careers in law other than lawyer (1 Viewer)

[ISeeDumbPeople]

Hi all, I was gonna do law but I don't really wanna be a lawyer. Someone here said that only 40% of law graduates become lawyers. What other careers do people get. I don't really wanna work in the public sector. Does anyone have any hard facts on specific jobs you can count on with a law degree.

 

[avant]

What do you want to be, if not a lawyer?


I was in your shoes when I started at uni - I did Arts/Law thinking that I would do the Law component just because it was interesting & rigorous. I didn't want to be a lawyer, initially. Now that is all I can see myself as. What changed?

1. When you put so much effort into something, you gravitate towards it.
2. Law school teaches you a unique way of thinking, analysing, arguing and evaluating that is difficult to unlearn.
3. Law school is an insular environment.

A law degree is a lot of hard work. Though your university may feed you some token reflective/critical content that looks at the law from an academic standpoint, the majority of the work (and the vast majority of the assessment) will test your substantive knowledge of the law. Most of your classmates will be doing a law degree so that they can be lawyers in future. Thus, even if the content of a law degree suits you, the atmosphere might not.

Just some food for thought.

 

[avant]

to answer your question, a lot of my friends who have graduated and who didn't go into law (either b/c they couldn't get into a good firm or they didn't want to) are working in:
- tax/audit/accounting (top 4 firms, other auditing firms like Pitcher Partners)
- consulting/management consulting (mostly comm/law students)
- finance dept of certain firms (eg General Electric)
- treasury and other public sector (which you don't want)
- academia

generally a law degree is appreciated in any analytical field b/c of law's perceived rigour and high standards - however, the transportability of a law degree (across fields/industries) is somewhat dependent on the prestige of your university.

Still, doing a LLB is a lot of hard work if you're not at all interested in practising law.

 

[Schoey93]

Hi all, I was gonna do law but I don't really wanna be a lawyer. Someone here said that only 40% of law graduates become lawyers. What other careers do people get. I don't really wanna work in the public sector. Does anyone have any hard facts on specific jobs you can count on with a law degree.

The Chaser team all have law degree (I have heard) and they're comedians. So maybe a good knowledge of the law might make you have a humorous outlook on life. You could be a legal comedian, haha

 

[ISeeDumbPeople]

Thanks avant for that info

Obviously I am open to being a lawyer but with there being so many law graduates these days you need alternatives.

So it seems most jobs are in the corporate sector. Would you be able elaborate on this. I know law has a lot of electives in commercial law, so would how would one's career prospects differ from these as opposed to just studying commerce. I studied commerce for a semester but just found it really really boring.

 

[dude01]

Thanks avant for that info

Obviously I am open to being a lawyer but with there being so many law graduates these days you need alternatives.

So it seems most jobs are in the corporate sector. Would you be able elaborate on this. I know law has a lot of electives in commercial law, so would how would one's career prospects differ from these as opposed to just studying commerce. I studied commerce for a semester but just found it really really boring.

If you found first year commerce boring you will absolutely hate later year law subjects such as corporations law, equity and revenue/taxation law.

 

[ISeeDumbPeople]

If you found first year commerce boring you will absolutely hate later year law subjects such as corporations law, equity and revenue/taxation law.

Yeah but whats the difference to studying it via one of these 2 pathways

 

[dste6]

Someone here said that only 40% of law graduates become lawyers.

I believe that I had said something like that, quoted from one of my first year lectures. You have misunderstood though, I didn't say that 40% of grads become lawyers, I said that ' only 40% of grads go on to practice as solicitors/barristers'.

There is a subtle but significant difference.

The definition of a lawyer is someone 'learned in the law', who presumably uses primarily that knowledge in their professional career. It follows that most law graduates will be assume the role of a lawyer in whatever they do...like working within a company/body of their interest (NGO, pharma, consulting, finance, gov department) as an adviser on legal aspects of activities, as a significant but perhaps not sole part of their job description. This is distinct from actually practicing formally as a solicitor in a law firm.

People do of course go on to do any number of jobs completely distinct from law (if that is possible): management (big one), teaching, entrepreneurship...pretty much anything really. But I actually think there would be very few graduates who go on to have nothing to do with 'lawyering' (addressing the legal aspect of an activity) in a broad sense.

If your not interested in being a solicitor, that is understandable and not cause for concern. However, if your not interested in being a lawyer as defined above, imo you shouldn't really do Law.

 

[kaz1]

What about Judges? I'm pretty sure they have law degrees.

 

[Demandred]

What about Judges? I'm pretty sure they have law degrees.

Judges are chosen from the ranks of barristers (usually a SC or QC).

 

[Omnidragon]

Mate you could be a comedian... actually I meant a clown. There're lots here. They'll be lawyers one day though.

 

[ISeeDumbPeople]

Mate you could be a comedian... actually I meant a clown. There're lots here. They'll be lawyers one day though.

This is coming from a guy who chose ANU over UNSW becaues it "sounds cooller"

 

[Omnidragon]

Wtf are you talking about you clown? I went to Melb Uni

 

[rx34]

Lol judging from past posts, omnidragon sounds really smart. Probably a Melb High boy.

 

[Omnidragon]

What past posts? I'm the leader of the clowns, as you'd expect being here

 

[avant]

if he was that smart he wouldn't have gone to melb high and would've gone to a proper school

 

[eschew]

I heard from a person major in economy in my country that there's a occupation called eco-legal consultant(not very sure about the name in english) which supplies some advice concerning corporate strategy, but more focus on legal aspect. i think it's a ideal alternative to the people major in combined degrees(like commerce & law). seldom in my country can do this since our combined degree education is not as developed as its counterpart in australia.

 

[BOSnewbie]

Melbourne High may not be a Melbourne Grammar or Scotch College in terms of prestige, but it is certainly a good school whose name carries significant weight.

On what basis are you suggesting that Melb High is not a 'proper school', and which schools constitute 'proper schools' to you?

if he was that smart he wouldn't have gone to melb high and would've gone to a proper school

 

[Omnidragon]

So many clowns. I didn't go to Melb High.

If avant was smart, he would've realised that

 

[Omnidragon]

Melbourne High may not be a Melbourne Grammar or Scotch College in terms of prestige, but it is certainly a good school whose name carries significant weight.

On what basis are you suggesting that Melb High is not a 'proper school', and which schools constitute 'proper schools' to you?

Proper school? I think Footscary High and Sunshine College are great. Maybe Mt Dandenong High too