ekatya2001 wrote:Hi, I'm not really sure where to post this question, so I'm sorry if this is the wrong thread.
Anyways, I'm a senior in high school (so I'm 16) and I'm really interested in going to law school (not dead set, but also pretty sure I want to pursue something in the legal sector). I've been court watching a few times, and I'm not so interested in Criminal law, and I want to see what corporate or business law may be about. Would it be a wise decision to contact some local law firms in the sector and ask if I could volunteer my time there during the winter break or for a week or so, just to look at how it would be like? If this isn't a good thing (maybe because of inexperience or age) would any of you have suggestions on where I could get a glimpse into the quotidian activities of an average corporate/civil litigation lawyer?
Thank you very much in advance
There is more to the law than just Criminal v. Corporate. To answer your question, there's nothing wrong with asking people to shadow them. But it may be impractical. First, corp law is mostly concentrated in big law. Whatever work small law typically gets, it's more start-up tech/small fry type of deals. Those deals, intrinsically, have different work schedules/habits than big law. Also, a lawfirm run by one person will feel much different than a global biglaw firm.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, you can't make a judgement about one sector of the law based on "court watching" or "shadowing" someone.
What makes you think you're interested in the law? Is it the power that comes with wielding the law? Is it that you want to "make a lot of money"? Once you answer those Qs, it will be easier to help you navigate this path.
Also, what didn't you like about crim law? That you had to deal with criminals? There's more to trial work than just crim. Civil law encompasses hundreds of niche practices. And FWIW, corp law is very boring/routine/crazy work schedule.
