Being a lawyer on the side? Forum

(On Campus Interviews, Summer Associate positions, Firm Reviews, Tips, ...)
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting

Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.

Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned.
ninthcircuitattorney

New
Posts: 53
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2020 7:35 pm

Re: Being a lawyer on the side?

Post by ninthcircuitattorney » Mon Nov 29, 2021 2:34 am

OP: Lawyers are conventional by necessity, so of course lawyers on this board are going to view your unconventional proposition with skepticism. But biases and judgments aside, the answer is: Yes, you can be a lawyer on the side, but it will take you a long time to become a good lawyer on the side. Most practice areas require about 10,000 hours to master (5 years full time) and if you devote only a few hours per week to a field, you may not be very useful for decades.
Since you are interested in immigration, why don't you consider becoming an Accredited Representative in immigration court? Becoming an Accredited Rep takes a couple of weeks (not 3 years) and authorizes someone to appear and litigate, but only in immigration court. Most people in immigration court facing deportation don't speak English and don't have an attorney, but still have to handle their cases on their own. So even a bad and inexperienced Accredited Rep would be useful to many folks facing deportation. Ping me if want to talk about this.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428113
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Being a lawyer on the side?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Nov 29, 2021 11:44 am

For those telling OP that his plan is viable/possible, do you have any real-life examples of full-time lawyers who went to law school, worked part-time while working full-time in another industry, and then became full-time attorneys? If so, what did their full-time practices look like?

I see a lot of caution that lawyers, especially in this forum, are conservative--sure, conceded--and that they would be willing to hire OP part-time, etc. But all of the concrete examples of part-time attorneys so far involved their working full-time before scaling back, which is hardly groundbreaking in any industry (family considerations, semi-retirement, etc.).

Any concrete success stories for OP? At this point, the absence reflects poorly on the viability of OP's approach, although OP seems to think they are a unicorn.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428113
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Being a lawyer on the side?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 30, 2021 2:21 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 11:44 am
For those telling OP that his plan is viable/possible, do you have any real-life examples of full-time lawyers who went to law school, worked part-time while working full-time in another industry, and then became full-time attorneys? If so, what did their full-time practices look like?

I see a lot of caution that lawyers, especially in this forum, are conservative--sure, conceded--and that they would be willing to hire OP part-time, etc. But all of the concrete examples of part-time attorneys so far involved their working full-time before scaling back, which is hardly groundbreaking in any industry (family considerations, semi-retirement, etc.).

Any concrete success stories for OP? At this point, the absence reflects poorly on the viability of OP's approach, although OP seems to think they are a unicorn.
So no one has any stories? On what basis, then, are people suggesting that OP's path is viable?

Anonymous User
Posts: 428113
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Being a lawyer on the side?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 30, 2021 2:43 pm

I know someone who went to a low ranked school part time and managed to build up a practice doing stuff like wills and real estate. I don't think he worked part time, but I also don't think he worked in a firm. His previous career gave him connections to get the clients. But tbh he's kind of a unicorn.

scottcummings

New
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2021 7:12 am

Re: Being a lawyer on the side?

Post by scottcummings » Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:56 am

For your first point, I agree in every nonprofit organization must have a professional legal adviser so they can guide the people regarding their requirements. It will be very helpful for people to maintain their paperwork properly.

And secondly, I think it will be more beneficial to any law student to work with any firm, part-time so he can gain more knowledge from the professionals and learn fast from the live experience.

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


Post Reply Post Anonymous Reply  

Return to “Legal Employment”