Employment Options for Lawyers

Although there are a wide variety of career paths and opportunities for law students and lawyers alike, there are some standard careers available that the majority of lawyers choose from. These include:

Private Practice:
About 50% of lawyers work in private practice, which can vary from a single practitioner to a large, even national corporation. The typical hierarchy of a law firm has "partners" who manage the firm and hire "associates" on a salary basis. Associates usually join a firm with the goal of becoming partners in five to seven years. Private practice typically offers the highest salary opportunities for lawyers, but they also require employees to work very long hours.

In-House Counsel:
In-House Counsel involves working exclusively for one corporation or business. The tasks performed are similar to those in private practice, but the lawyer has only one client. Since these lawyers typically experience less pressure to work long hours, salaries in this field are, on average, slightly lower than in private practice.

Government
While there are some government lawyers that work as prosecutors in criminal cases, most are responsible for writing regulations at the federal, state, provincial, county, or municipal levels. This is also a common path for lawyers interested in seeking a political career.

Pubic Interest
Public Interest law includes working for non-profit groups such as the ACLU, NAACP, NOW, etc. or other cause-related organizations.

Judicial Clerkship
A judicial clerkship consists of a one or two year appointment clerking for a judge on the federal, state, or local level.

There are also specialties, within the categories above that many lawyers choose to pursue. Even these can be subdivided further into specific career categories, but these are an array of the most popular legal career specialties.

Corporate Law
The business world requires some form of legal expertise for nearly every transaction made. Corporate law focuses on creating documents that control contracts, incorporations, mergers, stock issues, bankruptcies, partnerships, etc. Corporate lawyers need a deep understanding of business because they act as advisors, helping business people understand laws and regulations.

Civil litigation
The goal of civil litigation is to construct a winning case for you client. Some lawyers in this field may concentrate on research and preparation, while others might be "trial lawyers" who actually argue the case in court. A civil dispute does not involve criminal penalties, and occurs when individuals or corporations file lawsuits against each other. This can include contracts over trademarks, contracts, agreements, copyrights, licenses, or patents. Civil litigation also includes family law, primarily involving divorce, child custody, and the division of assets.

Criminal litigation
Criminal litigation does deal with criminal penalties, and often these are very high stakes for the defendant. This field involves victims of crime and their families and the results are typically imprisonment or fines. The safety and welfare of society is involved in this case and the lawyers on both sides are responsible for advocating it by providing both parties with capable and rigorous arguments.

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