Lawyer-y type people - law student needing some career advice

[beansmum]

I'm a 4th year LLB student (in NZ, but I'd imagine any advice would apply here as well). I'm having a slight panic because I don't have A Plan. I don't really know what I want to do with my degree and I'm worried that I'm narrowing my options by not choosing a range of courses.

Basically, I'm wondering if it matters at all what subjects you choose at uni? Will employers reject me because I've missed a particular area? (They'll probably reject me because I'm a 30yo single mum with no work experience, but that problem can't really be fixed). Is it fairly easy to change direction once you graduate?

I've done all the compulsory stuff (public, contract, crimes, land, equity and succession, torts) and I now have two years to choose my own courses (well, 1 1/2 years left now). I have chosen almost at random, going for lecturers I like and subjects that particularly interested me, and I've ended up doing mainly criminal law and human rights subjects. Is this going to limit my choices? Do I need to figure out what I want to do now, or can it wait?

Help!

Don't worry. Any lawyer will tell you that everything you study on your degree and at law school is a complete waste of time and irrelevant to your actual work as a lawyer!

HTH

There is a fair amount of truth in this. The most important skills you will learn at uni are how to research, how to think critically and how to write clearly. Laws change frequently and often dramatically. If you are relying on knowledge you gained at uni past your first year in practice, you will be a pretty out of date lawyer. Do whatever interests you and what you feel you have an aptitude for.

In the uk you do not even need to do a law degree to become a lawyer. Hence I doubt that, in the case of a law student, the particular papers you choose would make much difference. When you apply for a job you will be asked at interview why you applied for the particular job so you will need some story about why the particular type of law they do is of interest, but doing a particular paper is by no means the only way, otherwise non law grads would not get jobs.

The message so far seems to be not to worry. Good. Wasn't looking forward to forcing myself to branch out.

I'm still slightly concerned at the lack of a Plan - is not having any idea what I'm going to do with my degree/life something I should be worried about? Law degrees are useful aren't they? I mean, generally, not just for lawyers.

I think that most people naturally fall either into the camp of Having a Plan, or Seeing Where Life Takes you, and that neither is more 'correct' than the other.

It is a good idea, when thinking about what to do after Uni, to try to think carefully about which bits of your course you have most enjoyed and have caught your interest. What was the reason that you decided to study law in the first place? Are you interested in helping people resolve their problems or are you more interested in how the law works as a process and solving legal puzzles? Do you see yourself working in a business environment or not?

It is a good idea to do as much work experience as you can. Maybe a couple of different solicitors firms in different areas of law, a week in barristers chambers (if you have the same separated system as in the UK). A law degree will hold you in good stead for almost any career. You could maybe think about probations services, or working for a human rights NGO. If you are attracted to a business environment, jobs in human resources and procurement both need an understanding of the law.

Rather than rushing straight on to the next stage of your studies without having a clear idea of what you want to do, maybe you could consider taking a year out to work for a temping agency. This would give you exposure to a range of jobs, and would make it easier for you to take several weeks off to do more focussed work experience.

I hope this is of some help. If you want to get more advice and opinions generally on whether it is necessary to Have a Plan, or how to best find what you want to do if you don't, I would suggest posting in a busier forum such as Chat.

I know someone who works in business development/project management who did law at university and it's been very useful to her.

I'm going to echo what everyone else has said in that I would not worry too much that the courses you study at university will drive you toward a particular area because you can always say that, for example, you studied family law but realised it wasn't for you because of a, b and c and you find criminal law more interesting because of x, y and z.

In addition to this, I work as a paralegal. My superviser (who is a solicitor of several years' post-qualification experience) worked in immigration law for several years before moving to another area. Likewise, I know people who went from full-service firms to specialist firms upon qualification.

If I were you I would try to attend any legal career fairs held at your university or law firms' open days/recruitment seminars so you can directly ask recruiters what they think - after all, they're the ones whose opinion matters the most.