Ask any attorney you know whether law school adequately prepares you for the practice of law, and I can all but guarantee you that 9 out of 10 attorneys that you ask will answer, “No”.
The point of law school is not to prepare you for the practice of law, the point of law school is to equip you with the tools lawyers need in order to go out and practice law.
Clerkships, internships, volunteer work – that is where you gain practical experience. Practical experience begins to hone where you want to develop your practice (or sometimes, more importantly, where you no longer want to hone your practice area).
Coming out of law school and the bar exam, so many young lawyers fall into the trap of “I just need a job”, and they take the first decent job that comes around, regardless of whether that job is even remotely close to where they initially stated they wanted to practice.
The issue with jumping at the first offer like this is that a young attorney begins to invest valuable hours, connections, and resources into a practice area and clientele that they have no interest in maintaining. The fall out is typically characterized as burn out. I have seen on fire attorneys walk out of the profession because they lost their passion for the work that they were doing.
The legal profession is notoriously demanding. Why add to the burdens that this line of work offers by accepting a job in a practice area that you have no interest in?
I lost two years of my young legal career working at a job in a practice area (and all that came with it) that I loathed disliked. The burden of waking up daily to sharpen skills that I had no interest in maintaining was daunting. The anxiety that came along with trying to transition out of that field was like nothing that I had ever experienced before.
My advice to young lawyers coming fresh out of the bar exam is to sit down and write down the classes that sparked an interest for you in law school. Contact those professors and start asking them about what practice areas pair well with that interest. For example, do you like constitutional law? Do you like property? Perhaps a career in local government law focusing on land use matters is right for you. Did you enjoy your alternative dispute resolution class? Perhaps a career in commercial litigation or construction law is right for you. Then, when it is time to apply for jobs, focus only on sending your applications to those jobs that meet the description of your target practice area. Also, consider working for a large firm with room to foster alternative interests!
If you do end up taking a job that isn’t your passion. Don’t fret, but get out as soon as you can. The longer that you stay in a place that isn’t your passion, the harder it is to transition.
Remember what Abe Lincoln once said: “A lawyer’s time and advice are his stock in trade.” Don’t invest your time and efforts in a practice area that you are not passionate about.
The Lady Esquire 