English Assignment

Hi Laura,
I am an attorney, I practiced for 5 years before I went on leave to take care of my son. There are many many positive and negative aspects of being an attorney, as there are for any profession. I'll just tell you a few that I have found in my experience.

Positive:
1) At least in CA lawyers are in demand so finding employment (if you are very open to different fields of law and you are open to moving to more remote cities) is not extremely difficult if you are diligent in looking.

2) Being an attorney can be very rewarding. If you are able to obtain a successful outcome it can be a very good feeling to know that your hard work paid off and a judge or jury was persuaded by your written or spoken word.

3) Sometimes being a lawyer, just by having that title, can open doors for you. People are more willing to listen to your opinions or take your professional or even personal advice knowing that you completed your education and knowing your level of experience.

4) Being a lawyer is challenging but it can be fun. Practicing law requires you to be strategic in addition to knowing the law. Sometimes coming up with your strategy on a case can be enjoyable.

Negative:

1) Being a lawyer requires many years of schooling and hard work. There is law school then you must pass the bar in the state that you wish to practice. After that you need to find a job and in the beginning you likely will work very long hours.

2) Representing a client can be difficult. You may not always like your client but you have to find a way to respectfully deal with the person and represent and advocate for them to the fullest.

3) Sometimes you may not get the result you believe you should have gotten in a case and it can be frustrating. You may think that you were absolutely in the right but the judge or jury may not have seen it that way and you could end up feeling defeated.

4) Practicing law requires a lot of patience. Things do not always go smoothly and you must be ready for bumps along the way.

I've been practicing as an attorney in Silicon Valley for over 12 years. I negotiate really big deals between companies.

• There are many different areas of law that you can specialize in. You can find an area of law that focuses on things you're passionate about.


• Having a law degree opens up the possibilities for many different careers--not just practicing law. You can teach, go into the real estate industry, become a lobbyist, work for the government, etc.


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  If you enjoy learning, a career in the legal field is the right place to be. The law is always changing

  
  


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  Going to law school doesn't mean you actually know anything about the law. You have to start at the bottom and work your way up.

  
  


• The legal industry is a client service business. You need to keep your clients happy. Sometimes that means dropping everything and working a lot of late hours to manage a crisis.

FIRST: you may get more attention from lawyers if you tag your question with the word "LAWYER" not "LAWYERR" that you have right now.

I am not a lawyer, but my suggestion would be for you to research law careers and you might find some career websites that have already answered this question for students who are interested in becoming lawyers.