Careers outside of law Forum

[Einv14]

Just curious, what other careers are popular/practical/lucrative for those who graduate law school and find they dont want to pursue a career as an attornery?

[rayiner]

Just curious, what other careers are popular/practical/lucrative for those who graduate law school and find they dont want to pursue a career as an attornery?

Starbucks.

[Anonymous User]

Law school is quite an investment if you're looking non-attorney jobs

[Einv14]

Ok, so if your in law school and decided you dont want to be a lawyer your kinda SOL huh?

[The Zeppelin]

Well, you are going to law school.

[fenderjsm88]

In the DC area, where I grew up, it isn't uncommon to find (ex-)lawyers working as government officials, lobbyists, politicians, advisers/consultants of all kinds, etc. However, from what I understand, most of them started out as conventional lawyers and changed careers as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Also, if you know you want a non-law-related career, there is likely an easier and more direct path than investing three years and $150,000 in a law degree. Basically, if you don't want to be a lawyer, don't go to law school.

[Columbia Law]

x

[James Bond]

Why would you go to LAW SCHOOL if you don't want to be a lawyer?

[CyLaw]

Why would you go to LAW SCHOOL if you don't want to be a lawyer?

Well, JD is a route to an SA position with FBI. So that is one reason. I'm sure there are others, such as academia, politics, policy, book writing, and professional one-upper at cocktail parties (Which is my planned profession).

[worldtraveler]

You can move to Asia and go proofread legal English documents. There are a lot of American JDs doing that, and they get paid pretty well.

[The Zeppelin]

professional one-upper at cocktail parties (Which is my planned profession).

I just want to tell people, "well it's not my specialty, but I know a guy you might want to contact."

[MC Southstar]

There are people out there who might want to do more than one thing in their life. I think it's fair to ask if law can lead to other careers.

[eberl032]

Don't alot of people get J.D and/or M.B.A's to "jump the corporate latter." I would think Big CEO's often need legal training to help make the right decisions for their company. I also think it would be useful to be an economic analysist for a company that also knows the law. Then a firm can give you ideas and you can say if their both economically positive and if they follow the laws. But, Im mostly speculating.

[Chichaca]

There are people out there who might want to do more than one thing in their life. I think it's fair to ask if law can lead to other careers.

It's one thing to start off practicing law and end up in a different field. It's another to go to law school with no intention of ever practicing law. The idea that the latter is easy and common seems to be a widespread misconception. I feel like every time I tell someone I'm applying to law school, they say something like, "you know, you can do so many things with a law degree..."

That's not to say no one ever pulls it off, but it seems like a silly thing to try to do in most situations.

[randyn]

a law degree=MBA + WE if that is what you are asking.

[Foozle]

There are people out there who might want to do more than one thing in their life. I think it's fair to ask if law can lead to other careers.

It's one thing to start off practicing law and end up in a different field. It's another to go to law school with no intention of ever practicing law. The idea that the latter is easy and common seems to be a widespread misconception. I feel like every time I tell someone I'm applying to law school, they say something like, "you know, you can do so many things with a law degree..."

That's not to say no one ever pulls it off, but it seems like a silly thing to try to do in most situations.

+ Eleventy Billion

[jgulia45]

Why would you go to LAW SCHOOL if you don't want to be a lawyer?

A JD is extremely valuable in the business world...there are a ton of "lawyers" who don't practice...haven't you ever heard that before?

Also, I'm interested in pursuing work in the entertainment industry. A JD with specialization in the sports/entertainment field would only add to my marketability. I'll probably look into the venture capital side of movie production after a few years learning the industry. If not full time then at least part time.

[paratactical]

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[MC Southstar]

I don't think that the OP necessarily meant he was pursuing a career outside of being an attorney. I think he was asking what kinds of other opportunities there may be if being at attorney turns out to not float his boat.

[Einv14]

I don't think that the OP necessarily meant he was pursuing a career outside of being an attorney. I think he was asking what kinds of other opportunities there may be if being at attorney turns out to not float his boat.

Pretty much. The idea of law school and being a lawyer both sound like challenging, and interesting things that i'd like to pursue. Its just that i've always been a person of many interest, and wondered how much weight a quality J.D. can hold outside the field of law.

Note: i also wish to venture into the entertainment industry one day.

[James Bond]

Why would you go to LAW SCHOOL if you don't want to be a lawyer?

A JD is extremely valuable in the business world...there are a ton of "lawyers" who don't practice...haven't you ever heard that before?

Also, I'm interested in pursuing work in the entertainment industry. A JD with specialization in the sports/entertainment field would only add to my marketability. I'll probably look into the venture capital side of movie production after a few years learning the industry. If not full time then at least part time.

My point was that if something comes along that's better but is not law, then by all means take it, but I think it's stupid to go to law school when you know ahead of time that you're not going to be doing stuff with the law.

[jgulia45]

Why would you go to LAW SCHOOL if you don't want to be a lawyer?

A JD is extremely valuable in the business world...there are a ton of "lawyers" who don't practice...haven't you ever heard that before?

Also, I'm interested in pursuing work in the entertainment industry. A JD with specialization in the sports/entertainment field would only add to my marketability. I'll probably look into the venture capital side of movie production after a few years learning the industry. If not full time then at least part time.

My point was that if something comes along that's better but is not law, then by all means take it, but I think it's stupid to go to law school when you know ahead of time that you're not going to be doing stuff with the law.

I certainly agree. Going to law school when the one most likely guaranteed job area is not a viable option of yours seems irresponsible.

[Mickey Quicknumbers]

POTUS

26/43 presidents have been lawyers

Good luck aiming for that though

[yabbadabbado]

You can try joining the CIA, FBI, or Foreign Service. Very hard to get those jobs though.

You can also apply to the Presidential Management Fellow program, though I believe you have to apply some time during 3L, before graduation. Not sure how the time line works.

You could also apply to low level jobs working for Congress. Might require previous political experience though.

Maybe there's other stuff out there,but for the most part if you don't have substantial pre-law work experience and some kind of pre-law education that is in demand outside of law, you're probably going to find that the law degree hurts you more than it helps you when looking for non-legal jobs. And the pay for a lot of these jobs won't be very good.

Basically, if you haven't started law school and aren't sure you want to be a lawyer, you probably should not go.

[NayBoer]

POTUS

26/43 presidents have been lawyers

Good luck aiming for that though

Interestingly, this seems to apply for Democrats more than Republicans.

Obama & Biden, Kerry & Edwards, Clinton, Lieberman, Dukakis & Bentsen, Mondale & Ferraro, were all JDs. And Gore went to Vandy for 2 years but ran for the House before graduating. All together, every nominee Democrat for Pres/VP went to law school since 1984. And the top 3 finishers in the 2008 primary were all JDs.

Meanwhile, McCain & Palin, Bush & Cheney, Dole & Kemp, Bush & Quayle, and Reagan, pretty sure none were JDs (though there are other advanced degrees - Cheney had an MA, Bush was an MBA). [Edit - Also, of the top 6 finishers for the GOP in 2008, only Romney, Rudy and Fred had JDs and the latter two did pretty miserably.] The Democrats tend to pick politicians and lawyers; Republicans apparently like to pick war heroes, athletes and business people (I guess Sarah Palin is an athlete? she sort of breaks the rule).

It sort of flips around 1976. Ford and Nixon were both JDs; Carter, McGovern and Humphrey weren't.