What Do Lawyers Do
While shows like “LA Law,” “Suits,” “Ally McBeal," and “Boston Legal” make the law profession look like a glamorous lifestyle full of fancy drinks and thousand dollar pairs of shoes, that’s not all being a lawyer is about. The life of a lawyer varies, specifically depending on the type of law they choose to practice. In reality lawyers work just about everywhere you can think of: law firms, private business, government, public interest organizations, the judiciary and of course, academia.
Law Firms
In a law firm your clients would range from individuals to businesses. On any given day you could be working on a variety of cases. Not all law firms are equal. There are large firms, small firms and there are also solo practices. Lawyers typically work very long hours. The life of a lawyer in a law firm could be 60-80+ hours a week. According to the National Association for Law Placement, law firms can have a variety of practice areas: corporate, real estate, civil rights, family, trusts and estates, bankruptcy, immigration, employment, environmental, entertainment, insurance, intellectual property, criminal, or tax. [1]
Private Business
If you work as an attorney in a private practice, you will likely be referred to as “In house counsel.” Your one and only client would be the company you work for. Your daily work would revolve around giving business and legal advice, drafting and reviewing contracts, negotiating business deals, developing business opportunities, helping the company avoid risks, working on investor relations and managing any outside legal counsel who are acting on behalf of the company.
Government lawyers
Every level of the government has legal representation: local, state and federal. As a government lawyer you could work as a prosecutor or a public defender. You could be part of a legislative team or a military attorney. As a prosecutor you could prosecute crimes, as a public defender you would represent clients who could not afford representation. Government attorneys represent the government in civil issues. If you work for one of the branches of government (executive, judicial, or legislative) you could advise on laws and regulations.
Public Interest
As a public interest lawyer you would focus on cases that are of significant importance to the general public. This work could look like providing legal services to disadvantaged or low income groups. Your career could be working with clients, or working on public policy and impacting litigation. Many lawyers pursue public interest law in the form of pro bono projects.
Judiciary law
Clerking for a local, state or federal judge is a phenomenal way to get experience in the judiciary. Clerking can look different depending on the level, but typically looks like: researching reviewing and summarizing legal issues, drafting orders, internal memos, and opinions. Judges themselves are a very small population of the legal field. Judges are appointed or elected but typically not until later in their careers.
Academia law
Lawyers in academia typically teach, counsel or even serve as administrators of educational institutions. As a professor, with legal experience, your life could look like writing scholarly pieces on legal issues. You can also teach other students who are interested in legal professions.
Whatever your path in the legal field might be, you have the ability to leave a lasting impact.