what to do with a law degree other than be a lawyer

Law Degree Jobs without Passing the Bar Exam

• Business Development Professionals. In this role, the main goal is to build a company’s market position and increase its exposure. ...
• Compliance Careers. Legal degree candidates can focus their career on compliance. ...
• Financial Advisor. ...
• Law Professor. ...
• Legal Writer. ...
• Patent Examiner. ...

Full Answer

What careers can you get with a law degree?

A law degree, or Juris Doctor (JD), is extremely versatile. For those who choose to get a law degree but do not want to take the bar exam and become a lawyer, there are endless career paths available. If you want to work in the legal field you could become a law professor, a legal writer, or a mediator. Surprisingly, magistrate judges in most jurisdictions do not need to be lawyers; a …

What else you can do with a law degree?

Feb 22, 2021 · Outside of the list above, here are 44 other jobs to consider after being a lawyer: Account manager. Bail bondsman. Banker. Border patrol. Career counselor. Contract administrator. Correctional officer. Digital marketer. Director of ethics. Dispatcher . FBI agent. Fireman. Fundraiser. Headhunter. Hearing officer. Investment banker. Journalist. Judge. Law …

What can you do with a law degree besides law?

Aug 11, 2020 · Before we dive into the specifics, I want to make one thing super clear: if you’re a lawyer, basically ANY career is a possible alternative career for you. So if you’re wondering what else you can do with your law degree other than be a lawyer, I want you to know up front that there are lots of options for you.

What do you need to do to get into law school?

3. Law Librarian: If you are fascinated with the literary aspect of the law, the organization of the legal code and various cases, you might consider being a law librarian as an alternative legal career. Though law libraries are becoming less common in firms, the role of the law librarian is only intensifying.

What should I do instead of being a lawyer?

Alternative jobs for lawyersParalegal.Investigator.Investment consultant.Mediator.Fund manager.Financial analyst.Realtor.Labor relations specialist.More items...•Feb 22, 2021

How can I work in law and not be a lawyer?

Some relevant careers similar to lawyer positions include litigation support, paralegals, legal assistants, electronic discovery specialists, legal IT professionals, and others who work in support roles with lawyers. Court reporters open_in_new create word-for-word transcriptions at trials, depositions, and hearings.Aug 17, 2021

What type of law is least stressful?

However, there are many sectors of law which are less stressful:Real estate law.Intellectual property law.High Street family law.Government lawyers.Working In-House.Jul 9, 2021

Can I work in a law firm without a law degree?

You don't need a law degree to become a lawyer – in fact, the modern legal profession is full of non-law graduates. The skills and experiences you gain from studying and working in other fields are assets that can make you a stronger candidate.Mar 15, 2022

Who graduated from law school?

Cynthia McFadden, currently the senior legal and investigative correspondent for NBC news, graduated from Columbia Law School. Jeff Greenfield, TV journalist (CBS-2007-11) and current political analyst on NBC, graduated from Yale Law School. These are just two examples where law graduates have utilized their learned skills to synthesize ideas, information, and communicate it clearly to an audience. Just as an attorney would in a court room.

What are the qualities of a good lawyer?

The same qualities required to be great lawyer must be mastered to excel in broadcast journalism: 1 Judgment: draw reasonable, logical conclusions or assumptions from limited information 2 Analytical skills: distill large piece of information into something manageable 3 Research skills: able to research quickly and effectively 4 People skills: be personable, persuasive and able to read others

How many hours does a mediator take?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, most mediators complete a 40-hour basic mediation course and a 20-hour advanced training course.

What is the job of a real estate lawyer?

Real estate lawyers serve two primary functions in the real estate world. They either act as litigators or handle the legal aspects of real estate transactions. Real estate lawyers deal in real property and mediate real estate transactions gone sour. A real estate lawyer must obtain a juris doctor (JD) degree from a school accredited by the American Bar Association along with an attorney’s license through passing the bar exam. Some law schools may provide the option of specializing one’s studies around real estate law. After graduation, continuing education may be required yearly or every three years as it is so in forty-five states.

What is the Attorney General's Honors Program?

Within The United States Department of Justice is the Attorney General’s Honors Program-the largest and most prestigious federal entry-level attorney hiring program of its kind. Every year, various components and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices hire entry-level attorneys through the Honors Program. The number of entry-level attorney positions varies from year to year. Eligibility is generally limited to graduating law students and recent law school graduates who entered judicial clerkships, graduate law programs, or qualifying legal fellowships within 9 months of law school graduation and who meet additional eligibility requirements.

What are the classes in estate law?

Estate law classes include topics like asset management, estate planning, family law, taxation, real estate law, and trusts.

How many hours do you have to work in a law firm?

The 40+% who chose to work in a law firm may be subjected to 70 hours of work weekly. Unless, you are fortunate enough to start your own practice, be prepared to put in 12 hour days and weekends. The financial benefits can be substantial, especially in personal injury law, but your personal life may be non-existent.

What to do if you have been through law school?

Having been through law school and possibly some form of employment, you may have valuable contacts in your network. Use them to your advantage and ask if anyone knows of nonlegal opportunities that may interest you. Even if your connections are in the legal industry, they may introduce you to employers in other fields.

What are the duties of a paralegal?

Primary duties: Paralegals use their knowledge of the law to perform various legal tasks for lawyers. Employed by lawyers, corporations or other entities, paralegals draft legal documents, do legal research and attend client interviews. They also conduct investigations, though they don't represent clients in court as a lawyer does.

What is the job of a realtor?

Primary duties: A realtor is a licensed real estate salesperson who is a member of the National Association of Realtors. Realtors guide their clients through the transaction process of buying real estate. They also answer client questions, serve as a point of communication between buyers and sellers and keep the transaction process moving along.

What are the primary duties of an investigator?

Primary duties: An investigator or detective collects evidence and information regarding a crime. They have many responsibilities, including speaking to witnesses, searching databases and arresting criminals. They have strong attention to detail and use their analytical skills to help them solve a variety of cases. 3.

What are the duties of a financial analyst?

Primary duties: Financial analysts perform various duties related to the analysis of a company or organization's finances. They identify financial trends, offer advice to the management team, reconcile transactions and maintain a company's database.

What is the role of a CEO?

Primary duties: Chief executive officers (CEOs ) are the highest-ranking officer or position in an organization. They manage and oversee a company or organization in its entirety. CEOs make a variety of corporate decisions, manage a company's operations, communicate on behalf of the company to various parties including the public and shareholders, evaluate the performance of other executive leaders and create strategic goals.

What is the primary job of a management consultant?

Primary duties: Management consultants are working professionals trained to solve complex issues. They develop strategies to assist their clients in maintaining good financial and operational health. They have various responsibilities that include analyzing financial data, meeting with clients, evaluating an organization's management staff and analyzing an organization's business structure.

What are some alternatives to becoming a lawyer?

10 Alternatives to Becoming a Lawyer: The Flexibility of a Legal Education. What does one learn in law school? Yes, law, okay. But the principles of law are only the tip of the legal iceberg. Law school is all about building character and gaining a trove of life skills. Life skills that come in handy for law school graduates seeking alternative ...

What to do if you went to law school and decided not to practice law?

If you went to law school and decided not to practice law, make sure that your potential employer knows you aren’t looking for these jobs just because you can’t find a job as a lawyer.

What is a jury consultant?

Jury Consultant. Lawyers rely on consultants to select a jury for high-stakes cases and to help them evaluate human behavior and predict juror behavior. Jury consultants often have a background in sociology or the like. This job does not require a law degree, but it is helpful.

What is the importance of law school?

Law school is all about building character and gaining a trove of life skills. Life skills that come in handy for law school graduates seeking alternative careers to a becoming a lawyer. The percentage of law students who end up working as lawyers has fluctuated significantly in the past decade. Around forty percent of law graduates do not practice ...

What is the job of an arbitrator?

If your favorite aspect of learning law was mediating conflict between two parties, this is the path for you. Acting as an informal judge, an arbitrator helps move a case along before it goes to trial. A Juris Doctor degree is not required, but this job is often held by someone with a law degree.

What are the skills you gained during your legal education?

Writing, negotiating and public speaking are valuable, but it’s not only the skills you gained during your legal education that will help you in both the legal and general workforce — it’s the character traits you built. Committing yourself to your education can be a challenge and if your goal is to earn an advanced degree, especially a Juris Doctor (JD), than the word “challenge” is an understatement. School (especially law school) is a place where one learns resilience and to push past perceived limits. It’s a place where you become you.

What is a legal marketer?

Responsible for client relations, reputation management, and much more, a legal marketer is the marketing expert in a firm with extensive knowledge about the services they are promoting. Having a JD is not essential, but it helps.

What to know if you are in Biglaw?

Things you need to know if you’re exploring alternative careers for lawyers: If you’re in Biglaw, you’re not a failure because you’re human (even though Biglaw makes you feel that way ). If you’re trying to figure out what else you can do with your J.D., don’t rely on prestige ( it’s a liar ).

Is a lawyer good at separating their identity from their job?

Lawyers are not good at separating their identity from their job. I don’t know about you, but when I was working as a litigator, I felt like I had no time to be anything but a lawyer. There just wasn’t much time for anything else. That’s a pretty suffocating feeling when your job makes you miserable.

Is the legal profession stressful?

It’s no secret that law is a stressful profession. Many lawyers struggle with anxiety, and the legal profession’s mental health stats are grim. Especially if you have a clinical mental health issue (and many lawyers do, and don’t even realize it ), the legal profession is practically designed to exacerbate anxiety.

Is being a lawyer stressful?

It’s no secret that being a lawyer is one of the most stressful jobs that you can have. There are task forces, books, and a multitude of articles written about lawyer stress and burnout.

Why do people become attorneys?

People generally become attorneys because they are motivated, intelligent and have great work ethics.

What is the role of a law librarian?

Though law libraries are becoming less common in firms, the role of the law librarian is only intensifying .

What is legal editor?

A legal editor has the same basic duties as an editor, but focuses on editing and proofreading mostly for legal publications. If you have a fine sense of detail, and a canny sense of what writing is quality and worth pursuing, consider using your background in law to be a legal editor. 7. Legal Recruiter:

What is a temporary judge?

The private judge, or temporary judge, is an attorney appointed to those involved, with Court consent. He or she has the same responsibility as a courthouse judge, and must know and follow the judicial code of ethics. Such a judge may offer binding input or simply advise, depending on how the appointment is drawn.

Do lawyers become stars?

Most of these people will never become stars, and the same thing occurs with practicing law. The majority of attorneys work in the smallest law firms, for the government, and in other organizations without realizing the careers they thought they would achieve when they started practicing law.

Is there too much competition for attorneys?

There is so much competition, in fact, that for most attorneys, it often makes a lot of sense to choose an alternative legal or non-legal career.

Do attorneys work for clients?

Most attorneys (and law firms) will work for any client with the money to pay. While some attorneys will certainly draw the line at defending rapists, child molesters, or murderers, they will happily defend corporations, white collar criminals and other evildoers all day.

What are some jobs that can be done with a law degree?

These positions include arbitrator, law professor, law school career counselor, and legal recruiter.

Why are sports and entertainment agencies always looking for law school graduates to become agents?

Sports and entertainment agencies are always looking for law school graduates to become agents because they know those grads are motivated, intelligent, and can negotiate deals. For more non-legal job ideas, see: 60 Nontraditional Job You Can Do with a Law Degree.

Who is the CEO of BCG?

Harrison Barnes, the CEO of BCG Attorney Search, has seen it all when it comes to job searching. By running one of the top legal placement agencies, Barnes has found jobs for thousands of attorneys across the country, and he has helped others with JDs find their paths, even if that didn’t include being a lawyer.

What is a recruiter?

Recruiters establish a company’s recruiting requirements, create and maintain applicant source channels, “herd the cats”, manage all logistics of the hiring process and understand all legal and compliance requirements.

What is the job of VP of Biz Dev?

The main job of the VP of Biz Dev is to build a company’s market position by identifying, developing, defining, negotiating, and closing business deals, relationships, partnerships and opportunities. It’s like sales, but even more strategic and aligns with a company’s long term objectives.

What is the role of CFO?

The CFO’s team provides financial projections and accounting services to enable the company to make informed and strategic decisions moving forward. And in smaller companies, the CFO oversees many administrative functions, like Legal, HR and Administration.

What is corporate trainer?

Corporate trainers are really just teachers and must be able to speak in front of a crowd, produce and understand training materials, work closely with individuals and evaluate how well employees have learned.

Do you need to be a number cruncher to be a CFO?

You don’t need to be a number cruncher to be a CFO (that’s what Bookkeepers and Controllers are for). In companies big and small, the CFO is a true partner to the CEO and other executives. The CFO’s main mandate is to develop and maintain the financial well-being of the company.