What Can You Do With a Law Degree?
A law degree is a powerful asset that opens doors to a wide variety of interesting careers. Contrary to popular belief, a law degree does not limit you to being a practicing attorney in a law firm. There are many other options you can pursue with a JD or LLB.
In this comprehensive guide, we will explore all the things you can do with a law degree, including diverse career paths in law, government, business, education, and non-profit sectors.
Careers Directly Related to Law Degree
Not surprisingly, most law graduates end up building careers directly related to their legal education and training. Here are some of the most common law-related career options with a law degree.
1. Practicing Lawyer
Becoming a practicing lawyer in legal firms or in-house legal teams is the most obvious career choice after finishing law school. This diverse field offers varied work options from criminal law to corporate law across private practice, public sector, or government legal teams.
Lawyers utilize their legal expertise to provide clients with legal advice and services like litigation, drafting contracts, mergers and acquisitions, patent filing, etc. Their day-to-day work involves research, analysis, writing legal briefs, preparing documents, and representing clients.
2. Judge
Judges interpret the law while presiding over legal disputes in courts. They analyze evidence, arguments, and testimonies to make legal rulings. Judges are often appointed or elected after years of experience practicing law.
The judiciary is a prestigious career option for law graduates interested in public service and policymaking. Judges enjoy good compensation, benefits, and job security.
3. Paralegal
Paralegals are legal professionals who assist lawyers in their legal work. The demand for trained paralegals who can manage routine legal tasks is growing rapidly.
The paralegal career offers new law graduates meaningful experience in legal environments without needing to take the bar exam. They typically earn $50K annually.
4. Government Attorney
Government legal departments at federal, state, and municipal levels employ attorneys for administrative, regulatory, enforcement, and policy work. Government law jobs offer good work-life balance and competitive salaries.
Attorneys can find government work with agencies like the Department of Justice, Securities Exchange Commission, Federal Communications Commission, etc. These roles involve drafting regulations, investigating cases, or enforcing specific laws that impact public interest.
5. Public Defender
As a public defender, you would represent criminal defendants who cannot afford private legal representation. This challenging yet rewarding career allows you to make a difference in people’s lives by protecting their legal rights.
Public defenders work long hours for modest pay compared to private practice. However, they get immense job satisfaction defending the legal rights of the poor and marginalized.
6. Policy Analyst
Think tanks, advocacy groups, and government agencies hire policy analysts to research social issues and recommend solutions. Analysts interpret laws, assess their impact, and provide policy guidance.
A law degree perfectly equips graduates for policy analyst roles requiring strong research skills and legal knowledge. This career option allows influence public policy issues you feel passionate about.
Law-Related Careers
Let’s look at some alternative careers you can pursue with a law degree beyond legal practice. These law-adjacent roles utilize legal training in different professional environments.
7. Compliance Officer
Compliance officers work in companies across sectors monitoring internal policies and processes to ensure they meet industry regulations and laws. This fast-growing career leverages legal knowledge without needing bar admissions.
With stricter regulations in finance, healthcare, retail, etc. the demand for compliance expertise is rising steadily. Compliance offers reasonable pay around $70K with strong job security and growth potential.
8. Contract Manager/Administrator
Every large organization deals with high contract volumes requiring oversight from trained professionals. Contract managers and administrators leverage legal training to draft, negotiate, analyze, and manage contracts.
This lucrative career manages the full contract lifecycle helping businesses minimize risk. The average pay for contract administrators is over $80K annually.
9. FBI/CIA Agent
A law degree meets the minimum qualification requirements for becoming an FBI or CIA agent. These investigative and intelligence agencies seek agents with diverse academic backgrounds including law.
In addition to legal training, a career as an FBI or CIA agent requires strong analytical ability, integrity, physical fitness, and a sense of patriotism. The work is challenging yet extremely meaningful serving national security interests.
10. Alternative Dispute Resolution
As an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) professional, you would facilitate mediation and arbitration to help conflicting parties reach an agreement without going to court. A law degree provides the necessary expertise for this growing field as legal disputes arise.
ADR professionals earn $70K+ annually with high flexibility. It also serves as valuable experience before transitioning into legal practice as a lawyer or judge.
11. Politician
A law degree is a powerful asset if you have political aspirations. Legal training aligns well with politics equipping you to draft better policies and laws. Many politicians and world leaders have law degrees.
Beyond great social impact, a career in politics promises power and influence. However, it requires strong public speaking abilities, fundraising skills, and handling public scrutiny.
12. Law Professor
If you enjoy academic environments, becoming a law professor at a university may be fulfilling. Law professors spend their time teaching students, conducting legal research, and publishing journal articles.
You would need exceptional grades in law school and preferably a postgraduate PhD degree before you can start lecturing in law. However, it provides a stable career in academia for intellectual types.
Alternative Careers With a Law Degree
Finally, let’s examine some alternative, non-legal careers you can pursue with a law degree across business, government, education, and social sectors.
13. Management Consultant
Management consultants leverage strong analytical skills – cultivated in law school – to advise corporate clients on strategy, operations, technology, and other business issues. Consultants enjoy high status and salaries crossing $150K at top global firms.
While challenging, consulting work promises immense learning across industries and companies. The work hours tend to be long but the payoffs are lucrative both financially and intellectually.
14. Investment Banker
Investment bankers raise capital for companies through equity financing and mergers and acquisitions. Top banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley hire law graduates for their ability to analyze deals, value assets, and negotiate effectively.
This fast-paced, extremely well-compensated career at the intersection of law, business, and finance appeals to law graduates interested in financial markets.
15. Entrepreneur
Ambitious law graduates often utilize their legal insight and negotiating skills to succeed as entrepreneurs. Legal training equips you to navigate the regulatory challenges of starting and scaling a business while effectively managing risks.
Moreover, many law students start their entrepreneurial journey in law school itself by founding legal technology startups. Law is a technology laggard ripe for disruption through smart innovation.
16. Legal Writer
Strong legal research and writing skills acquired in law school prepare you for a career as a legal content writer. There is great demand for legal writers across law firms, legal tech startups, and online legal publishers like LexisNexis, Westlaw, etc.
This career leverages legal training uniquely for those who enjoy writing and researching. Pay tends to be modest but work flexibility makes it an attractive option. Remote work opportunities abound increasing its appeal.
17. Real Estate Agent
Real estate deals have extensive legal and financial implications. So it is no surprise that many law graduates successfully transition into real estate brokering. A law degree allows navigating complex property deals better and faster.
Moreover, the flexible hours and high earning potential of real estate sales draw in talented law graduates. With sufficient drive, the income possibilities from commission-based real estate deals are very lucrative.
18. Human Resources Manager
HR managers are responsible for talent acquisition, retention, and development in companies while ensuring compliance with labor laws. Recruiting teams specifically target law graduates for in-house legal and HR roles in corporations.
The work involves mitigating legal risks surrounding hiring, employee disputes, terminations, and diversity issues. HR managers earn well with average pay exceeding $100K annually.
19. Data Privacy/Protection Officer
As data security and privacy regulations intensify across sectors, companies now employ specialized data privacy officers. They create data governance policies and ensure data practices comply with complex evolving laws.
A law degree provides the perfect springboard into this rapidly growing domain at the intersection of law, technology, ethics, and policymaking. Salaries range from $90K to $150K for data privacy officers.
20. Non-Profit Fundraiser
Law graduates committed to social justice causes can utilize their legal expertise to raise funds for non-profit organizations. As an expert in law and policy, you can compellingly communicate mission goals to donors and grantmaking bodies.
Beyond fundraising capabilities, legal knowledge also allows for providing policy and regulatory guidance to non-profits advancing social welfare, human rights, or environmental conservation issues.
Frequently Asked Questions on Law Degree
Here I have answered some common questions related to law degrees and associated careers:
