients that come to them for advice or legal counseling. Lawyers generally choose to work as private practitioners after having gained sufficient experience in the field of law as most people would not want to hire an inexperienced lawyer to handle their cases. Working as a private practitioner offers you a lot of freedom to choose the type of cases you want to take up and decide your fees as per your reputation and experience.

 

Law Firms

A ‘Law Firm’ is more like a business company made up of a group of Lawyers who specialize in different fields of law. The Lawyers in the law firm are partners in the business. A lot of law graduates join Law Firms as ‘Associates’ and then move on to become partners and shareholders in the business. Please keep in mind that not all associates become shareholders in the law firm. Only those associates who show a lot of promise and skill are invited to join the law firm as a partner and be entitled to a part of the annual profit of the firm. In your initial years as an Associate, you might have to work for very long hours and do a lot of clerical work. However, you will also get an opportunity to learn about the different Types of Lawyers such as Criminal Lawyers, Tax Lawyers etc. This will help you choose your specialization as you move further in your career while gaining vital experience in field at the same time.

 

Legal Wings of Organizations

You can also choose to work as a Lawyer for a particular organization. This organization can be of any type, including a private business firm, a large corporate house, an NGO or even the Government. Lawyers working in this role are required to look after all the legal requirements of their client. If you’re working for a Private Firm, your job profile will include fighting cases on the behalf of your client, drafting documents, negotiating business deals etc.
Find out what it is like to be Working for an NGO. 

As a Lawyer for the Government, you might work as a Public Prosecutor, Public Defender or even a Military Attorney. You might be required to defend clients that cannot afford to hire a Lawyer to defend them. You might also represent the Government and fight cases against the accused.
Find out what it is like to be Working for the Government.

Military Attorneys attend to cases that are inter – military and include serving members of the Armed Forces. You will generally need experience and a good reputation to start working in either of these roles as organizations would not hire you until and unless you’ve proven your talent as a Lawyer.
Find out what it is like to be Working in the Armed Forces.

 

Judiciary

A very small percentage of Lawyers work as Judges. To become a Judge, you will need to clear a specific set of exams depending upon whether you want to be a Judge at a District level, High Court Level or Supreme Court level. You will also need many years of experience before you can apply for the position of a Judge. Most Lawyers work as ‘Clerks’ for Judges at the start of their careers. This includes research work, summarizing legal cases and observing court proceedings. Working as clerk for a Judge helps you gain essential experience that is highly valued and can help jumpstart your career as a private practitioner or as a member of a law firm or a company. To become a Judge, you will need a specific set of skills and a considerable amount of experience as a practicing lawyer that will vary as per the level of court you want to be a Judge for. Most Lawyers do not work as Judges, and those who become Judges are highly skilled, have a strong sense of justice and are highly respected.

Find out about the Top 7 Respected Careers.

Academics

Many Lawyers go on to join the academic side of this profession which includes research work and working as Teachers. Most professionals join this role after several years of working as Lawyer in any of the above roles. This role is suitable for professionals who are interested in conducting research and analysis about the various aspects of law and are interested in teaching and guiding other aspiring Lawyers. You will need several years of experience before you can start working in this role. Teaching students and conducting research requires excellent communication skills and thorough knowledge of the law of the land along with a genuine desire to benefit the society by suggesting improvements in the legal system of the country and guiding and creating Lawyers that are competent and have a strong desire to deliver justice to their clients.

Find out what it is like to be Working in the Education Industry.


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