Intellectual Property Law

Lawyers!?!?

What kind of education do you have to have in order to become a lawyer? Describe the work ecthic? Also a daily day at work for a lawyer. Is it a fun or interresting type of job? Would you consider practicing law or taking up journalism is you had the choice?

Public Comments

1. Education- 4 years college, undergrad 3 years law school. Pass the bar exam. It is a very demanding job. Fun is a poor word, challenging is a better word. You're not in it for fun, you're in it because you believe in justice. There are court appearances, but a lot of the daily work involves research and lots of hours in a law library.
2. I think it depends on your personality, as well as the type of law you practice. I agree with the response above, that it is typically a demanding job. It can be fun--depends on whether you have an analytical mind, and enjoy problem solving. And there's something for everyone--you don't have to be out to save the world to be a lawyer. Corporate law, financial law, commercial law--there are lots of options outside of being the next Thurgood Marshall.
3. Ditto and ditto to the responses above. Also keep in mind that the stuff you see on tv is for entertainment and not realistic...unless you're going to be a prosecutor or public defender very very little time is spent in the courtroom even if you are a "trial lawyer"...95% of cases settle b/4 any sort of formal trial/hearing. There's a lot of prestige in the profession and although there are days i'd love to retire (i've been in practice since Oct 06) I really can't imagine myself doing anything else!!
4. I am a trial lawyer. Most days I get to work at about 9 am and leave between 6 pm and 8 pm. I start the day by checking phone messages, emails and mail and see if I need to respond to any of those immediately. Then I cover my hearings and depositions, etc. for the day, look at reports or projects I have to do for upcoming meetings, mediations, etc. I like my job but it is stressful and I get paid to worry about my client's problems so they don't have to. Solving their problems is rewarding but the "business end" of the practice - managing staff, juggling lots of projects at once with staff who tend to chat and be lazy when I am not around, and billing, and having to supervise other attorneys and make sure that assignments I gave to others actually got done isn't something I really like. If I had it to do again, I would rather be a trauma surgeon or an anesthesiologist b/c they really make such a difference in people's lives (more than moving paper). While I love my trials, that is a small part of my actual trial practice and like one of the other attys said, most of my time is spent analzying and summarizing information and giving adjusters advice on what I think we should do with a case and how much it's worth.