Easiest area of law to practice?

[Grawlix]

Afternoon everyone! I'm new here but there seems to be a number of attorneys in this forum and I have some questions for them (don't worry, it's not legal advice).

I am a 3L in CA and I am about to take the bar examination in February of 2010. After 3 years of law school and 4 years in the Marines, slavery and drudgery are high on my "avoid at all cost" list. I work at a law firm right now and I absolutely HATE it.

Thus, I am looking for the easiest area of law to practice. There are lots of different interpretations on what "easy" means. My definition of easy = low stress, relatively easy substantive law, and minimal procedural headaches.

I know, I know....I'm in the wrong profession, nothing in the law is easy, etc. But in your honest opinion what type of law would give you the best quality of life?

[Shellhead]

I'm not an attorney, but I worked as the accountant at a law firm and then later another one, back in the '90s. Based on what I saw, lawyers who worked in dry but complex areas involving estate planning and tax law seemed relatively happy. Their work was dull, but fairly lucrative and not particularly stressful. Everybody else seemed less happy, especially the ones dealing with family law, employment law, criminal law (either prosecution or defense) and personal injury. The first firm that I worked at had three attorneys who worked part-time as prosecutors at a county courthouse, and they sometimes seemed really stressed out.

[Mac Danny]

Gravity.


It's always on, even on weekends!

[Slam_Bradley]

I know, I know....I'm in the wrong profession, nothing in the law is easy, etc. But in your honest opinion what type of law would give you the best quality of life?


Lord I wish I knew.

To some extent it probably depends on your personality. I've tried private practice twice and hated it both times. I liked being a prosecutor though the politics could be hell. I'm ok with being a defense attorney. There isn't enough money in the world to get me to do personal injuries on either side.

I suspect if a guy could make a living doing estate planning and/or drafting contracts that wouldn't be bad, though it would be boring as hell.

Personally, I'd just like a do-over and not have gone to law school.

[Ray R.]

Lord I wish I knew.

To some extent it probably depends on your personality. I've tried private practice twice and hated it both times. I liked being a prosecutor though the politics could be hell. I'm ok with being a defense attorney. There isn't enough money in the world to get me to do personal injuries on either side.

I suspect if a guy could make a living doing estate planning and/or drafting contracts that wouldn't be bad, though it would be boring as hell.

Personally, I'd just like a do-over and not have gone to law school.

I'm thinking you would have made either a good bounty hunter or the owner of a used book store, or both.

WE FIND BAD DUDES AND RARE FOLIOS!

[Slam_Bradley]

I'm thinking you would have made either a good bounty hunter or the owner of a used book store, or both.

WE FIND BAD DUDES AND RARE FOLIOS!


I'd love to own a used book-store.


Actually I think I probably should have been a history professor. Which is what Nathan wants to be. Good kid. Takes after me.

[Ray R.]

I'd love to own a used book-store.


Actually I think I probably should have been a history professor. Which is what Nathan wants to be. Good kid. Takes after me.

Ah, academia. I often thought about what would have happened if I took that route myself.

I still want to own a used bookstore. But by the time I can afford it, I wonder how many people will still read books.

Maybe I can sell Kindles.

[Loren]

I'm thinking you would have made either a good bounty hunter or the owner of a used book store, or both.

WE FIND BAD DUDES AND RARE FOLIOS!

'Books and Crooks,' on the corner of 5th and Elm.

[Slam_Bradley]

Ah, academia. I often thought about what would have happened if I took that route myself.

I still want to own a used bookstore. But by the time I can afford it, I wonder how many people will still read books.

Maybe I can sell Kindles.


Hmmmm...the used Kindle market.

No resale value in e-books...that way lies copyright problems.

[Grawlix]

Personally, I'd just like a do-over and not have gone to law school.

God. I totally agree with you, except that I haven't even started my practice yet.

The debt is suffocating, the work is difficult in a non-satisfying way, and there is so much pressure to succeed. Even if I wanted to quit, everyone I know is so proud of me and expects me to be SO successful.

This thread is my attempt to salvage my opinion of the law and my decision to go to law school. As it stands, I believe law school (and to some extent higher education in America) is a fraud on the middle class. Promises of success and wealth, 100K+ in incurred debt, and crappy job prospects. If law school was anything else, someone would sue for misrepresentation.

Anyway, thanks for the response Slam. It made me realize the fears I have are justified.

BTW: I was thinking Immigration Law or something with tons of transactional work would be good. Although estate-planning and contractual work would probably be pretty "easy" as well.

I should have just became a security guard or something. Decent pay and lots of standing around and closed circuit TV watching.

[OzBat!]

I realise I'm in Australia so it doesn't exactly translate, but the public sector also includes state and federal government departments who all have their own legal departments. Often it's heavily policy-wonk related, but except in exceptional circumstances, you'd not be involved in the nastier side of the court system.

I'm at the Australian Communications and Media Authority, and our lawyers double check media releases, give opinions on policy or proposed legislative amendments, interpret how our specific acts of parliament would affect different operational decisions, etc. We cover Internet, broadcasting, radiocommunications, telecommunications... the field is vast, and there's legal people specialising in different areas.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Ah, academia. I often thought about what would have happened if I took that route myself.

I still want to own a used bookstore. But by the time I can afford it, I wonder how many people will still read books.


That same thing seems to get in the way of a lot of my dream 'things I could do'.
Damn near everyone seems to have been stable up until ten years ago, and is now all in danger of fading!

[Corrina]

My husband is a lawyer and he works as in-house counsel for a big insurance company, in the bond division. Which means he basically coordinates all the lawyers/insurance people, rather than writing briefs and stuff.

A decent amount of responsibility but very little weekend work and he's home by 6:30 p.m. every night.

The tradeoff is the pay. If he'd stayed in private practice, he'd be making double what he is right now. Of course, he might have also had a heart attack. (He did litigation work--mostly civil complaints in many areas, including personal injury.)

The sister is a honors graduate from Georgetown University. She did the Manhattan law firms stuff for ten years. Now she works for OSHA, handling litigation against those who break gov't regulations.

A much less stressful and more interesting job but, again, the tradeoff is money.

Whatever you decide, if you go for a less hours or lower stress, you're probably talking substantially less money.

Bankruptcy work is probably picking up, though.

[RolandJP]

Easiest and Sexiest law practice.

Entertainment Law. you know, clearing samples and negotiating contracts.

I have a cousin in this field, and the perks are outrageous.

[Winslow]

I worked as an expert witness in construction litigation for a decade or so.

It sucked.

I now teach high school math.

I'm not sure what to tell you ... maybe try to practice in something you care about and it might take the sting out of the work.

[Kees_L]

I'm thinking you would have made either a good bounty hunter or the owner of a used book store, or both.

WE FIND BAD DUDES AND RARE FOLIOS!

Now that's a busyness. Most venerable :cool:.

But yeah, I would listen to Winslow. Pick a field you like.
And maybe consider basic job routine: would you like to take on cases? Would you like to prepare cases? Or would you rather advise. Maybe like stressed out big shot types, on the virge of crying - I would pick such I guess :tongue:. Although advisin' might be cleaning up other peoples messes too. Maybe mediation would be easier, but perhaps likely tedious also?

Maybe sexy perks will be good, but from what I'm hearing a good enough or even 'fun' job might outweigh such. I mean a job is a job: you have to be showing up on a regular basis.
Not that I have "flawless expertise" or anything. Far from it. I'm no more than law-abiding, don't save lives, am not allowed to handle uranium (well that will save lives at least). And my perks are basically pay, (non-free) parking space and a customizable coffee mug, plus for retirement likely a handshake.

[Slam_Bradley]

BTW: I was thinking Immigration Law or something with tons of transactional work would be good. Although estate-planning and contractual work would probably be pretty "easy" as well.

I should have just became a security guard or something. Decent pay and lots of standing around and closed circuit TV watching.


I think one of the problems is that people get into law for the wrong reasons...or no reason at all. I couldn't find a decent job with my degree so I went to law school. With absolutely no idea what "being a lawyer" entailed. I think that's not at all unusual. I wish you luck. It's certainly possible that you'll find your niche and be happy. Personally I enjoyed the last job I had before going to law-school, delivering for an express company, a lot more.

[Shellhead]

I think one of the problems is that people get into law for the wrong reasons...or no reason at all. I couldn't find a decent job with my degree so I went to law school. With absolutely no idea what "being a lawyer" entailed. I think that's not at all unusual. I wish you luck. It's certainly possible that you'll find your niche and be happy. Personally I enjoyed the last job I had before going to law-school, delivering for an express company, a lot more.

The attorneys that I knew generally fell into two groups when it came to motivation: those who sought Justice and those in it for the money. The first group tended to tackle the less lucrative areas of law.

[mgs]

Based on what I saw, lawyers who worked in dry but complex areas involving estate planning and tax law seemed relatively happy. Their work was dull, but fairly lucrative and not particularly stressful.
The thing is, 'estate planning' is considered part of family law. And that is sometimes 'easy' but lots of times not. As you deal with family relationships and that's never easy. Either members are passionate about getting theirs, or they are unwilling or unhappy participants, etc. And lots of times, people just outright lie. And you can't find them, etc. It's a bit like detective work trying to track down some of the people to make those things work properly.

[section 8]

Interesting story, I have a Medical Malpractice Attorney on my mother's side of the family, and an Orthopedic Surgeon on my father's side.

In fact I have about six friends/ family members that are practicing attorneys.

Back t the topic at hand
I never heard that any area is "easier" but that it really depends on your interests. If you work in Family law, but you are interested in Criminal Law, then you may need to re evaluate a few things

[K'Nort]

My husband is a lawyer and he works as in-house counsel for a big insurance company, in the bond division. Which means he basically coordinates all the lawyers/insurance people, rather than writing briefs and stuff.

A decent amount of responsibility but very little weekend work and he's home by 6:30 p.m. every night.

Yeah, our corporate counsel was the most relaxed employee we had. One of the best-paid as well, since they couldn't really put him on commission.

[Grawlix]

Thanks for the advice everyone. It helped me form a clear picture of what I require for job satisfaction.

I did not go to law school for the money, more for the challenge and perceived ability to manipulate scenarios in my favor (I guess that would fall into Slam's "no reason at all" category). I believe the previous poster is also right about the passionate pursuit of justice and job satisfaction. I'm passionate about race relations, so I think I can do something with that.

I personally like the advising portion of legal work, so a transactional practice might be best for me. I may be bored shuffling papers all day, but bored rarely = stressful.

A lot of my difficulty is probably because I work at a law firm. I have previously interned at a non-profit, for the state of California, and for a solo practitioner and did not mind it at all. The cut throat aspect of a firm (billable hours, pressure to be perfect, etc.) is probably souring my experience with the law.

Conclusion from gathered advice: Race Relations + Justice + Transactional work + Boring = Immigration Law (If i concentrate on visa filings and the naturalization process and not deportation defense).

Anyway, I appreciate all the well wishing. It made me feel better about my situation. Thanks.