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

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.