Well right now I am thinking about being a lawyer. The problem is that I don't know any lawyers or anyone who knows a lawyer. I would really like to know about the occupation and was hoping you would help me. Please include as much as you know like salary, daily routine and other things. Hope your explanation would really help me to make up my mind THANKS!
2007-01-05 13:31:45 · 3 answers · asked by rereloveforever 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment
I've been one since 1979. First I was in private practice doing mostly real estate and business law. For the last 19 years I've worked for a city as a transactional lawyer (technology contracts, real estate transactions, et.)
Salary can range from $0 to $250,000 or more per year. It really depends upon what type of work you do and where. Government jobs tend to be steady but fairly low pay. The salary can start in the $40,000 range in mid and small size cities and go up.
Lawyers that go to work for big firms tend to make more money. Starting salary at some big city firms can be over $100000. BUT, the hours for new associates can be brutal. Six day, ten+ hour per day weeks are not unusual at all for new associates in those firms. In most cases new associates are on a seven year track. Either you make partner after about seven years or you are encouraged to look for work elsewhere.
Lawyers that open their own practice can easily struggle for years. After eight years I was making a small living at it but needed the security of a steady paycheck after our daughter was born. I loved being in charge and running things my way, but the real estate market cratered in the 80's and that was that.
In most cases you will get a BA or BS degree and then go to law school for three more years. After you graduate (most schools now issue a JD degree--juris doctor) and then you have to pass a state test to get your license to practice. That test can last three days and it may be 2-4 months before you know if you passed. That is a real uncomfortable wait!
I hope this helps. Feel free to contact a judge in your community or the local bar association. They often will welcome you to come observe for a day or two. At least, they can hook you up with a lawyer that will spend some time talking with you.
Good luck.
2007-01-05 13:45:11 · answer #1 · answered by Bill W 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
You would first have to be more specific in the type of lawyer you would be interested in being. The job is vastly different depending on the type of law.
The lawyers you most often see on TV are the trial lawyers, the ones standing up and arguing in court. If you work for the state, either as a D.A. (District Attorney, the ones trying to put people INTO jail) or a public defender (trying to keep people OUT of jail), you would be on the state's payroll--not making much money at all. The work is difficult, making arguments in front of a judge or jury all day, thinking on your feet, and is never-ending, as most courthouses are understaffed and very busy. Hours are very long, you'll take work home with you, but you might get satisfaction out of helping to make your community a safer and better place.
If you want to be in court but potentially make a lot of money, you could go out on your own as a private prosecutor (ambulance-chaser, the ones on TV commercials who always want you to sue the drug companies or whatever) or defender for wealthier people who allegedly have committed crimes. You can make a great deal of money practicing this kind of law. You would also be able to set some of your own hours, as you could pick and choose your cases.
If you don't like the idea of arguing in court, you could become a divorce lawyer, or patent lawyer, or contracts lawyer, who mostly just does paperwork for people. There can be a great deal of money in this, but it strikes me as a deadly boring job.
If you do well in law school, you might be invited to join a big law firm in a big city. Regardless of what type of firm it is, you will probably spend your first few years there stuck in their law library, researching cases for the more important members of the firm.
Good luck making your decision. Also factor into things that you first have to survive three years of law school, which will likely be the most difficult, expensive and worst three years of your life. Make sure it's something you'll really be happy with before you make that commitment.
2007-01-05 13:54:23 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Lawyers LIE a lot, and defend people they KNOW are guilty.
If you are OK with that, then go for it. They make a lot of $$ in private practice, but if they work for the gov't (aka the good guys) they make about the same as a teacher does.
If you can sleep at night getting a killer to go free, there's a LOT of money in it.
2007-01-05 13:41:42 · answer #3 · answered by die_laffing 3 · 2⤊ 9⤋