13 things you can do with your Law Degree

What can you do with a law degree? You become a lawyer, duh. Not so fast! — the answer is not so clear for many. Maybe you just got called to the bar or you are about to become a newly minted member of the legal profession. You find out that the study or practice of law is not what you had expected and you are planning a career change. What do you do with your law degree?

The sad situation is that many attorneys are tired, exhausted and frustrated with the practice of law. They are confused as to how, after all of the work done in law school and all of commitment as an associate attorney, they now sit 3, 5, 8, 12 or more years in and wonder “I’m not happy. How did this happen?”

So, they decide, yes, I want to leave law behind and do something else. I want to find another job that pays well, that provides me with meaning and self-worth. And you are encouraged by that oft repeated advice “You can do anything with a law degree.”

And so you begin to think of other things to do, anything. But soon, this optimistic phrase that is supposed to encourage you can actually begin to stress you out. First of all it’s human nature, that if we have too many choices, it can be difficult to choose just one. We waffle, we are indecisive, and so instead of relishing the vast opportunity of choices a law degree and legal training put at our disposal, we often times become paralyzed by these potential choices. And we don’t choose any. And so we keep practicing law. And we remain unhappy.

Considering that more than 5000 students start a law degree every year it’s clear that not every law school graduate will end up as a solicitor or barrister of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. So the best time to make the best career choices is now, while you are in law school, while you are still in your service year and as you have just been called to bar.

So what can you do with a law degree that doesn’t include working in the hottest law firms in the country? Surprisingly, quite a bit:

Instead of putting together a long article of vagaries, I have tries to frame this post in a way that will actually make you believe that you can do anything with your law degree. I have put together some rock solid examples of careers you might be able to pursue with your law degree , please bear in mind that this is not a comprehensive list. Sorry.

Let’s get started!

The first thing you should know is that your law degree provides you with a wide range of skills. Some of which include:

• Research skills using a range of sources, including verbal questioning;
• Evaluation skills and the ability to interpret and explain complex information clearly;
• Analytical skills;
• Reasoning and critical judgement skills;
• The ability to formulate sound arguments;
• Lateral thinking and problem-solving skills;
• The ability to write concisely;
• Confident and persuasive oral communication skills;
• Attention to detail and the ability to draft formal documents with precision.

1. NEGOTIATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

While you don’t need a law degree to work as a mediator, legal knowledge will help during the mediation process. Negotiation is a basic life skill and an important foundation for any work in international affairs. The approaches of conflict resolution can be adopted by managers and decision-makers in all career paths. It is a perspective that combines strategic analysis with constructive approaches to problem-solving.

2. JOURNALIST/WRITER/AUTHOR

 John Grisham drew upon his legal knowledge to write his best-selling crime novels. Also, since lawyers are trained to write effectively, many lawyers translate their writing, investigation, and problem-solving skills into communication jobs such as reporting, public relations or publishing. Some lawyers blog for a living, like Elie Mystal of the popular Abovethelaw.com legal blog. Some lawyers have even found work as legal analysts and like Today’s Savannah Guthrie as television anchors.

3. DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

Imagine being an international human rights lawyer. Jetsetting round the globe, setting the world’s highest courts alight with spectacular oratory performances, radically changing the lives of the most vulnerable. Hell, there’s probably a Nobel peace prize in there somewhere too right?

Your degree can help you if you want to work with a Nongovernmental organization (NGO). After all, a lot of them work in countries where knowledge of the law is crucial to their mandate. The legal services you can provide include organizational advice, tax advice and transactional counsel,  lawyer-prosecutor-defense counsel and judicial trainings, research, creation of legal forms and documents, rights-based (victims, families or accused oriented) outreach materials and other  legally oriented materials for in-country projects.

4. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

 This one is a gimme but consider how many politicians have a law degree. There’s Bill Clinton and Barack Obama – just to name two presidents – and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. While law and politics remain entangled, there is an increase of lawyers entering politics. Studying law teaches you how to construct arguments, think critically and challenge policy – all valuable skills needed for a career in politics. It makes you aware of the application and different interpretations of policy within society, which is key to understanding the influence and limitations of politics.

5. BANKING & FINANCE

So if you don’t go into politics, why not try finance? There are certain fields where a law degree certainly couldn’t hurt such as estates, tax and small business. Even if you don’t want to practice law in the finance sector and prefer to deal with the money, having one can help since finance does require legal knowledge.

6. ENTREPRENEUR

 Lawyers are problem-solvers.  They are trained to see problems and fix it, but also to avoid problems altogether.  That’s why a former lawyer may make a great entrepreneur, since the most successful entrepreneurs create products as a solution to a problem. They can easily parlay their expertise in corporate law and knowledge about business associations and equity into starting a new business.  The number of lawyers-turned-entrepreneur or CEO is endless.

7. ENTERTAINMENT/MEDIA/TV HOST

 Harvey Levin was a lawyer before he founded the famous gossip website TMZ.com. Star Jones was a lawyer before she became a host on The View, competed on The Celebrity Apprentice and wrote two books. Ana Quincoces was a lawyer before she starred on the Real Housewives of Miami… need I go on?  Combining their legal analysis, personality, presence and gift of gab, some lawyers go on to host successful TV shows of their own.

8. ANALYST

Much of the practice of law involves analysis of cases and legal arguments, which helps lawyers, in turn, to arm themselves with the skills of an analyst and be able to think critically. Thus, many lawyers become legal recruiters, policy analysts, social commentators, and political strategists.

9. EDUCATION

Law professionals may not want to practice the law but they might be interested in teaching it or doing research on the law to look at ways to improve or update the law. The love of research and writing, and the ability to communicate one’s thoughts effectively compel many law graduates go onto to achieve an LLM (Masters of Law) and even a Doctorate and enter academia and teach. Some lawyers decide to teach in another discipline entirely, while others decide to teach at the high school level instead.

Other lawyers participate in university life by becoming Dean of Student Services or Alumni Relations or Career Services – positions for which their varied vocational experiences have prepared them. And still, other legal practitioners become adjunct professors, teaching law (or another subject altogether) part-time to law students.  Bringing their practical knowledge into the classrooms often helps law students ground their abstract knowledge by seeing it at work in the real-life experience of their professors.

10. MISCELLANEOUS

 Lawyers are taught to be analytical; seldom are they encouraged to be creative and artsy.  However, many lawyers turn their hobbies into a career: Pilot, fashion designer, seminar leader, Beauty technician, stylist and chef are just a few of the possibilities.

11. COMPANY SECRETARY

 Company secretaries are responsible for ensuring that an organisation complies with standard financial and legal practice and maintains standards of corporate governance. Although they are not strictly required to provide legal advice, company secretaries must have a thorough understanding of the laws that affect their areas of work. They act as a point of communication between the board of directors and company shareholders, reporting in a timely and accurate manner on company procedures and developments.

Public limited companies are legally required to employ a company secretary and many private companies also have the role. Positions can be found across all sectors and in the public sector this role often has the title chartered secretary or simply secretary.

12. HR OFFICER

Human resources (HR) officers develop, advise on and implement policies relating to the effective use of personnel within an organisation. Their aim is to ensure that the organisation employs the right balance of staff in terms of skills and experience, and that training and development opportunities are available to employees to enhance their performance and achieve the employer’s business aims. HR officers are involved in a range of activities required by organisations, whatever the size or type of business. These cover areas such as: working practices; recruitment; pay; conditions of employment; negotiation with external work-related agencies; equality and diversity.

13. PROJECT MANAGEMENT

 A project manager accomplishes a project’s objectives by planning, evaluating and shepherding the project’s activities. The project manager owns and is accountable for the project at hand, from beginning to end – he or she manages the staffing, the timeline, the budget, the unexpected and the delivery. This role manages the relationship between the team members and the stakeholders at large.

The project can be in tech, consumer goods, research, engineering, professional services … really anything that requires getting from point A to point B. This a great role for attorneys who enjoy mentoring staff, have leadership capabilities, are very interested in or like to geek out on certain types of product or industries, like digging deep into a task at hand and enjoy the pressure and reward of being accountable.

So there you have it: a heck of a lot to think about! Remember that a law degree doesn’t guarantee that you’ll have a career in law. A law degree covers the foundation subjects that are required for entry into the legal professions. But the understanding of legal implications and obligations, combined with the ability to apply this knowledge in practice, is valuable in many parts of the public, private and voluntary sectors.

You will need to gain a better understanding of your strengths, your confidences and your enjoyments (your “Unique Genius”). Your Unique Genius is made up of those skills and strengths that come so naturally to you, so effortlessly to you, that you don’t even think of them as a skill. It is upon these skills that you do so well that you will begin to base your post-lawyer life and career. It is with these strengths at which you excel that you will begin to create a life of confidence and self-worth.

You may also need to reposition your legal resume into one that aligns with this non-legal job. You need to get out there and network and meet and get coffees with people in these fields I have listed above to:

• research which roles you may actually enjoy and
• gain warm leads into companies in order to increase your chances of being considered. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s very do-able work.

Face your fears! It will take time, patience and courage but you can do it. Happy career hunting!

#AAA

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