What Type of Lawyer Should I Be?

When it comes to being a lawyer many people think of the TV show “Suits.” There is, however, more to the field of law than that. Lawyers come in all different shapes and sizes. Weather in small or large firms, public or private practice, or litigation or corporate there are many avenues that you can take as an attorney, and you have to ask yourself many different questions. In this blog I will talk about The many different areas of law that you can go into in order to find your interest.

BigLaw

The term “Biglaw” refers to working for a very large law firm. These law firms are the most prestigious law firms and many law students work hard in order to get a job at these firms. These firms often will only hire from the top law schools such as Harvard and Yale. So why do people choose this route? Well, for one the pay is great. The average starting salary at a big law firm is $225,000 a year and if you work your way up to partner in a firm your salary could be in the millions. Working for these firms also brings a sort of prestige in the legal field. However, in order to get here it is very competitive and requires long hours. Like I said earlier most of these law firms only hire from top schools. You may also be working 80 hour weeks and have very little free time. So before taking this route ask yourself are the long hours worth it? If not, you may want to consider an alternative path in the legal field.

Small/Medium/Solo Practice

Of course, if you don’t like the long hours and would prefer some sort of work life balance then working at a medium or small firm might be the best option for you. The salary and benefits are still good and will give you most holidays off as well as the weekends off. These types of firms pay around $80,000-$110,000 for first year attorneys. Not a bad salary for coming out of law school. Alternatively, you could start your own practice. Going solo will allow you to set your own hours and have no limit to how much money you can make. However, you may have to work long hours in the beginning in order to keep your practice running. If you have an Entrepreneural spirit, then opening up a solo firm may be a good option for you. All three of these options are great but they are not the only options.

In House/Legal Counsel

In house lawyers typically work for a big company or organization. They help companies with their legal work, and they give them legal advice as well as help the companies settle certain disputes. These types of lawyers make an average of $113,000 a year with many opportunities to increase their wage and with lots of benefits and vacation time. If you like to have a stable legal career and make lots of money with lots of vacation time, then this might be a good option for you.

Public Interest/Government

The last type of lawyers are those that work for public or government organizations. This can include positions such as district attorney, attorney general, or public defenders as well as federal and state judges. These types of lawyers represent the government in court and deal with federal and local state and city cases. These types of lawyers get paid the least. They do, however, play a significant role in the justice system and have the ability to impact their community. So, if you are a fan of justice being served being a public interest attorney might be right for you.

Conclusion

Picking an area of law to practice can be tricky but it doesn’t have to be so hard with the right guidance. I would suggest interning with many types of lawyers to see what areas of law that you are interested in. No matter what you choose, make sure you excel at it!!!!