Where Lawyer Can Work
Attorneys have many career choices open to them when selecting where they work. From traditional legal services offices, banking or any other industry imaginable – the skills and motivation gained competing for law can easily transfer across industries.
However, an alleged meritocracy prevents too many bright-eyed graduates from top schools from landing partnerships at large firms or in-house jobs with major corporations. This page seeks to provide guidance and comfort for those exploring alternate career options.
Practice Areas
There are various areas of practice in which attorneys may specialize, with corporate transactional law, intellectual property law and tax law being among the highest-paying specialty fields.
Family law lawyers often find their greatest satisfaction working in family matters, making a positive difference for clients during difficult times. Labor and employment lawyers also benefit greatly from helping employees and employers resolve workplace disputes or issues that arise.
When considering altering or adding to a practice area, be sure it suits both your skills and interests. Remember that becoming proficient at any new area takes time – switching or adding practice areas could slow business for your firm, so make sure your decisions are strategic.
Work Environment
Legal profession can be extremely taxing, and attorneys need to find ways to manage their workload and stress levels effectively. Long hours can cause health and wellbeing problems such as insomnia, acid reflux, high blood pressure, fatigue, drug and alcohol abuse as well as lack of social support and unhealthy weight gain.
Keep active to reduce stress and improve overall wellness. Making time for hobbies and recreational pursuits also provides lawyers with a way to unwind after long days at work.
Law firms can foster a healthier work environment by offering wellness programs and resources, such as fitness facilities, mental health services and wellness workshops. Furthermore, law firms can foster an atmosphere that prioritizes work-life balance through clear expectations and deadlines; assigning reasonable workloads; developing a “chain of command” to manage time concerns; encouraging flexibility in scheduling; discouraging presenteeism; supporting employees through open communication channels and promptly responding to workplace complaints.
Work-Life Balance
Formerly, attorneys were more inclined to sacrifice work-life balance for higher salaries and brand recognition. Today, however, these benefits often fall second place to spending time with family and pursuing personal interests outside the office.
As a result, employees have broadened the definition of work-life balance beyond simply equal parts of professional and personal pursuits. Workers now tend to view their lives as intrinsically linked and have adopted professional identities which complement rather than dominate their personal identity.
Balanced lives help reduce stress, improve productivity, and increase satisfaction across both professional and personal aspects of life. While achieving such an equilibrium may not always be possible in all jobs, finding an acceptable work-life balance is critical to overall health and wellbeing as well as helping companies attract and retain top talent.
Career Advancement
Many lawyers strive to advance in their careers within law firms. By taking advantage of training programs, mentorships and networking events available within law firms, career advancement opportunities may present themselves. Furthermore, leadership positions and managerial responsibilities may become available as they move into larger firms with complex cases or advanced legal challenges to challenge themselves professionally and expand professional abilities further. Partnership and profit sharing arrangements also create avenues of advancement with long-term earning potential at stake.
But due to an intense workload and expectations for billable hours, work-life balance may become compromised. Struggling to meet client expectations while staying ahead in terms of competition may prove particularly taxing for junior associates.
Lawyers can benefit from self-study as a form of professional development by soliciting feedback on their written work and seeking areas for improvement. Online courses such as Coursera, edX and Udemy provide structured development opportunities; while CARET Legal assists attorneys to navigate career transition into non-firm environments. Pepperdine University also offers useful guidance.
