Although most law school graduates go on to take their state's bar examination and work as lawyers, other careers available to persons holding Juris Doctorates. Many of these careers do not require licensure, making them well-suited to law school graduates who are not yet ready to take the bar exam or who may be disqualified from practicing law due to personal legal problems.
Consulting
Law school graduates may work as consultants for private corporations and law firms. Legal consults may perform a variety of work, including drafting contracts, briefs and memos as a member of a private corporation's legal department.
Private legal consultants may also conduct research on best legal practices and help their employers evaluate the risks and ramifications of corporate decisions. They may also work in human resources departments, developing interview questions and recruitment policies that are in compliance with anti-discrimination laws.
Other law school graduates choose to work for specialized legal consulting firms that help lawyers and law firms prepare for trials. These litigation consultants may help lawyers develop strategies for trial, including leading focus groups to gauge public opinion on the issues surrounding the trial.
Legal Writing and Editing
Legal editors and writers produce a range of materials on the law, including law school textbooks, case-law anthologies and summaries of new laws and regulations. Law school graduates who work as writers may also write plain-language guides to legal issues or assist in producing "do-it-yourself" kits to help non-lawyers handle basic legal matters such as divorces and estate planning.
Law school graduates interested in non-legal writing may choose to write for newspapers and magazines analyzing current developments in the law and reporting on notable cases.
Alternative Careers
Law school graduates who are interested in a specialized field may use their Juris Doctorate to build on their existing professional career. For instance, career social workers can use their law degree to manage an adoption agency, while engineers with law degrees may apply their legal knowledge to the patent process.
Law school graduates may also use their doctoral level credentials to work in academia, instructing students on the legal process and conducting academic studies on law, government and the Constitution.
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