Beyond Litigation: Other Opportunities for Legal Practice
November 14th, 2008
The practice of law may entail some gut-wrenching activities that some law degree holders may find daunting, tiring, or even boring. Fortunately there are a host of other occupations that are available for those who don’t have the desire for litigation and its processes.
In-house counsel
Large companies and industries have their own legal departments to take care of everyday tasks that involve varying degrees of legal work. The duties of in-house counsel do not necessarily involve frequent high-profile litigations. However, administrative matters and duties may be assigned from time to time as in-house counsels also work closely with other departments such as Human Resources and even Finance.
Courts
The courtroom can still be the arena of a law degree holder even without having to do litigation. Attorneys in judicial clerkship jobs research and make recommendations on how to handle current cases.
Public Service
Politics can be the next step for lawyers who’ve had enough of traditional lawyering. One can start in the district attorney’s office by being elected into the post, after which a state attorney general post becomes the next big step. Lawyers can also opt to join the US Department of Justice or can hope to be appointed by the President of the United States to the US Attorney’s Offices. Other posts in the arena of politics are also available for the law degreeholder. However, experience, whether in court or in other areas of public service, coupled with a level of popularity is needed.
Legislation
Attorneys in the legislative sectors work closely with senators and other members of the legislature in the formulation of laws. Legislative attorney do research and even drafts of bills that may be enacted. Law degreeholders in this arena are exposed to the political factors as well and may eventually become part of significant events in history.
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A legal brief is a summation of a case or legal argument that is presented in court. It should be factual while remaining concise, and direct to the point. Legal writing classes in first year and moot court competitions teach law students some of the basics of drafting legal briefs. However, some cases in the real world have floundered due to poorly written legal briefs. Here are a few tips to guide legal practitioners, and refresh the memories of some, in writing a good legal brief.
Aside form the jargon that baffles those who are not law degree holders, law firms are rife with locutions regarding the hierarchy inside these institutions. Here are some common terms used by law firms.
Law schools base their decisions on the exams, GPA, LSAT, recommendation letters, personal statement law school essays and recommendation letters to assess an applicants worth. The undergraduate courses that you have tackled can help drive you on the path toward a legal career. Extracurriculars tell more about the applicant, and they can be good topics for writing the personal statement law school essay as well. Law schools look for applicants exhibiting the potential to be a lawyer, and they look at the extracurriculars for the skills needed to be one.
A law review is a journal or paper edited and distributed by students of a particular law school. Law reviews are staffed by students of a law school and features articles penned by law professors, judges, and law practitioners. The law review is the avenue for academic publishing of articles related to the judicial system. Students can also publish articles called “notes” or “comments” in law reviews.
US Supreme Court justices have been a source of inspiration and instruction for most law students. Here’s a look back on three famous judges turned justices who have left their mark on the face of the country’s judicial process.
Passion for a certain profession drives a lot of people in getting a graduate course as many a personal statement law school points out. Although this may also mean advancing your career by adding bullets to your curriculum vitae and adding degree titles to your name, graduate school means one thing – burning the midnight oil. One graduate course may be suffice to put a dent in one’s normal routine, so how about taking up two? Why not go for a joint MBA and a law degree?
There comes that time in the academic calendar of law schools that law firms come a-knocking to harvest “summers” or interns and potential employees. Career services of law schools work closely with various law firms to set up mass interviewing to select and woo potential interns. Even if these law firms are the ones who are doing the chasing, their recruiting people still have a set of standards on which the potential summers and employees can be measured against.
The bar exam is a qualifying test that law degree holders take to be able to practice law in a given jurisdiction.
You may have proven your aptitude with the LSAT as well as the entrance exam to a certain law school. You may have passed an impressive personal statement law school essay along with the two letters of recommendation from people who know you well. But still, the law school you are applying to requests for a personal interview by their admissions panel. To be able to finally get into the law school that you want, you have one more chance to prove yourself worthy.

