Career as a Lawyer Essay Example

Knock Knock your career is at the door! Most people from when they are young dream about a career, which usually changes over time. From wanting to be a dancer to a doctor to a teacher, a career has always been something to look forward to. When picking careers at young ages, most do not know the work goes into being successful in the field until they are older hence the jumping from career to career from age to age.  Yet, when one finds his/her calling they feel liberated because it's finding their forever. A career should be something that you can enjoy doing everyday because well you're going to be doing it everyday. For lawyers it is more of a monday through friday type of deal. 

Lawyers have a very interesting route of getting to their career. It starts in college when one chooses a major. The number one rule is do not choose pre law if you want to go to law school. Many law schools advise their future students not to take pre law instead they should take courses that enhance their speaking and writing skills. Most of them recommend just choosing a major you enjoy because your major doesn't really matter in law school. During your four years of college your main goal should be to keep your GPA above a 3.0 and get ready for the LSAT exam which you should take the summer before your senior year. The LSAT is an admissions exam for future law students. “This exam is a skills-based exam designed to test the critical reading and analytical thinking skills that are crucial for success in law school (Kaplan)”.

There are two parts to this exam: one 35 multiple choice question portion and a 2 hour essay portion. The LSAT registration casts roughly $200 and the test is only administered 4 to 5 times a year. The advised study time for the LSAT is 6 months. Think of it this way: you are not learning direct material, you are learning a new way of thinking by looking at things from a different perspective which is needed as a first year student. Additionally during one's junior or senior year of undergrad they should really consider getting involved whether through school clubs or internships because law schools want well-rounded students. Once a satisfactory LSAT score is received one should be on the lookout for law schools that fit their needs and their budget. There are websites like “https://www.lsac.org/choosing-law-school/best-law-school-you” help with the process. 

Once accepted to a law school the first year is the most important. Many law school graduates advise the first year students not to work due to the rigorous schedule ahead. JD Advising advises first year students to,” try to think about what you want to do after law school...be prepared to change up your habits from undergrad...take care of yourself—both physically and mentally...don’t procrastinate...get to know your professors and peers, as the legal world is a small community.” Law school is meant to shape the future lawyers of America in order to “form a more perfect union” all things aside they have an important role and responsibility to society to uphold the law and it should not be easy. To add on law students have rigorous reading and writing assignments that prepares them for future cases. A majority of the time their assignments are them reading than writing a synopsis or possible rebuttals for the case. Law school is a marathon not a sprint. 

The second and third year of law school there are no required courses for students; this is where the student needs to make a choice on the type of lawyer they want to be. This is a very important decision. JD Advisions states, “the law becomes more nuanced and complex. Some of the classes taken, such as Evidence, require the understanding, memorization, and application of seemingly dozens of rules.” To be completely honest insurance, and accident law are very boring and most of the time are just excessive paperwork. The real fun, for most, is criminal defense or sometimes divorce, because it can get ugly. All jokes aside lawyers are a necessity especially in a society where everyone loves to sue. So now after graduating law school it's time to take your pass/fail test the BAR exam. The Bar consists of a two or maybe three day bar examination, one day of which is devoted to a standardized 200-item test covering six areas Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts (Basic Overview). The second day is usually the essay portion which could be anything. Each state has a different Bar exam that needs to be passed in order to practice law in that state. In the article, Studying for the Bar Exam - Bar Study Tips, it states that the average study time to ensure the best result for the bar exam is 400 hours. It is going to be a rigorous fight but it will be worth it. 

Once passing the bar it is time to celebrate, but don’t forget to file you admission application so you can be granted admission to the bar by the State Board of Law Examiners before you can start practicing law. Congratulations you are now a Juris Doctor and a licensed attorney. Now and only now is it time to look for a job and practice law. Lawyer jobs can be found through your run of the mill job sites like Handshake, Linkedin and Indeed. Additionally, your law school should be able to help look for an employer that best fits one's needs. After finding the right employer match that fits your areas of interest let's discuss payment.

According to Indeed the average salary for an attorney in Arizona is $107,000 per year but don’t get your hopes too high that is the average salary and you’re just starting out. The starting salary for an attorney right out of law school is around $75,000 and it just continues to grow throughout the years. 

Becoming a lawyer is a rigourating and rewarding experience though it may get boring you should be proud of how far you have come. You have reached the end of your marathon and get ready for the new chapter!