Are you planning to pursue a career in law? As a prospective lawyer, it is crucial to assess your professional goals before applying to law school. Considering various career options will help you make a well-informed decision about your chosen law school and career path. Applicants must research the different types of law.  

It will prove instrumental in helping them understand which practice area appeals to them and offers lucrative growth opportunities. This research will also help them identify the best law schools to prepare them for a competitive and lucrative career.  

As a law student, you can pursue numerous career paths, such as judges, solicitors, and so forth. There are several career paths to follow in the legal arena, and recruiters like Beacon Legal have a large network of contacts across the industry that you can exploit if you’re looking to get a foot in the door. You can also explore non-lawyer career options, such as human resources personnel, traditional journalists, legal executives, administrative roles, coroners, and more. Court clerks, solicitor advocates, legal secretarial positions, typists, fact-checkers, and paralegals are other options. 

This article will elaborate on the various career options you can pursue in the legal arena.

Here, take a look:

Corporate Law

Corporate attorneys are one of the highest-earning professionals in the legal arena. These attorneys specialize in corporate law, and they can work with prestigious law firms or set up their practice. Many corporate attorneys choose to work with organizations and firms as in-house counsel. 

Experts recommend that students willing to specialize in corporate law should find law schools with a prestigious alumnus of accomplished corporate lawyers. You can also dabble in corporate law while working in the corporate arena in any given capacity. 

Criminal Law 

Criminal prosecutors or criminal defense attorneys specialize in criminal law, a highly stressful and challenging law field. Such lawyers handle criminal cases, either involved in defending criminals or prosecuting them. Criminal lawyers have emotionally demanding jobs because the stakes are high, creating an unbelievable amount of stress. Students should pursue an online pre law degree to make this endeavor less financially burdensome.

A criminal defense lawyer carries the weight of the world on his/her shoulders. That is because their client’s fate rests on their capabilities to put together a convincing and robust defense. The verdict of a criminal court decides whether the accused will be acquitted or punished.  

Family Law

Also known as divorce attorneys, family lawyers specialize in family or divorce law. They rank amongst the highest-earning professionals. These lawyers typically represent clients who face challenges with their spouses, family members, children, or romantic partners. These lawyers deal with divorces, alimony negotiations, child support, child custody cases, and other family disputes. 

Human Rights Law

Human rights or civil rights attorneys choose to specialize in cases about human rights violations. They represent clients with human rights or civil rights disputes leveled against organizations and employers. Clients often have human rights violations or disputes leveled against their family members or other individuals. 

These cases include instances of sexual abuse, unsafe working conditions, exploitation, and others. Many human rights lawyers choose to work as pro bono lawyers while also working at prestigious law firms. This career path is highly challenging and stressful, but the emotional and intrinsic rewards are beyond measurable. 

Advertising Law

Advertising attorneys are focused on ensuring that advertisements about products or services are fully compliant with legal regulations. They work on cases of ads that are misleading, deceitful, fallacious, or defrauding. Attorneys who specialize in advertising law also work closely with organizations to ensure their legal compliance. 

They advertise firms on building persuasive and legally compliant advertising pitches, ensuring compliance with all consumer protection regulations and laws. They also hold expertise in safeguarding and representing organizations in advertising-related lawsuits. 

Dispute Resolution & Arbitration 

Lawyers can also specialize in dispute resolution, mediation, and arbitration, as this is a highly lucrative field for young professionals. Lawyers who specialize in arbitration are capable of helping two parties achieve out-of-court settlements to prevent lengthy trials. Organizations, investors, and other professionals seek arbitration to avoid expensive and lengthy court trials. 

Education Law 

Lawyers who specialize in educational law work for various academic institutions, including public and private schools and universities. These attorneys can address legal disputes involving colleges, schools, universities, and other educational entities.  

While some lawyers work as in-house counsel for academic institutions, others seek to defend student rights. For instance, an education attorney can protect the rights of disabled students enrolled in special education facilities.

Environmental Law 

An environmental lawyer holds legal expertise in understanding governmental laws and regulations about the environment. These lawyers can work for environment-focused governmental organizations, non-profit enterprises, energy organizations, and companies impacted by environmental regulations. They can also work as in-house counsel for energy firms or take such organizations to court for their ecological violations and pollution.  

Healthcare Lawyer 

Lawyers who specialize in healthcare law have an immensely challenging and stressful job. It is primarily because of the increasingly complex and well-regulated nature of the healthcare sector. Healthcare attorneys can represent pharmaceutical corporations, hospitals, clinics, dental facilities, and insurance providers, amongst other healthcare organizations. 

Such attorneys advise hospitals on legal and governmental compliance, patient privacy, and insurance reimbursement disputes. They can also represent clients and patients who have been wronged by healthcare facilities and insurance providers. 

Various legal assistant posts do not require the effort and time of pursuing a legal degree or specializations. For instance, a paralegal serves as the right hand of an attorney and takes up numerous responsibilities to facilitate the lawyer. Paralegals are capable of conducting legal research, assisting clients, and drafting pleadings. 

Legal secretaries or administrative assistants have numerous responsibilities that exceed their significance than that of an average secretarial position. Alongside managing and drafting correspondence, they keep track of all court dates, maintaining files, and more. 

Conclusion

The legal field opens up scores of prestigious, exciting, and high-paying opportunities for young, ambitious, and determined legal students. The intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are immense but make no mistake; this field is highly challenging and stressful. Professionals need to put in years of dedicated and persistent efforts to carve out respect and esteem amongst peers. 

If you are up for the challenge, it is advisable to explore the legal sector with dedicated research to identify the right path. It is ideal to find a specialization that you find most attractive and exciting before you start law school.