Your Career Options

Within a traditional legal career path, there are any number of specialty practice areas that may resonate with your interests and training. Alternative legal careers can encompass numerous positions that allow one to utilize their legal training in a nontraditional way. Such positions may be found in the public interest and nonprofit, academic, or government venues, to name but a few. Finally, many former attorneys ultimately choose to seek work outside the legal profession, while continuing to find their legal training to be a great asset.

Traditional Legal Practice

General Info and Resources

Making a Move – Switching Practice Areas (PDF)
Learn about various practice areas through these helpful resources.

Criminal Law

Other Things to Consider

Visit www.yellowpages.com
Go to New York / Government Offices. You can also look under “Government – City, Village, Township”; “Government – County & Parish”; “Government – United States”

Also, remember your local job board and chat rooms. For instance, Vault.com features a “Job Message Board: Government” which may be instrumental.

Don’t overlook the career corner at any bookstore. For those interested in government jobs requiring complex applications, some folks have found interesting Real KSA’s: Knowledge Skills & Abilities for Government Jobs by Anne McKinney (as well as its sister book “Government Job Applications and Federal Resumes”).

Transition from Government into Private Sector
First and foremost, government attorneys should look where other colleagues have gone before them. In other words, spend some time exploring where your former colleagues, who have left government practice for private practice, have gone and reconnect with them, if possible.

Second, to the extent your current government office is working directly with anumber of law firms, reach out to those firms. In other words, do not overlook the obvious. Whether in a legal services organization or government agency, tell your private firm contacts of your interest and ask them for assistance and/or guidance about private opportunities.

Third, join your local Bar Association or community groups that attract a diverse array of practitioners from both government and private practice. As referenced by Villanova University’s Career Transition forum: “Branch out by practice area, diversity, or other facet of your background. The more private attorneys you add to your professional network, the better prepared you will be for your private sector job search.”

Source: www.law.villanova.edu/studentservices/careerstrategy/careertransition.asp

Do not overlook your school’s alumni magazine, which very often features the bios of alumni and their career moves from government to private practice. These bios are instrumental in your own navigation of the legal landscape.

Review websites featuring such topics. The National Law Journal (online) featured a relevant article under its “Trading Places” section (August 13, 2007), which spoke at length about government attorneys’ transition to white collar private practice.

Don’t forget bookstores! The Insider’s Guide to Law Firms by Francis Walsh, Sheila V. Malkani, and Jeanne Bergman is a great insight into New York City law firms, their practices, associates, clients, deals and hiring practices. This book provides keen insight into those firm environments that may be more receptive to a previously government-employed attorney. Remember that, when transitioning to private practice, one must know the value of their current practice area. For instance, government lawyers focusing on litigation, immigration, L&E, environment, white collar, and health care seem to transfer well into private practice. This book will help you hone in on those firms that do such work.

Spotlight on Careers

Jessica Carter
Ron Shapiro
J. Machelle Sweeting
Jason Trujillo

Non-Legal Careers

General Info and Resources

Learn about what you can do with your law degree outside of the legal practice through these helpful resources.

Career Alternatives

Event Recap:”J.D. Preferred:” Using your Legal Skillset to Succeed in Alternative Settings (January 7, 2016)

JD Preferred: 400+ Things You Can do With a Law Degree (Other Than Practice Law)
Published by Federal Reports, Inc.

Non-Legal Careers for Lawyers, 5th Edition, 2006
Gary Munneke
Great opportunities exist for law students and practicing lawyers outside the traditional practice of law. This important resource shows you when and how to choose a nonlegal career; the specialized skills legal training provides; how to plan and conduct a job search; and provides details on careers in business and industry, government and public service, associations and institutions, and entrepreneurial ventures. A resource section provides surveys and listings of nonlegal careers in several categories, and a listing of publishers and suggested readings on nonlegal careers.

Spotlight on Careers

Gene Rachmansky
Mickey Carter
Carol Frohlinger
Lynnore Thames
Jason Trujillo
Bruce Tulgan