Law

by Christine Lam

Description of the profession

Lawyers, also known as attorneys study law and government. There are many different types of professions in law, ranging from defending a party in the criminal and civil trial to protecting the civil rights of a civilian. For those that are interested in labor and personnel relations and studies, law and legal studies, they may be interested in becoming a legal mediator. People of that career resolve conflicts their clients may have outside the court system by analyzing evidence while applying it to the law, researching laws, regulations, and such. According to statistics, the average annual salary in 2001 for a legal mediator is $46,660. People who are interested in studying the origin, development, and operation of political systems may enjoy being a political scientist. This career is great for those who dislike public speaking and wish to work in their own space while studying topics such as public opinion and ideology. The annual salary in 2001 for a political scientist was $81,350 and $39.11 hourly.

According to Jane Chiang, an attorney in Quincy, if you do not enjoy what you are doing, you will not last very long doing it. Discovering that law is quite challenging, Jane decided to own a small firm instead. What she enjoys the most about her job is making differences in people’s lives. At her firm, she helps immigrants understand the laws of Massachusetts and how they can deal with their problems. If you enjoy studying law and do not wish to work for the government, perhaps you may consider a job like Jane’s. Because she is the owner of her firm, she has a flexible schedule. She begins her day early in the morning and ends it between 4:30 and 8:30PM. Most of her time is spent meeting with clients, going to court, representing them before an administrative officer, and occasionally working late on weekends. People think that lawyers wear suits all the time, but not for Jane. Whenever Jane works in her office she can wear casual clothes. The only time that is necessary for her to wear a suit is when she is meeting with a client for the first time, going to court, or attending an administrative interview.

For Tackey Chan, a former legal counselor for State Senator Michael Morrissey, he has a busy and tight schedule. Other than advising the State Senator on political matters, Tackey also uses the phone, computer, and paper to respond to people and getting information. Each day he would respond to 20 to 25 phone calls. Working at the State House for over a decade, Tackey has spent many days working until midnight and even later during State Senate formal sessions. Although Tackey’s job is very tight-scheduled, he is still able to make time for his hobbies. Tackey just recently became an Assistant Attorney General for Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Steps to prepare for

In high school, you may want to take a public speaking class and even join the debate team. Doing well in your English and History class may help you as well.

Requirements to become a lawyer

Becoming a lawyer is not easy at all. Depending on what type of career you chose, you need to know about administration and management, the English language, and the government and law. Not only is it necessary to have skills such as reading comprehension, active listening, writing, critical thinking, active learning, and most importantly judgment and decision making, you also need abilities in oral and written comprehension, oral and written expression, inductive reading, memorization, and speech clarity are also required. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t already have any of the above because there are other jobs under government and law that do not require public speaking skills. Those are life skills that you will be learning throughout your years in college.

According to Attorney Tackey Chan, you need to first decide which state you would like to be licensed in because each state has different requirements to become a lawyer. Next you need to decide if you want to be accredited, which allows you to get a reciprocal license, or non-accredited, practicing law in the state you are in, law school. Passing the Law School Administration Test (LSAT) is required to become enrolled into law school. While you are in law school, you need to pass the Professional Responsibility and Ethics Exam with an 85% in Massachusetts. After graduating law school, you need to take the Massachusetts Bar Exam to get your law license. It is required to pass this exam to be able to practice law within Massachusetts. This is a rigorous exam that is 12 hours long divided into 3 hour sections taken in two days. The first part consists of 200 multiple choice questions that cover 6 braches of law and the second part consists of 10 essay questions that you must answer writing in four blue book pages for each question. After passing this exam, you will be sworn in as a lawyer. Lastly, you need to get your license number and pay the license fee.

Overall, it will help you a lot if you have a passion for studying law. Without this interest, surviving law school and the LSAT along with the other exams may be difficult. You must be willing to work hard and sacrifice leisure time to study and do well in your classes. Only then will you be successful in this profession.