Brown Boy Goes to Law School

So I went to a networking reception a mid-sized firm here, and here is some advice I found helpful from lawyers who have been in the field for a few years…

A 1980 graduate of Law school had this to say…

When you graduate from law school and it comes time to finally start practicing a particular area of law, do what you love. Do what you enjoy. As cheesy as it sounds, try to minimize the impact of the money factor on your decision. Because if you go into a field of the law that you don’t find appealing yet you chose it because it was the highest offer you received, you will regret it later in life.

Another lawyer with the mid-sized law firm Roetzel & Andress who works in corporate finance law had this to say…

Choose your first practice area wisely, because once you’re practicing for 3 or 4 years, it gets really difficult to change it. (Insert sinister lawyerly laughing.) Sure, once you have even a year or two of experience under your belt, it gets easier to move up to bigger and more lucrative firms, but chances are they will higher you for your experience in the field you’ve been practicing. So it’s possible, but very difficult, to be doing some environmental law out of law school and suddenly deciding you want to practice in corporate law. It’s possible, but it’s really, really difficult. Choose your first practice area wisely.