Legal Career Options

You went to law school, and perhaps you were sure that you would be a practicing attorney at a great law firm. Perhaps you were offered, and you accepted, a job at a "great" law firm. Now, maybe you’re happy, maybe you’re not. What if you’re not happy and you want to consider other options? What if you never knew what paths were available to you? FindLaw’s Legal Career Options section is here to help, with advice on leaving the law, opening your own law firm, making a lateral move, going in-house, and career paths for students. Read on to discover the many options open to you.

Legal Career Options

Leaving the Law

Opening Your Own Law Firm

How To Make a Lateral Move

Going In House

Career Paths and Options for Students

Learn More About Legal Career Options

Discovering Your Next Career

Maybe you're finding yourself thinking of a career change, perhaps for internal reasons, those that are up to you, such as changing interests, new priorities, or current job and/or supervisor dissatisfaction.
Firm Hopping

Most attorneys from large firms move at least once or twice during their first three to five years of practice. However, if you are looking at your third or fourth firm in your second year of practice something is wrong.
Are You Sure That You Want to Go In-House?

Lawyers call us on a daily basis asking us to find them the 'perfect' in-house opportunity.
Julie Getzels: On the Art of Working as a General Counsel

On a typical day at the office, Julie Getzels might stroll past a few Renoirs, Georges Seurat's "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte," or Grant Wood's "American Gothic" on her way to a board meeting.

Legal Career Options Articles

What Should Young Associates Expect in a Large Firm?

Realizing that getting "The Offer" is everyone's first concern, I was wondering if we could focus on the second greatest concern -- meeting the partner's expectations.

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Should I Stay or Should I Go?: A Recruiter Reflects on an Age-Old Question, Part II

Having an idea of what the next step could be if you do choose to leave law will be necessary for many people.

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To Clerk or Not To Clerk

Every year we receive numerous phone calls from practicing attorneys as well as law students inquiring whether or not they should pursue a clerkship with a judge in order to make themselves more marketable.

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The "Dark Side" of Going In House

The purpose of this article is to provide you with insight as to whether or not you should go in house. Many attorneys claim that going in house was their best career move. Conversely, some attorneys claim it was their biggest career mistake.

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Should I Stay or Should I Go?: A Recruiter Reflects on an Age-Old Question

Should I stay or should I go? I found myself asking this very question at a very early stage in my legal career. If you are reading this, I assume you are also pondering whether or not you should stay in the legal profession.

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