Which of these legal areas is most in demand? Forum

[bizzybone1313]

I am strongly considering practicing employment law, but I will only do it if it is plaintiff side.

hm, that's pretty specific. why?

Some people want to work on behalf of workers, not against them. Employment law is one of those areas (labor is like this too) where, as I understand it, people don't switch sides very much. Plaintiff-side lawyers often see it as a kind of akin to social justice/civil rights lawyering, while helping large corporations write employee handbooks and fire people in compliance with the law is not. (Not sure if those are bizzy's reasons, but it's not surprising to see someone with that attitude.)

As an aside, I'm really not sure what trade law means in this context or how it connects to consumer protection. I thought trade law = international trade?

Exactly. I grew up working class. I am not going to defend corporations. I woulld essentially being trying to screw over people like my parents. I have a big problem with that. I have always wanted to practice civil rights, immigration or plaintiff side employment law. In the order from most to least realistic, I would say it goes like this: (1) Immigration, (2) plaintiff side employment and (3) civil rights law. If I do not get to practice one of these areas, I am going to be real upset. I am completely fluent in Spanish. I think this would give me a real good chance of getting a job with an immigration firm.

[LSL]

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[06102016]

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[Anonymous User]

To clarify, I want to work plaintiff's-side, but I just don't want to work in a firm b/c I need public service loan forgiveness after graduation. Plus, I'm just more interested in gov't and PI. I also go to a T50.

Almost none of these areas will get you a PSLF qualified job unless it's with the government, which is currently harder to get than a firm. However, if you want to go government, employment law is the way to go. Many agencies handle their own employment law cases in front of ALJs in addition to their main area of law, so you're not limited to just the DOL, EEOC, NLRB, etc.

PSLF isn't just helping people, it's non-profit or gov't, so most plaintiff's side work won't qualify, nor will union work (iirc). There are like 3 openings for non-profits that do employment law, maybe 3-5 that do something involving health law, and 0-1 doing trade law.

[ZyzzBrah]

I've seen a lot of posts on simplicity for real estate in biglaw over the past few weeks


Edit, for example:
H&K-land use, DC, entry level, deadline 3/18
Ballard Sparh-real estate, Baltimore, jr attorney, deadline 3/31

then there's a lot of small to mid sized firms in dc area