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I'm somewhat of an idealist, and I would love to be employed in the area of child welfare law when I complete law school. I also have a family, though, and want to make sure that I will find employment when I finish my education and be able to provide for them.

Here's my dilemma. I'm not sure what kind of employment opportunities are out there for attorneys in child welfare law. To clarify, I understand what kind of jobs child welfare law offers, I just don't know how attainable those jobs are. I'm fairly certain that corporate law is still more employable, even with the current economic downturn, which makes me question if it might be better to prepare for it.

My question is, If I choose to gear my studies towards child welfare law through a child advocacy clinic, and/or a family law emphasis, will I then be unable to reach out to more stable fields, such as corporate law, if I graduate and find that there are few employment opportunities in child welfare law?

Would it also be difficult to make the switch if, after I find employment in child welfare law, I find that I cannot support my family?

And finally, would it be a better idea if I am looking for stability to abandon the child welfare law track altogether in favor of gaining experience - internships, focus, etc. - in corporate law?

I am especially looking for advice from current law students who have the advantage of hindsight on this issue, but I would appreciate advice from anyone with a knowledge of child welfare law employment opportunities.

In a similar situation as you but don't have the gift of hindsight - I'm a 2L who has gone over some of these questions with my career office. In terms of classes, you should do take family law courses but also sprinkle it with some corporate classes. That way, you aren't completely clueless if you end up in corporate law, and it'll be easier to convince employers that you were seriously considering corporate law as a career path.

In terms of changing careers later, it doesn't matter that much as long as you have a strong skill-set to offer, such as trial experience. It's obviously going to be easier to market yourself towards similar fields like family law or employment law, but if you're a great trial attorney and that's what a firm needs, then you can convince them that you're the one they want to hire.

Thanks for the advice. So in your experience thus far, does it look like there will be good employment opportunties out there?

I think so. I think it's still easier to get a biglaw job, assuming you have the grades, but there are certainly a lot more opportunities than I expected when I first started law school. Caveat: my law school is in NYC so if you're trying to find a niche practice anywhere, NYC is the place where you're very likely to find it. There's a decent number of nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and small firms that provide child/family law and employment law opportunities.

Good luck on your search!

Perfect. Thanks for the advice.

Don't do it man. You gotta kid and they dont pay you even if you find a 1 in a 1000000 opportunity in the field.