The Lawyer's Career Change Handbook: More Than 300 Things You Can Do With a Law Degree, Updated and Revised (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The legal and lay communities are finally waking up to an issue that many lawyers have known for some time-we do not all want to..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Ann Landers for lawyers." -- -- Los Angeles Times

Product Description

There Are More Than One Million Lawyers in America

A law degree is not necessarily a ticket to succes, wealth and happiness. Perhaps it's dissatisfaction with the hours, the firm, or the work itself, but every year, more and more lawyers want out. Now there's a real-world primer that can help virtually anyone in this position. Wheather you're merely considering a change or firmly committed to one, The Lawyer's Career Change Handbook provides all the tools and information you need. A surprising number of lawyers in this country have discovered that a law degree is not necessarily a ticket to wealth, success and happiness, and now they want out.

Hindi Greenberg -- founder and president of Lawyers in Transition -- has written an indispensable quidebook for those in that position. Chock full of helpful advice, exercises, listings of resources and real-life stories, The Lawyer's Career Change Handbook provides all the tools needed to help the unsatisfied many who are either considering a new career or actively pursuing one.

This one-of-a-kind volume can help legal professionals identify, target, and get new jobs that best suit their abilities, background, personality and interests, while offering them ways to cope with the inevitable stress of changing fields. And those who wish to remain in the law world will discover invaluable methods for creating more satisfaction in their current fields, for exploring other areas of the law that they may not have previously considered, and for determining if a solo or small practice is the right way to go.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; Updated and revised edition (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380795728
• ISBN-13: 978-0380795727
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #242,900 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

201 of 211 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Fluff, March 18, 2003

By	"darrinpf" (Austin, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This book, like the one by Deborrah Aaron, is at first promising, but ends up as mere fluff. One such author spoke at my law school. Her advice was a joke and a waste of my time and money. These authors are all making money doing what? Selling these books and helping the rest of us "find our passion" in life. The law books are no different than any "resume builder book" you can find for 1/10 of the price. SAVE YOUR MONEY!!! These law books all have one thing in common -- they take you through endless ridiculous skills assessments and other "exercises" designed to "identify your passions," "explore your skills," and have you making stupid charts listing all your best and worst qualities, etc., etc. What every lawyer who wants out of the legal profession wants to know is this: What are the viable jobs where having legal experience or a law degree are going to put me above the rest of the applicants? How do I find those jobs? What are the obstacles I am going to face in trying to get my name in front of the key hiring person? What are the ups and downs of each career? And most importantly, how do I go about getting my foot in the right door? I realize knowing your skills is important, but I can do that with a standard resume builder book for much less time and money.

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Title is Misleading, February 28, 2003

By A Customer

I bought this book hoping for some advice on, as the title suggested, other things I could do with my law degree. Having practiced law for almost three years, I have decided to leave the profession. Therefore, I didn't need advice on whether to leave. However, much of the first half of this book focused on the question of whether you should leave the profession of law (which may be helpful for people who have not yet made this decision.) The remainder of the book was EXTREMELY UNHELPFUL to any reader. When it comes to the "300 things" you can do with a law degree, Ms. Greenberg simply lists other professions that lawyers have held. Very superficial. Don't waste your money.

103 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent tool for anyone interested in a law career., May 20, 1999

By	Susan Tomley ([e-mail]) (Santa Cruz, California, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

I found this to be an excellent book which contains a wealth of information and references, excellent resources and lists of relevant Web sites, books, organizations & other sources for career guidance, job placement & assistance. I've been a lawyer for 20 years. I'd been trying to work through self-assessment in the traditional way together with others who are not lawyers, and was making some progress, but somehow not getting as much out of it as I would have liked. Then I discovered Hindi Greenberg's book - and the whole self-assessment process came alive for me! I felt like Hindi had written the book for ME. I really connected with it, and began recommending it to colleagues & others in the profession. I've just purchased a second copy to send to my niece who is considering going to law school. The book is up-to-date and well researched - concise, stays on point, is easy to read, & is not cumbersome - a great tool for lawyers pondering what to do next with their careers or how to improve satisfaction within the practice of law, or for people considering law school or entering law as a profession. This book is a career management guide geared particularly toward lawyers, either seasoned lawyers wanting to explore options for a second or different career or different area of emphasis, or new lawyers just starting out and wondering what direction they would like to pursue within a legal career. The book is complete, takes a thorough look at the entire career development process, recommends that you start with self-assessment to discover your personal skills, values, interests, and personality traits so that you are equipped to choose an area or specialty within the law that most fits with your personal preferences, temperament and skills. Then it shows you how to conduct self-assessment and guides you through the complete self-assessment process by providing a comprehensive set of exercises to help you discover your interests, assess your skills, think through the changes you want to make and to set about achieving those changes in your career. It provides MORE than other general books regarding traditional career management because it is directed specifically toward lawyers and people considering a legal career. This book is for anyone who wants to manage, or take charge of, their legal career, and it provides excellent guidance in self-assessment to lawyers and non-lawyers, alike. I highly recommend this book to anyone considering a legal career, and to lawyers considering a career change.