Advice for someone who knows they don’t want to practice law for long: Forum

[Anonymous User]

I went to law school after a couple years working for nonprofits because I wanted more intellectual stimulation and higher paying opportunities. I always knew I wasn’t particularly interested in working for a law firm, but thought I could do it for a few years to make money. Ultimately, I was more interested in learning about law and government and potentially working in public interest. I chose my law school mainly to avoid debt so I could be as flexible as possible in my career (turned down a few T14s to go to a T50 with a full ride and live with my parents, so law school has cost me nothing).

I’ve done well (I’m in the top 10% and on law review) and I followed the career office’s advice to start my career at a firm. I’m also doing a federal district clerkship after I graduate in the spring, which I’m looking forward to.

But reflecting on my summer job, I can tell I don’t really want to work at a firm for long. I find little meaning in legal work that just helps companies make or save money; I don’t like the always-on culture and lack of work-life balance; and I’d rather be doing something that does some good in the world. I’m still planning to work for a big firm for 1-2 years to claim my clerkship bonus, save some money, and get some practice experience (I‘d like to be able to say I used my JD), but I don’t see myself lasting much longer than that.

After that, I really have no idea what my plan is. I’ve considered practicing law in the public/nonprofit sector, which I think I could more or less enjoy. But I could see myself getting burned out in a job like that because they can still be very stressful (high stakes for clients, long hours, deadlines, etc) without having the paycheck to be worth it.

I’m pretty drawn to law-related jobs that don’t actually involve practicing law. I do enjoy some aspects of the legal profession; namely, legal research and writing and thinking about policy issues. I could see myself in a job that requires a JD but is more of a research job than really practicing law, because it would be more laid-back yet intellectually stimulating. The only types of jobs like that I can think of would be career clerk, staff/research attorney at a state or federal court of appeals, and maybe a research attorney for Westlaw/Lexis. Are there any other jobs like that?

For other people who feel like this, have you been miserable working at a firm, even only briefly? Have you found it a problem that you have to feign interest in building a long-term career at the firm?

And if anyone who feels like this has found a satisfying long-term job, I’d love to hear about it. Since money’s not a big issue for me, if I end up truly unsatisfied with the legal profession, I might start over entirely in something like teaching or social work. But I’d like to avoid another total career switch if possible.

[istan]

Your clerkship will probably be a good chance to be exposed to different types of lawyers and cases and see if there's a type of law practice you would actually enjoy.

I feel pretty ambivalent about working at a firm long-term too (and I think a lot of people do), but I think it just takes some time actually experiencing it to decide how long you can stick it out.

[LS989]

Your clerkship will probably be a good chance to be exposed to different types of lawyers and cases and see if there's a type of law practice you would actually enjoy.

I feel pretty ambivalent about working at a firm long-term too (and I think a lot of people do), but I think it just takes some time actually experiencing it to decide how long you can stick it out.

This. I would also add that practice areas differ greatly in how similar they are to the work you do in law school and traditional "lawyering". For example, transactional work in general is pretty dissimilar from what most people's impression of practicing law is like, especially during law school. It sounds like you wouldn't necessarily want to go that route, but its illustrative of the heterogeneity of the field