Work can be immensely satisfying as a lawyer; however, the profession does present its share of challenges: high stress levels, an imbalanced work-life balance and toxic cultures are often identified among lawyers as problematic areas in their professions.
Change is happening. This page offers guidance, comfort, and assistance for those contemplating making changes in their legal careers.
1. Law Firms
Law firms are the go-to place when people think of lawyers. From solo attorney practices to multinational legal operations with hundreds of staff members, legal practices range in size from solo attorney practices all the way up to multinational legal practices that specialize in various topics like litigation, business law or personal injury law. Where a lawyer chooses to work will depend on their interests and preferred legal challenges – but in general law firms tend to be where people who become lawyers end up practicing their craft.
Most lawyers work at private law firms, small businesses that offer legal services to both individuals and corporations. These firms are typically run by partners who share profits and risks of the business with fellow attorneys; depending on their success in the industry, some may earn promotions to become partners of these firms resulting in substantial salary and management responsibility increases.
Some smaller law firms specialize in certain areas, like family or criminal defense; others focus on specific aspects of topics like real estate, employment or taxes. Larger law firms tend to operate several departments within themselves with each team taking on cases that fit within its expertise.
Law firm lawyers often devote much of their time and energy to networking and continuing legal education as part of maintaining their credentials as legal practitioners. Furthermore, law firms typically spend considerable amounts of time negotiating settlements on behalf of clients to attempt to settle disputes outside the court system.
Some of the other employees found in law firms include paralegals, legal secretaries and information technology professionals who provide clerical and administrative support for lawyers. Due to the nature of their jobs, these workers must be flexible when their workload increases quickly; as well as adhering to billable hour requirements which are monitored weekly, monthly and annually. They are also expected to keep meticulous records of client meetings, conversations and phone calls which can later be reviewed for compliance or review purposes.
2. Government
Government lawyers work for local governments such as towns and cities, or on the state level at county or district attorney offices. There are also attorneys working at the federal level in various government agencies; their tasks may include prosecution or defense of criminal cases while others provide civil legal services in areas like family law or employment law. Furthermore, many government employees contribute their expertise towards creating legislation as part of legislative branch efforts.
If you’re interested in government, getting entry-level experience through law clerk positions or summer internships with agencies or departments where you want to work can help accelerate your journey and give you more responsibility with better pay as you advance in your career. In addition, government positions often come equipped with better benefits and retirement plans than law firms do, offering higher starting salaries than private legal practices.
Stacie Pavao, ’18, interned at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office during her undergraduate days and found she appreciated “the public interest aspect of government work and its larger societal impacts”. This experience inspired her to attend graduate school for a master’s degree in public policy before going back into government work as deputy district attorney with Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
At both the federal and local levels, there are an array of practice areas to match your interests. For instance, city or county attorney offices typically feature civil rights departments while many agencies specialize in areas like labor law or business regulation.
As an employee at a government agency, you can expect to be promoted every year and your salary is negotiable at each step. For instance, you could request to start at a higher step than the GS-14 step 4 salary that most federal employees start on; vacation time and benefits such as health insurance may also be negotiable depending on employer policies.
3. Corporate
Corporate lawyers often work with large companies and businesses, as they need to have knowledge of all applicable laws in every jurisdiction where a corporation conducts business. Many large law firms employ corporate lawyers around the world. Corporations prefer one-stop legal shopping and prefer building long-term relationships with their attorneys; many lawyers who have taken corporate roles have exchanged higher salaries for more time with their families.
4. Private Practice
Work in private practice can be hectic. Deadlines loom large, and former government lawyers may find themselves responding reactively rather than proactively to client demands. Furthermore, private practitioners must market themselves and their services effectively in order to attract and retain clients – an additional task which takes considerable time away from more critical legal work.
Lawyers working in private practice typically receive payment on an hourly or flat rate basis; when employed by a law firm, however, they may receive either salary or equity in the firm as compensation. Attorneys working in private practice spend their days negotiating settlements or helping resolve disputes outside of court as well as networking and participating in marketing activities to expand their businesses.
Private practitioners typically work longer hours than attorneys working for government or non-profit agencies or non-profit organizations; however, the hours an attorney puts in vary depending on a variety of factors, including case type (complex vs routine), negotiations vs litigating and whether they’re an associate or partner – these all play a part.
Private practice lawyers must often complete administrative work like filing paperwork and preparing documents for clients. Furthermore, they must keep track of their time and expenses to accurately bill clients. Lawyers can reduce the time they spend performing administrative duties with software tools like Clio Manage to automate non-billable administrative tasks that take up most of their day-to-day time.
Private practice offers many the ideal way to balance a personal and professional life, especially family lawyers who must balance work with family needs. All attorneys should strive for efficient and effective practices – this will lead to increased billable hours and better client outcomes.