Employment opportunities in the legal sector are expected to grow at an average of 7 percent by 2028, rapidly faster than the other occupational sectors. Fortunately, this is a piece of good news for not only lawyers but anyone interested in pursuing a legal career.
The legal industry is not limited to those with law degrees. There are incredible opportunities that offer lucrative careers for anyone capable of excellent research skills and a keen eye for detail. The integration of technology has created room for law professionals in numerous creative ways. Here are the best prospects for those looking for a career in the legal market.
1. Lawyers
Also called an attorney or a counselor, being a lawyer is the most obvious choice among legal professionals. They advise and represent individuals and businesses, advocate for their rights on legal issues and disputes. A lawyer can specialize in different judicial areas, ranging from criminal, corporate, constitutional, or any authorized classifications.
If lawyers want to take one further step ahead, they can also put their effort into becoming a judge. In most cases, judges are lawyers with exceptional experience in practicing law. They oversee legal proceedings, and the qualifications vary between different courts.
2. Paralegals
Apart from lawyers, paralegals also work closely with the law by assisting lawyers on a variety of tasks. They conduct research, draft or edit legal documents, and manage other administrative tasks. In essence, an efficient paralegal could take care of all things except appearing in court or provide legal advice. The job duties would depend on the type of law and the firm they are working in.
3. Legal Secretaries
Legal secretaries focus on administrative and clerical tasks in a law firm. This position often entails responsibilities between that of a paralegal and an average secretarial role. In addition to the normal assistant toles, legal secretaries also take care of file maintenance, drafting correspondences, and scheduling appointments for lawyers.
4. Trial Consultants
The professional of trial consultants has evolved to become an integral role in assisting lawyers in devising their strategies. They often have backgrounds in clinical psychology or other social sciences such as sociology to employ the complex concepts of analyzing communication in the courtrooms like that of the jury. Trial consultants could also be experts in any other field that is relevant to the particular court case and can offer an advantage to lawyers if their expertise falls into scope.
5. Mediators
Also called arbitrator or conciliator, mediators settle legal disputes outside the courtroom. An increasing number of individuals and corporations are approaching mediators to handle their alternative dispute resolution before proceeding to trial. Their job is to guide the opposing parties to arrive at a compromise while remaining neutral to either side.
6. Compliance Specialist
A compliance specialist overlooks corporate compliance with applicable laws and policies. The career option became popular after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. That established financial regulations and auditing for public companies. Compliance specialists ensure that a company’s operations abide by the laws regulating the particular industry. The employment opportunities are plenty in the corporate domain, to work closely with governmental agencies and monitor documents.
7. E-discovery Professionals
The rapidly growing e-discovery industry has a myriad of applications in the legal market as well. These specialists identify, analyze, and process every detail of evidence for an investigation or in response to a court presentation. The ESI or electronically stored information ranges from emails, databases, media files, websites, or social networks. Preserving the original data is highly crucial in order to eliminate accusations of evidence tampering later during litigation.
8. Legal Education
Lawyers and professionals in the legal industry can also have a career in education. Right from legal college counselors, to visiting faculty on specializations, there is no limit to shift to the educational sphere with sufficient experience and knowledge in the field.
As the legal industry is evolving, there is an increasing demand for support professionals in a wide variety of roles. The list only represents a small number of such employment. A law degree is no longer a prerequisite to land an established role in legal enterprises.
