Life After Law School

by Laura Murray and Sam Burritt

There are many different paths to follow once you have your law degree.

Once you pass the bar, it's time to get to work. You could start by taking an internship or clerkship immediately afterwards. These are great methods of advancing and preparing for your career in law, and some are actually paid positions. Internships place you within a working law firm so that you get an insider's view of what practicing will entail. Clerkships, usually with a judge, afford the clerk a perspective of the law from the highest perch in the courtroom, and are invaluable on a resume.

Graduates can also opt for a post-JD degree, either in practical application or in academic, doctorate level programs. The practical degrees include:

• LL.M.- Master of Laws
• J.M.- Juris Master
• M.C.L.- Master of Comparative Law
• M.J.- Master of Jurisprudence

The research and academic doctorates include:

• J.S.D.- Doctor of Jurisprudence
• S.J.D.- Doctor of Judicial Science
• D.C.L.- Doctor of Comparative Law

Each of these advanced degrees requires additional schooling (one or two years apiece) and peer-reviewed published work on a specialized subject within the law.

Or, you can go to work.

Practicing[/b] Attorneys represent individuals, companies, associations, legal aid societies or government entities. Any and all of these clients can be plaintiffs or defendants in a legal action, and how and when these clients are represented determines a practice area.

A newly minted lawyer's daily routine will be largely determined by his or her practice area. Trial lawyers, or litigation attorneys, appear in court more often. But a young associate still probably won't appear before a judge or jury until several years into practice.

There is a division within the practice area of litigation: criminal or civil. A criminal litigator can work either for the government by representing the state (as a District Attorney), or representing the accused as either a public defender (also employed by the government) or as a private attorney. Civil trial lawyers can represent either a defendant or a plaintiff. Plaintiff attorneys represent those persons who wish to bring forth a claim (sue someone), and can sometimes work on contingency fees (receiving payment only if a favorable verdict is delivered).

Civil lawyers also assist clients in setting up wills and trusts, contracts, real estate transactions and in bankruptcy matters. The great bulk of lawyers out there fall into a civil practice area.

Positions, or One Million Things to Do With a Law Degree

The typical large law firm is a partnership (specifically, a limited liability partnership), and so there are two positions for attorneys: partner and associate. Associates work under the partners (who have a financial stake in the firm), helping with their caseload and occasionally taking cases of their own. Some associates will work for years before making partner. Some never make it. Working in a big firm is only one option for the new lawyer. Some other options are:

• You can go to work for yourself. Finding and landing clients while competing with large firms is the most difficult aspect of this route.
• You can work for the government.
• You can work for a corporate entity as an in-house counsel. You advise on legal matters and practice to a certain extent. You have a guaranteed client, but it's always the same one.
• You can go back to law school to teach.
• You can, if you have the expertise and the tenure, be elected to a judgeship. Judges at many levels of the judiciary system are elected positions, however, and have all the drawbacks you might expect from an elected position. Still, being a judge is widely considered the top of the profession.

The process to becoming a lawyer is a long and hard one, but one that is essentially rewarding.

Qualified Applicants for Part III Examination (April 4, 2014)

Congrats sa lahat ng nkapasa sa PUPCLEE, sana ksama sa list yung mga nakapalitan ko ng emails noon na magte-take din daw ng PUPCLEE. Sana nakatulong yung mga sagot ko sa mga tanong nyo para makapasa. Best of luck, this is just the beginning of your journey :)

Pakiclick nalang nito.

10 Things To Know Before Starting Law School

By RACHEL MYERS

1. Law school is not graduate school.
Ever felt like taking a walk down memory-lane? Well, you’re in luck because the law school experience has more in common with middle school than it does with other graduate programs. On the first day, you enter the building like you own the place. You naively think you already understand the true meaning of life. And then very quickly you discover that you’re actually just an awkward and lowly 6th grader all over again. Thank goodness you can drink this time!

2. Be nice to everyone, and be careful with whom you trust.

Unfortunately, a large group of wannabe lawyers necessarily leads to some vicious drama (like I said, welcome back to your middle school cafeteria). And since gossip spreads like wildfire, everyone in your class will know whether you have a good or bad reputation by the end of the first semester.

3. There will be some reshuffling of friend groups several months into the semester.

Bonds made during orientation will weaken, and you’ll eventually figure out where you fit in. Don’t feel bad when you realize you’re not going to be lifelong BFFs with the person you thought was your soul-twin. It happens to most everyone considering how much time you will end up spending getting to know your classmates.

10 People You Meet in Law School

1. The Child Prodigy

This person knows everything. Just when you think you’ve had all the cases and provisions pulverized and made a ready gun powder for the shoot off on your recitation, she starts discussing some doctrines, you– by the love of The Killers– has missed out. Being friends with the Child Prodigy is two-pronged. She is definitely there to discuss with you the liabilities on Negotiable Instruments; but she’s also there to remind you that sometimes, your best is just not good enough.

2. Ms/Mr. In Denial

So you start asking your classmates as to at what degree are they unprepared, and this In-Denial classmate of yours proudly whines at how little she has read for class. But wait until she gets called to recite and woah! You’d start to mistake her for another Child Prodigy! But no, Ms. In-Denial just likes to play safe. Perfect example of false humility that may start grinding your gears– but soldier, hold your horses! It’s a sem more to go!

Piece of Advice: What to do when you did not study and just want to be absent from class.

You feel like not going to school because you did not study. You say better be absent than get a 5. Wrong. Unless you are really sick, do not absent yourself from class. You will be missing a lot if you do. Besides, everybody has gotten a 5 at a certain point. Don't be discouraged and do not be a perfectionist for no one is. Also, you can always pray that you will not be called to recite specially on cases you failed to read.

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