How to Decide What Type of Law You Want to Practice

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When considering a career in law it can be incredibly difficult to decide which area of law you want to specialise in. With so much choice out there and so many different variations of law it can be a real minefield to understand which area would best suit you. There is always a chance that as a lawyer you will change fields as your career progresses but that doesn’t change the difficulties associated with deciding which area to start out in and focus your attention on in your studies and the beginning of your career as a lawyer. So, with that in mind, today we want to provide a list of how to decide what type of law to practice and help you decide what legal career path would best suit you.

Don’t Think Forever

Thinking about your long-term career can be overwhelming and can bring up feelings of anxiety when viewing a career that can’t develop and evolve over time. Therefore it is much better to think about what you want now. Things may change in the future so just focus on the areas that you feel the most passionate about and look into how to go about getting adequate training in that area. If you think you will be well suited in business law then look into a master of business law, if you want to work with improving the environment then look into a degree that specialises in environmental law. Look at the details of each course and then evaluate which courses you think will best suit you and which ones will best serve you and what you want to get out of your legal training.

Get Planning

Once you have whittled your choice down to one or two potential degrees you will then want to start planning how to go about it. You should establish the amount of time you can allocate to exploring your studies, or if you are about to graduate then you will need to start planning how to go about marketing yourself to the most desirable law firms.

Network

One really important facet in the world of law is networking. A really good way to gain insight into the industry and how to go about breaking into it is by talking to people who are already working within the field. Being at a law school offers many advantages as you will have access to many lawyers who will be there to help you and talk you through any questions and concerns you may have. So make sure you take advantage of any opportunity that you have to network with lawyers and ask them for any advise that you can.

Utilise Your Professors

Similar the above, you will also want to make sure that you are using all the resources available to you at your university, and your professors are a major resource. Reaching out to the professors who are practicing in your chosen area and spend time talking to them about the plans that you have. Better still, see if you can shadow them or assist them on any projects or cases that they are working on to build up extra knowledge and work experience.

Take Notice of Yourself

Throughout your studies you will want to be really aware of any assignments and projects or areas of theories that you particularly enjoy. You will also want to establish if you feel you work better autonomously or whether you prefer working as part of a team. Perhaps you really enjoy writing appeals or maybe you enjoy the business cases that involve big companies. Pay close attention to what you enjoy and what you don’t enjoy and that will really help you to establish a more solid plan moving forwards into the type of law that you feel you will enjoy the most and that will be best suited to you.

Work Life

Not only will you want to think about the type of law that you will want to work in, but you will also want to think about the type of company that you want to work for and type of work environment that you feel best suits your personality and approach to law. Working as a lawyer offers huge job satisfaction but that must also come down to the type of company that you are working for. So think about whether you want to be part of a large firm or a smaller firm. Whether you want to work autonomously or whether being part of a company that provides continual training is important to you. Think about what is important to you and start to carve out a list of law firms that you feel will tick as many of your boxes as possible.