Anyone considering a career in law knows that it is not easy to decide what areas of law to specialise in, to know exactly what it entails and how to get it into. A career as a lawyer can offer a huge amount of benefits however it also demands a huge amount of time, commitment and financial investment. Therefore it is crucial that anyone considering a career in law is spending time understanding as much about the profession as possible. Read on for our top reasons to become a lawyer and what to expect on the journey of carving out a career in this intriguing industry.
Lucrative Career
Lawyers are amongst some of the highest paid professionals in the legal industry and the majority of lawyers earn a higher salary than the national average. Therefore anyone looking for a lucrative and well-paid job will certainly be lured in by the financial rewards that being a successful lawyer can bring. It is worth bearing in mind, however, that not all lawyers make a lot of money and salaries do depend on the type and size of the company that you are interested in working for. Geographical location also plays a part in determining the level of salary that you can expect and the larger law firms in larger cities tend to offer the highest income.
Prestigious Career & Training
A career in law has always come with its fair share of prestige. Impressive law degrees usually translate into impressive degrees and generous salaries, so it all starts with a really solid education and degree in law. If you have not already started your studies, or are thinking about retraining then you will want to look into the degrees out there that will provide you with the knowledge and understanding to be able to confidently carve out a career in law. If you are already working and are wanting to retrain then look into a master of laws online where you can fit in your studies around your current job. Alternatively, as law degrees can be very demanding, you might prefer to focus all your time on studying, so think about what will work best for you and your current situation.
Ethics & Helping Others
Lawyers take great pride in their job being able to help people with their legal problems and to work towards the greater good of society as a whole. Public interest lawyers have a very well thought of and highly respected role of taking on legal cases that are there for the greater good of society. They are also available for those who perhaps can’t afford a lawyer but need legal help. Lawyers in private practices also sometimes offer to help with certain cases free of charge, or ‘pro bono’ as it is known in the industry. So there is a lot of good that is being done by lawyers with a genuine interest in helping people and improving the state of society.
The Intellectual Side
Being a lawyer and tackling complicated and multifaceted cases can be one of the most challenging, yet rewarding jobs out there. There are so many areas of law to specialise in so it is so important to be thinking about the kinds of specialities that you think you would be particularly well suited for. Whether you think you would be well suited to patenting a corporate trade secret or whether you fancy yourself as a top level business merger lawyer or perhaps you want to work as a human rights lawyer.
Maybe your passion is the environment and you want to specialise in environmental law or maybe you are interested in employment law or civil litigation. Whichever area you choose, and there is a lot to choose from, you will need to be a problem-solver an analyst and to be able to think in a creative and innovative way in order to move forward and reap great success in this field.
Transferable Skills
Even if you decide that law is not quite for you then you don’t need to worry that it has all been a waste of time as studying and working in law offers a lot of transferable skills. So anyone that wants to change direction from law will have a lot of doors opening into fields such as writing, mediation, management and legal consulting. So there are a lot of opportunities for lawyers who may fancy a change of direction later on down the road.
There are many factors to consider when thinking about becoming a lawyer, so spend some time thinking about what area you are most interested in, how to go about it and which sector is best suited to you.
