Careers for Lawyers: Life After Law School Law practice is so diverse that it is difficult to describe what the "typical" lawyer does. Each lawyer works with different clients and different legal problems. However, all lawyers must share some basic legal skills: - analyzing legal issues; advocating the views of groups and individuals; providing intelligent counsel on the law's requirements; negotiating effectively; and writing and speaking clearly.
Many lawyers develop expertise in a particular field of law. Others, especially the sole practitioner, must be able to handle a variety of problems. However, there are lawyers in large firms who maintain general practices, as well as lawyers in small firms who concentrate on one particular legal issue. Some of the major specializations are corporate, securities, criminal, tax, and family law. Today, however, new fields of law are developing. Examples include such specialties as immigration, international, environmental, entertainment, civil rights litigation and patent law. About 74 percent of American lawyers are in private practice, most in small, one-person offices and some in large firms. Roughly 13 percent of the profession works for government agencies (including about 10,000 judges), 12 percent works for private industries and associations as salaried lawyers or as managers, and one percent is in legal education. In addition, there are a number of law school graduates who do not have a traditional legal practice, but who have selected to combine law with other disciplines. | |
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