Skills taught in law school are relevant to many occupations.
Law schools and career advisers tell their students that a law degree will open doors to a wide range of nonlegal careers. However, in a specialized job market, some law school graduates find this claim unrealistic. Lisa Patterson, associate dean for career services at the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, says that people with juris doctorates can find success in alternative jobs by marketing themselves.
Government
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2009, more than 133,000 lawyers worked in non-legal government jobs. Jobs can be administrative, political or related to intelligence and national security. Many federal regulatory agencies, such as the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, want workers with legal backgrounds. Jobs such as director of regulatory compliance, regulatory impact analyst, policy advocate, legislative analyst, speech writer and congressional affairs specialist are a few of the job titles that match with law degrees. Other areas of compatibility include legislative drafting, taxation, antitrust, civil rights and energy.
Corporations
Corporate jobs for people with a legal education are spread across a wide spectrum including human resource management, risk analysis, contract negotiation, procurement, compliance and many others. Legal expertise as well as negotiation and contract analysis skills are important to businesses, whether they are small companies that can benefit from their management executives having legal expertise, or large corporations that have law-related departments such as human resources, planning and development, finance, securities and tax management.
Non-Profit
Grant application requires highly developed writing skills.
Nonprofit corporations have a wide selection of positions attractive to lawyers seeking non-legal jobs. The nonprofit sector has the added benefit working for an issue important to you, such as the environment, homelessness, civil rights or advocacy. Positions in areas such as campaign management, grant writing, legislative review, professional fund-raising and contract negotiation all require the research, analytical and writing skills developed in law school.
Lobbying
A career in lobbying is a good fit for many people with a law school education.
Teye Kutasi, a graduate of Texas Tech University Law School, told the National Law Journal that her law degree has been "hugely beneficial" in her career as a lobbyist with a management consultancy firm. She credits her law degree for giving her added credibility with her colleagues. Lobbying firms seek applicants from law school because they have negotiation and persuasion skills. Lobbying firms need employees who can relate well to clients, understand the laws and policies they will work to influence, as well as understand legal, legislative and political processes. According to the All American League of Lobbyists, the most prevalent background among lobbyists is legal training, more than communications, journalism or even public relations.
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