“In order to find employment that is consistent with his or her professional goals and personal values, a lawyer must be familiar with the range of traditional and non-traditional employment opportunities for lawyers.” The MacCrate Report (ABA 1992)
Ruth, the hypothetical client, wanted to emulate her father and her fictional hero, Atticus Finch, both them dedicated small town lawyers. Why did you go to law school? Clients' responses to this question include; "to be a teacher"; "to combine interests in theology with the real world"; "to protect and preserve the environment"; "to learn the law to use in the business world"; "to be involved in women's issues"; "my parents convinced me I couldn't make a living with a Ph.D. in literature"; "to be involved in international issues" and, so often, "I wasn't sure what I wanted to do"". These are such varied, complex motivations. Is it possible to see them fulfilled in the range of careers available to the profession? In this column we take a look at the possibilities and offer you a Career Options Exercise to expand your horizons.
Stop for a moment and compare the job preferences students express upon entering law school with the distribution of lawyers by type of practice. There are over 1,000,000 lawyers in the country (as predicted by Tom Paxton in “One Million Lawyers and Other Natural Disasters”) of whom 70% work in private law firm practice. While that is an impressive number, it also means that 30% do not work in private law firms including government prosecutors, government agencies; for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations, academia, judges and those inactive. Although large firm practice captures the attention of lawyers and laymen alike, nearly half of all lawyers in private practice are sole practitioners, and approximately two thirds are in firms of five or less lawyers. The lawyer who defines a small firm as one with 15 lawyers has eliminated from consideration in his or her search more than two thirds of the market, not to mention the 30% of positions mentioned above.
Why should one's outlook become so narrow? It is uncertain how much these figures are the outcome of student preferences, a reflection of their professional education, or a reaction to law practice economics. We do know that for many law students, the day they enter law school is the last time they take seriously the cliche "go to law school because there are so many things you can do with a law degree." Students with diverse interests often feel as if they are plummeting down a funnel into large law firms. At the law schools often referred to as the "top", "the highest ranked", "the first tier" or as "national" law schools, the funnel is even more narrow.
Whence that funnel feeling? Legal education emphasizes thinking like a lawyer over training to practice in various settings. With the exception of clinical programs, students will not consistently hear a teacher talking about his or her experiences representing a woman in a divorce case, incorporating a business, or advising a juvenile in a care and protection hearing. Exposure to varied practice areas through cases and war stories is haphazard. Also, students anxious about their fundamental legal skills will not have the confidence to entertain positions in small firms or other settings where there is unlikely to be close supervision or training. In addition, the reliance of large firms on on-campus interviewing distorts the image of credible, desirable positions in the profession. At the same time, students are not always aware of the range and variety of practice even within the big firms. Finally, the emphasis on litigated cases and transactional issues encourages law students to think that the only "real" work of a lawyer is in the law firm setting.
Although career services offices struggle to acquaint students with their options, it is doubtful that many law school faculty give much thought to the MacCrate Report’s assertion that law schools should show students how to find employment consistent with their professional goals and personal values, and that they should be informed of "the range of traditional and non-traditional employment opportunities for lawyers." No wonder that after a law school education which places little emphasis on what graduates can do with their law degrees, many practitioners begin the job search convinced that they are trapped, that they are nothing but "a litigator", "a bankruptcy lawyer", "an M&A lawyer".
Ruth, having recognized the incompatibility of her beliefs with her work, decided to leave her law firm. That is simply the first step of her journey. She must now learn about her options. Everyone who has been stuck in one position begins to feel like the proverbial frog in the bottom of a well. It is time to expand one's horizons:
Career Options Exercise
Take the following exercise. Circle or highlight every organization and topic which appeals to you. The activities listed under each setting are not intended to be comprehensive, merely suggestive. Do not try at this point to focus your search. Remember, you're in an expansive mood. If it appeals to you, circle or highlight it.
A. Large and medium law firms (over 100 lawyers) representing corporations and very wealthy individuals
banking/finance
securities law
bankruptcy
business formation
intellectual property
international trade
communications and internet law
insurance defense
mergers and acquisitions
corporations
B. Medium size law firms (10 to 99 lawyers) representing individuals and corporations
real estate construction/landlords
estate planning and trusts
taxation
patent and trademark
employment/management
art, entertainment, sports and media
C. Small law firms (less than 10 lawyers, including solo practitioners who are 50% of all practicing lawyers) representing individuals, consumers and small businesses)
family law and divorce
criminal defense
plaintiff injury – toxic tort, product liab, accidents
employee discrimination
immigration/asylum
healthcare –guardianship, SSDI, insurance
public interest/human services
lead paint injury
workers compensation
consumer rights
D. Public Interest Small and Large Law Firm
Employee discrimination
constitutional law
environmental protection litigation
social security/disability and welfare rights
tenant rights
civil rights/human rights
international law/asylum
children’s rights
education law
elder law
E. Government prosecutor
Attorney General
U.S. Attorney
District Attorney
F. Government agency
legal counsel
commissioner
legislative branch
a executive branch
judicial clerk
G. Large corporations (over 100 employees)
legal counsel for a financial institution - bank, insurance co.
legal counsel/ regulatory division head for drug co.
legal counsel/developer - real estate/construction co
public affairs/public relations for a retail electronics chain
affirmative action director for a retail apparel store chain
sexual harassment prevention trainer for sports footwear manufacturer
employee relations director - hotel chain
reporter or editor for a media company (TV, radio, magazine, newspaper)
performing artist – entertainment
H. Small Corporation (less than 100 employees)
marketing and sales for management consultants to law firms
CEO of a family wholesale plumbing supply company
CFO - internet software development
legal counsel/director of research and development for biotech start-up
scriptwriter for television or filmmaker
owner of a professional sports team
owner of print shop franchise
I. Non-profit organizations or associations (typical 501c3 with few or no lawyers and little litigation)
legal counsel - charitable foundation
legal counsel for a university
executive director - civil rights policy and lobbying
research director for women’s rights organization
public education and community relations director of a museum
program planner for a physical and mental health disability advocacy organization
newsletter publisher - education reform group
legal counsel for a children’s rights advocacy group
counselor, adviser, coach, social worker in an employment related organzation
administrator of a church or temple
J. Bar association
executive director
continuing legal education and meeting planner
K. Academia
dean of students for a law school
professor - law school
director of clinical education program at a law school
college faculty
executive assistant to the president of a college
public or private high school teacher or principal
This has been a stretching exercise. Checking or highlighting these settings and fields should have given you an inkling of the directions in which your interests need to expand. How many have you checked or circled? Five? Ten? Fifteen? Over fifteen? Every one represents a realistic option for a lawyer - a setting in which many lawyers can be found. Perhaps you noticed that the columns constitute a spectrum of settings ranging from those which offer only a traditional role in legal practice to those which afford the possibility of non-traditional roles for lawyers, e.g. from a practice in securities law in a large firm to being a high school teacher. (Keep in mind, however, that even the most traditional settings contain atypical options: some firms have given partners the chance to become directors of training or recruiting.) The pattern of fields, activities and industries you have checked should suggest the options you need to explore. Some of you many be looking for new areas of the law, some for non-firm settings for lawyers, some for new ways to use your skills and experience in service of a cause, and some may seek settings as far removed from the law as possible. You may have a relatively narrow interest in practice specialties, but be attracted to new kinds of legal settings. For instance, you may be very focused on litigation, but willing to consider government, non profits, advocacy groups or small firms as alternatives to large firm litigation. Conversely, you may have checked anything related to business or to health care, regardless of setting or legal specialty. Generally speaking, the more your responses are concentrated on the second half of the exercise, the more likely you are to be in need of options outside of traditional legal practice - what we like to call the "hybrid positions." Now that you have completed the exercise, go to www.justia.com and follow up on the legal practice links for the areas that interest you. These are not necessarily the only or the best links for each option, but if you follow them all, you should feel a little bit like Alice after she fell down the well into Wonderland or like the poet E.E. Cummings: "There's a hell of a good universe next door; lets go!" If you need further convincing of the options, you should consider purchasing a copy of What You Can Do With a Law Degree by Deborah Arron (available through Discovery Books, Amazon and large chain bookstores).