Legal Guide

4 Reasons to Consider a Legal Career

You might have thought about becoming a lawyer before. The law can certainly be a profession that can support yourself and your family, and you might find that it fulfills you as well. Some individuals seem like tailor-made lawyers, and perhaps you are one of them.

Let’s review some of the reasons you may want to consider a law career. It’s not for everyone, but you might discover that it’s the best option for you as you get ready to embark on your professional life.

You Can Help People

People often need to find a lawyer, regardless of what’s happening in their life. Maybe they need a lawyer because:

  • They’re about to buy a new home
  • They are facing criminal charges
  • They need to sue someone

Someone might need a lawyer in either good times or bad. You might come to someone’s aid when they’re about to buy a house after years of living in tiny apartments. If so, they’re probably thrilled, and you get to help them take this next step.

Alternatively, they might have been in a traumatic car crash, and they’re confident it was the other driver’s fault. You can help them seek justice if the other driver consumed alcohol before driving, or they let a text message distract them.

You can help an individual or family through their next phase, and they’ll be glad you were there for them. You should feel satisfied with your profession at the day’s end.

You Can Make a Lot of Money

Some lawyers do the job for charitable reasons. You might become a public defender, which is undoubtedly noble, but you won’t make very much money that way. However, you might become:

  • A highly-paid trial lawyer
  • A corporate lawyer  

These are some of the law’s areas where you can make a great deal of money if you’d care to take your practice in those directions. Some lawyers make six figures per year or more.

If that’s what you want, you may have to represent some individuals or corporations that do unscrupulous things. You might need to be okay with working on behalf of people or entities who commit acts with which you might not agree.

Still, if making money is your most pressing interest, you can do that. You can join the world’s elite if you’re good at what you do.

Individuals or Entities Can Pay You to Argue

Maybe you grew up with some siblings, and you were always arguing with them. Perhaps you joined the debate team at a young age, and you liked demolishing opposing viewpoints.

If you’re a trial lawyer, it pays to have a contentious personality. If you’re a contrarian, you might be perfect for this sort of job.

You must be ready at all times to argue whether the facts are entirely on your side or not. If you want to get a client off the hook, for instance, all you have to do is create reasonable doubt.

If you’re persuasive and know how to talk circles around people, a lawyer might well be your dream job. You can help people or corporations, but you can also enjoy arguing all day and getting paid well for it.

You Can Get Famous

Some people want to become lawyers because they want to help others, while others want to make money and ascend in society. However, still others get into the legal profession because they want their name up there in lights.

You might not ever be a famous actor or musician, but some lawyers achieve notoriety that’s not far off from that. Consider Johnnie Cochran, who became a household name during the O.J. Simpson trial. Think about Rudy Giuliani, who became mayor of New York.

The law can be a way for you to achieve fame, and you don’t need to have movie-star good looks or a silky-smooth voice to get on TV or magazine covers. If you’re the lawyer in an infamous trial, even if you lose, you can probably get a book deal out of it.

If you want to be an attorney, regardless of your reasons, you do need to pass the bar, and it’s not easy. You’ll have to study hard for several years, during which time you probably won’t see much of your family and friends.

If you do pass the bar, you can figure out the next steps to take. Find the right kind of law for you, and carve out your place there.


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