Law Pooja Bery 02/01/2012

Earnings  Median salaries 9 months after graduation  Medial annual wages in the industries employing the largest numbers of lawyers in May 2008 were:  Factors that could affect earnings: Starting your own practice Experience

Educational Requirements  Becoming a lawyer usually takes 7 years after high school – 4 years of undergrad (must earn Bachelor’s degree), and 3 years of law school.  No recommended major Prospective lawyers should be proficient in writing and speaking, reading, researching, analyzing, and thinking logically. Courses in English, foreign languages, public speaking, government, philosophy, history, economics, mathematics, and computer science, among others, are useful. Lawyers interested in a particular aspect of law may find related courses helpful.  To get into law school, LSAT scores are very important.  All lawyers must have a great sense of responsibility. Perseverance, creativity, and reasoning ability are also essential to lawyers.

Opportunities For Advancement  Most beginning lawyers start in salaried positions.  Newly hired attorneys usually start as associates and work with more experienced lawyers or judges.  After many years, some lawyers are admitted to partnership in their firm.  Some experienced lawyers are nominated or elected to judgeship.  Some also go into teaching.

Nature of Work  Generally, lawyers counsel their clients about their legal rights and obligations and suggest particular courses of action in business and personal matters.  However, what lawyers do on a day-to-day basis may depend on their specialty.  Although all lawyers are licensed to represent parties in court, some appear more frequently than others.  Trial lawyers spend the majority of their time outside the courtroom, conducting research, interviewing clients and witnesses, and handling other details in preparation for a trial.

Working Conditions  Lawyers do most of their work in offices, law libraries, courtrooms, and occasionally places such as their clients’ homes or workplaces, hospitals, or prisons.  They may need to travel to attend meetings, gather evidence, and appear before authorities.  Salaried lawyers have structured work schedules, whereas those who work for firms or are in private practice may work irregular hours—including weekends— while conducting research, conferring with clients, or preparing briefs during non- office hours.

Job Outlook  Lawyers held about 759,200 jobs in  Employment for lawyers is expected to grow 13% during the decade—the projected employment for 2018 is 857,700 lawyers. Reasons for growth: Growth in population and in business activity Increased demand for legal services in areas such as healthcare, intellectual property, bankruptcy, antitrust law, and environmental law. Middle-income people should be able to afford help due to the wider availability and affordability of legal clinics.  An occupation related to law is that of a paralegal.

Advantages/Disadvantages  Advantages to this career I would be doing something I enjoy I will be helping people It doesn’t seem like something that would ever be boring or repetitive  Disadvantages to this career High stress The amount of work that it’d take just to study to be a lawyer Long work weeks  More about this career can be found on

Personal Skills  This career is certainly a possibility, because if I enjoy something and have a goal, I will do my best and work my hardest to achieve it. And I certainly think that the law is very interesting.  Also, if I go into law, I would eventually like to be a family lawyer and help with cases ranging from divorcing parents to child neglect.  I enjoy helping people and making them happy, and in the end, it would be very satisfying indeed to put smiles on the faces of an entire family.

Preparation  Things I could do now to prepare for this job: Start preparing for the LSAT, perhaps by taking practice tests. Take a summer internship in a law firm.