Law School’s Not For Everyone
The legal field is often seen as somewhat limited in terms of career opportunities. When someone says they want to build a career in law, people often only think about being a lawyer. However, being a lawyer can be quite intellectually demanding and takes a lot of time and resources; in fact, it takes about at least seven years of schooling after high school to finish law school, and you’d have to pass the dreaded Bar exam which has a notoriously low passing rate. Not only that but becoming a successful lawyer requires certain personalities and skills that not everyone has or takes more years to build.
Luckily, if you’re determined to build a career in law, but being a lawyer isn’t exactly your thing, there are a lot of other careers in law for non-lawyers. We’ll be taking a look at currently trending and on-demand legal careers for you to choose from:
Legal Investigator
Legal investigators work closely with attorneys and law firms to search for and compile evidence for the trial. Their duties include locating and interviewing witnesses, obtaining new evidence, verifying existing evidence, file pleadings with court clerks, and even reconstruct crime scenes among others. Legal investigators differ from private investigators as they don’t work for private individuals but for attorneys that represent these private parties. There are criminal investigation certificate courses available online and you wouldn’t need a degree to be one.
E-Discover Professionals
Electronic discovery has become a $2 Billion industry whose main goal is to aid in identifying, preserving, and managing electronically stored information or ESI in litigation. Basically, e-discovery professionals are tech-savvy legal professionals that use technology to find and manage information used in litigation and is considered as a growing aspect of modern-day litigation support. Most e-discovery professionals either have a background in IT, law, or both. Some that enter the profession are paralegals or people with degrees in information science and have undergone legal education seminars and classes.
Jury Consultants
Jury trials depend heavily upon the jury, which is why lawyers take particular focus and interest in jury selection. Jury consultants are human behavior professionals that help attorneys select jurors by providing them expert insight into juror behavior through researching juror backgrounds and creating profiles. If you have a knack towards human behavior and predicting patterns based on one’s personalities and background, then being a jury consultant might just be the job for you. To be a jury consultant, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in psychology, criminology, social science or other related fields, but you’re much more likely to earn more if you have an advanced degree or additional certifications.
Law Firm Marketer
Law firm marketers, otherwise known as legal marketers, are marketing professionals who handle media relations and brand awareness and promotion of law firms. As you know, more and more law firms pop up, and it’s important to stay competitive not only in court but also in the marketing aspect. You’ll need a degree in marketing or a related field together with training on legal ethics. If you’re not into the actual practice of law but wish to help people by connecting them with the right lawyer, then this job has your name on it.
Conclusion
These are a select few of the many other jobs and careers you can get into in the legal field apart from being a lawyer. As such, there are a handful of other available jobs the field of law that you can pick that fits your skill set and interest, so don’t hesitate to explore your options and check out schools and educational institutions that can train and equip you for these jobs in the legal field.
