Practice Areas? (International Law Question) Forum

[okaygo]

Yes. I know that the general consensus on TLS is that international law is not real. Considering this, is there a way to work in the legalities of contracts of international trade and exportation without actually studying "international law"?

Or does it not even really matter what practice area you are looking into when considering law schools? I really would appreciate some insight on the whole practice area concept because I am completely clueless.

[DCDuck]

Intended practice area shouldn't drive your law school selection process. Yes, you can work on international trade contracts without studying international law. It's a small field that will primarily be handled by biglaw or foreign firms.

[piccolittle]

Intended practice area shouldn't drive your law school selection process. Yes, you can work on international trade contracts without studying international law. It's a small field that will primarily be handled by biglaw or foreign firms.

I mean, I don't know about that as a rule. For example, if you're interested in tech work in California, Stanford or Berkeley could be better choices than Harvard or maybe even Yale. But yeah, generally I agree.

You can also work in capital markets, which has the potential to put you in a foreign office for a time or for good, and often the work you'll be doing will have cross-border considerations. There's also international project finance, if you're interested in that. For that kind of work, I imagine school ranking trumps any "practice area niche," particularly because it's not the kind of thing you learn in law school.

[Docreviewsux]

Yes. I know that the general consensus on TLS is that international law is not real. Considering this, is there a way to work in the legalities of contracts of international trade and exportation without actually studying "international law"?

Or does it not even really matter what practice area you are looking into when considering law schools? I really would appreciate some insight on the whole practice area concept because I am completely clueless.

You are more likely to work in the amazing areas of debt collection and/or crim and/or DUI law.

[okaygo]

Well you all definitely cleared that up for me. Thanks for answering both slightly unrelated questions.

[bk1]

Intended practice area shouldn't drive your law school selection process. Yes, you can work on international trade contracts without studying international law. It's a small field that will primarily be handled by biglaw or foreign firms.

I mean, I don't know about that as a rule. For example, if you're interested in tech work in California, Stanford or Berkeley could be better choices than Harvard or maybe even Yale. But yeah, generally I agree.

This decision is driven by desired location, not desired practice area. One's desired practice area might only exist in significant numbers in one or a few locations, but the school decision is still location focused.