For many people, becoming a lawyer is a dream that they work many years towards.
These people want to help those in need, and want to ensure that justice is served. However, there are many aspects of law that one can potentially practice. For example, you could become one of the many medical malpractice attorneys out there, fighting to get victims of malpractice sufficient compensation for their struggles.
Alternatively you could be a criminal defense lawyer, fighting to protect the name and innocence of those that are falsely accused of a crime. Narrowing down what type of law to practice can be a tough decision, and often requires a lot of self reflection. So how can you make a decision on what type of lawyer you want to be? Here’s how to decide what type of law to practice.
Passions and Interests
One of the biggest things that will determine what type of law you practice is your passions and interests. You obviously want to do some type of work that interests and intrigues you, so you’ll likely choose a type of law that has some type of meaning to you. For example, if you’re extremely interested in criminal justice and the wrongfully accused, then you may want to become a public defender or a criminal defense attorney. Alternatively if business and commerce are your passions, then you may want to be involved in the world of business as a corporate lawyer. If you’re becoming a lawyer it's important to identify what you're passionate about and pursue practicing in that field.
Money
Another major factor in what type of law you should practice is the money that you earn in that particular field of law. Although you likely want to pursue something that interests you and inspires passion, you’ll also want to maximize your earnings and allow yourself to live a comfortable life.
For those that would like to pursue careers in the most lucrative fields of law you’ll likely foray into fields like bankruptcy, health care, and real estate. While nearly all lawyers earn a relatively large salary, these particular types of lawyers seem to earn a little bit more money on average than others. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to become a lawyer, and it's entirely reasonable for you to look for a large salary as a reward.
Work Hours
It's no secret that being a lawyer can be a pretty demanding job, however some fields of law are much busier than others. As a result, some forms of law could force you to spend much of your week in the office, having you work for well over forty hours a week. For some people these types of jobs are very unattractive, as a positive work-life balance is very important. However other people may be considered workaholics, constantly wanting to grind and earn money. These people may like the long hours of hard work that is required in certain fields of law and will likely gravitate towards those fields. Certain fields of law require a lot of hours, so if that's something that you’re looking for then you definitely should consider entering those fields.
Consultation and Trial
Something that many people that are going into law don’t consider is how much time a particular field of law spends in consultation and in trial. If you’re an introverted person, you may want to choose a field of law that you can lock yourself away in your office to work on cases. However other more extroverted people may want to choose a job that has a lot of interaction with clients through consultation.
In addition, those that really like to argue and fight may want to be a litigator, constantly trying to argue a case against an opponent. Your personality and the way you like to interact with others has a major role in how successful you are in a particular field of law, so you should definitely match your personality with the type of law you’re entering.