Legal Degree and More

You have recently graduated and have attained a Juris Doctorate, simply put, you are now a lawyer. This can open up several avenues for your path toward a career. Most graduates with a Juris Doctorate will become the obvious, a lawyer. But others, interestingly enough, will pursue other types of careers using their legal training. Employers understand that those receiving a law degree are intelligent and have better than average writing skills. Knowledge of legal principles is useful in just about every profession. Many may even use their legal degrees to start their own business.

Most law graduates, however, will practice law. There are many different kinds of law. The jobs in these diverse specialties can vary widely. Only a small percentage of lawyers actually become a high-powered corporate attorney or a defense attorney. Federal and state government agencies employ lawyers of all types. Most graduates of law will find a field that is suitable for their strengths and interests.

The activities of corporations often generate the need for legal analysis or litigation, and lawyers find that corporations are best able to compensate them for their knowledge. Many people with a law degree ultimately go into business for themselves in any number of fields. The practical understanding of how law and business interact often gained both in law school and in practice, makes some former law students especially focused and efficient business owners.

As most of us know, most politicians and elected officials have law degrees. State and federal legislatures are packed with lawyers at every level of government. There are many who choose not to go down that path and are satisfied to be staffers and on-air commentators. While you do not need a law degree to work as a mediator, knowledge of the law will certainly benefit you during the mediation process. If you are interested in sports, and want to represent professional athletes, a legal degree will be necessary. Every athlete needs quality legal representation. Note that there are lawyers with their athletic clients every step of the way usually beginning at the collegiate level.

Your degree will have given you a considerable knowledge of the law and the land, but in addition to this, you will have learned an inordinate amount of research and study skills along the way. Other essential skills are critical thinking and problem solving. There are many roads to travel with that Juris doctorate certificate. There is no reason to think that it is a waste of time to go to law school. There ARE options.

Source: Nicholson, Joseph. “Things to Do With a Law Degree | EHow.” EHow. Demand Media, 19 July 2009. Web. 19 May 2013