The Official Guide to Legal Specialties (Paperback)

~ National Association for Law Placement (Author), NALP (Author) "You may be one of those lucky people who has known you wanted to go to law school ever since you and little your brother..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Whether you're thinking about law school, already a law student or a practicing attorney looking for the right fit, you'll find that the Official Guide to Legal Specialties is filled with practical information about the wide array of legal career options available to you. The book is based on interviews with 130 practicing attorneys in thirty different practice areas. Practice areas range from corporate practice to criminal litigation to intellectual property to environmental law---and everything in between. Some attorneys interviewed work in law firms, others in government agencies, and still others in corporations and public interest organizations. They all have one thing in common---they enjoy their work and look forward to getting up in the morning. As you read this book, you'll hear from attorneys who are passionate about practicing law, and you'll find out what makes their work not just exciting, but rewarding.

To help law students, prospective law students, and law graduates learn about the skills, law school classes and law school experiences that would best prepare them for various practice areas, every attorney interviewed was asked the same set of questions:

Where do attorneys in your practice specialty work?
Who are your clients and what types of cases or issues do you work on?
What daily activities are involved in your practice?
What do you find rewarding about your field of practice?
What path did you take to practice in this specialty area?
What classes and law school experiences (such as internships, club membership, summer work experience, etc.) do you recommend to students?

The Official Guide to Legal Specialties provides you with the information essential to career planning. It will help you identify the skills required by each practice area, and thus help you find the practice area or areas that best fit you. A good fit is the critical step in finding satisfaction in--and passion for--law practice.

From the Author

During the years I spent as an assistant dean of career services at a Chicago law school, I worked with thousands of law students and alumni. I know first hand that finding a legal job is one thing, but finding a truly satisfying job, in which there is a good fit between the student or graduate and the employer, is another.

There are many books that talk about how to look for a legal job. But until now, there has been little information about the available range of legal career options. That why the National Association for Law Placement developed this book.

We spent more than two years (including hours of fascinating face-to-face and telephone interviews) gathering the information we knew students and alumni needed most---and The Official Guide to Legal Specialties is the result.

Each chapter begins with a brief overview of the area of law, such as "What is Real Estate Law?" Then the chapters explore typical daily activities as well as advice for law students, including extensive quotes from the attorneys we interviewed.

I encourage you to explore not just the areas of law that appeal to you at first glance, but additional areas as well. When I was in law school, it never crossed my mind to explore non-litigation careers. I never learned about specialty areas that would make the most of my counseling and relationship building skills. I never even remotely considered a career in estate planning, but, after interviewing the attorneys in the estate planning chapter I learned that it would be a very good match for my skills and interests.

In reading this book, you'll learn that there are satisfied, enthusiastic lawyers in every practice specialty. And you'll be one step closer to finding a legal career that you're passionate about!

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Legal & Professional Publications, Inc.; 1st edition (December 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0159003911
• ISBN-13: 978-0159003916
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #96,584 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good points and bad points, September 29, 2003

By A Customer

This book contains some useful information about various practice areas. However, it also leaves out highly pertinent information.

I am an ex-litigation attorney who left litigation because it was too confrontational. There is not a word in the litigation section of this book about the necessity of confrontation in this practice area. Instead the book talks about how litigation allows lawyers to develop "relationships" with clients.

In general this book discusses the positives of each practice area without discussing the negatives. But the negatives can be highly relevant and very helpful when deciding what area of law is not for you. By reading this book you get the idea that you could enjoy numerous practice areas when this may not in fact be the case. Use the book for the information it does contain, but do so cautiuosly, keeping in mind that you need to dig further to find out the full truth about a practice area in which you are interested.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Today's Most Comprehensive Source on Legal Specialities, April 2, 2001

By	Lara A. Rainhart "Ann R." (Plymouth, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a lawyer and legal recruiter I know how important it is for attorneys to find the right practice area. This book provides the most comprehensive and current information available today about what it's like to practice law and how practice areas differ. Not only does the book provide factual information about the different specialties, it also provides firsthand accounts of the daily lives of practitioners. I strongly recommend this book to current law students, anyone contemplating a career in law and any lawyer considering a practice area change.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very useful book for yourself or to counsel others, January 21, 2004

By A Customer

I work in the career services field and have found this book very helpful in counselling law students. Most law students come into law school with a vague notion of what they want to do, but no sense of what it really means to practice a particular kind of law. Ms. Abrams book gives them a real-world account of what lawyers in each specialty do all day and what they can expect out of their careers. I'd highly recommend this to anyone considering a legal career or anyone helping those who are.