An unprecedented account of social stratification within the US legal profession. How do race, class, gender, and law school status condition the career trajectories of lawyers? And how do professionals then navigate these parameters? The Making of Lawyers’ Careers provides an unprecedented account of the last two decades of the legal profession in the US, offering a data-backed look at the structure of the profession and the inequalities that early-career lawyers face across race, gender, and class distinctions. Starting in 2000, the authors collected over 10,000 survey responses from more than 5,000 lawyers, following these lawyers through the first twenty years of their careers. They also interviewed more than two hundred lawyers and drew insights from their individual stories, contextualizing data with theory and close attention to the features of a market-driven legal profession. Their findings show that lawyers’ careers both reflect and reproduce inequalities within society writ large. They also reveal how individuals exercise agency despite these constraints.

Choosing a legal career that fits a student's personality, skillset, and aspirations is the most important and difficult decision a law student faces, yet only a small number of law schools incorporate career-planning into their curriculums. Law Jobs: The Complete Guide seeks to fill the gap. Written by three award-winning professors, Law Jobs is a comprehensive, reader-friendly guide to every type of legal career. Packed with authoritative research and featuring comments from more than 150 lawyers who do the jobs, Law Jobs offers in-depth exploration of each career option, including general background, pros and cons, day in the life descriptions, job availability, compensation, prospects for advancement, diversity, and how students can best position themselves for opportunities in the field. Covered jobs include: Large and Medium-Sized Law Firms Small Firms and Solo Practitioners In-House and Other Corporate Counsel Government Agency Lawyers Non-Governmental Public Interest Law Prosecutors and Public Defenders Private Criminal Defense JD Advantage Jobs Contract (Freelance) Lawyering Judges, Mediators, and Arbitrators Judicial Law Clerks Legal Academic Jobs Other chapters address lawyer happiness, the rapidly changing face of the legal profession due to technology and other forces, the division between litigation and transactional law, and the top-50 legal specialty areas. Together, the authors have received more than thirty awards for teaching and research, and have written extensively about law students and lawyers in books such as 1L of a Ride (McClurg), A Lawyer Writes (Coughlin), and The Happy Lawyer (Levit).

This book addresses the difficult decisions in the life of law students, graduates and young law professionals in deciding the area of legal practice to pursue as a career. The number of legal fields and subfields is over one hundred, making it virtually impossible for an upcoming lawyer to explore all of these career avenues. Many students finish law school with little understanding of what specific law careers involve, for example, or what sports or space lawyers routinely do. This book highlights the time-consuming nature of law education and training that causes a lack of experience in legal fields as being able to successfully determine the right legal profession for the student. Finding a law career that is a significant source of satisfaction is a function of serious thinking and active research, which the current university to legal practice does not facilitate. This book is a practical guide for any student or current lawyer who is deciding and evaluating their future legal profession.

VGM Professional Careers series presents expert guidance on exploring and choosing the perfect job. Whether they are college students planning a future, or professionals looking to change fields, this series offers: Specific information on each profession, career choices within each field, details on responsibilities, education, and training required, information on the demands of different careers, and much more.

Covering the often frustrating process of researching and securing a law firm job and how to succeed once a job is secured, this is a mentoring guide for new lawyers at the beginning stages of their careers. It embodies a collective wisdom about the things lawyers wished they knew at the beginning of their careers, rather than the end. Subjects covered include traditional and creative job hunting, writing resumes and cover letters, first and second interviews, and developing relationships with firms as a summer associate. Using real-life examples, this reference also focuses on the ultimate goal of being a satisfied and fulfilled lawyer and discusses many of the daily workplace issues that new lawyers are often afraid to talk about -- handling firm partners and assignments, courtroom etiquette, organisational tools, and dating within the firm.

Transform your legal education into a successful and fulfilling legal career In How to Be a Lawyer: The Path from Law School to Success, a team of veteran lawyers and entrepreneurs delivers an eye-opening discussion of how to translate your years of training and education into a running start in the world of practice. The book bridges the gap between law school and practice, whether you hope to be a big firm transactional attorney, a solo criminal lawyer, work for the government or any other legal profession. You’ll discover how you can use what you learned in law school and how you can develop the real skills you’ll need as you deal with clients and colleagues. The authors explain what your professors won’t tell you in law school and what employers and clients will actually expect from you. You’ll also find: Case studies and guest chapters describing the transition to major areas of law and how it can and should affect your law school decision making Expert advice on making your first job a successful one Guidance on how to avoid the most common career pitfalls and client mistakes Unfiltered opinions from clients about what they really think about lawyers An ideal resource for aspiring and current law students and early career lawyers, How to Be a Lawyer is the practical blueprint you need to build your legal career from scratch.

A career as a lawyer is an exciting one! But do you really know what it takes to become one? This book takes you inside the career and shows you the day and the life of a lawyer. Inside you’ll learn what they do, what training is required, what the future holds, and how you can become one!

You get good grades in college, pay a small fortune to put yourself through law school, study hard to pass the bar exam, and finally land a high-paying job in a prestigious firm. You're happy, right? Not really. Oh, it beats laying asphalt, but after all your hard work, you expected more from your job. What gives? The Happy Lawyer examines the causes of dissatisfaction among lawyers, and then charts possible paths to happier and more fulfilling careers in law. Eschewing a one-size-fits-all approach, it shows how maximizing our chances for achieving happiness depends on understanding our own personality types, values, strengths, and interests. Covering everything from brain chemistry and the science of happiness to the workings of the modern law firm, Nancy Levit and Doug Linder provide invaluable insights for both aspiring and working lawyers. For law students, they offer surprising suggestions for selecting a law school that maximizes your long-term happiness prospects. For those about to embark on a legal career, they tell you what happiness research says about which potential jobs hold the most promise. For working lawyers, they offer a handy toolbox--a set of easily understandable steps--that can boost career happiness. Finally, for firm managers, they offer a range of approaches for remaking a firm into a more satisfying workplace. Read this book and you will know whether you are more likely to be a happy lawyer at age 30 or age 60, why you can tell a lot about a firm from looking at its walls and windows, whether a 10 percent raise or a new office with a view does more for your happiness, and whether the happiness prospects are better in large or small firms. No book can guarantee a happier career, but for lawyers of all ages and stripes, The Happy Lawyer may give you your best shot.

Law school administrators around the country were asked "Where do your happiest graduates work?" The responses revealed the employers profiled in this publication. You'll learn about a variety of places, including the 250 best law firms to work for, traditional and non-traditional employers, glamorous sports and entertainment lawyers, or other jobs that sound too good to be true, as well as companies where law graduates love to work. Beyond learning about incredible employers, you'll also learn expert tips for making the most of your job, no matter where you work. For additional career resources, visit the AttorneyJobs Web site.