Alternative Legal Careers: Law Practice Areas and Law-Adjacent Jobs to Consider

Legal careers are highly stressful and emotionally draining by nature. Long hours, difficult clients, emotionally intense cases, tough issues, and seemingly never-ending piles of paperwork can be to blame for the high departure rate for new associates. A recent report by the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education found that in 2023, 82 percent of associates left their law firms within five years.

Perhaps you’re thinking of moving on from your current firm or you recently graduated and are unsure about what step to take next. Whatever the case may be, keep in mind that choosing a legal career that matches your passions, skills, and desires will result in a more positive professional and personal outlook.

If the stress is too overwhelming, reach out to the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program for confidential mental health services.

Legal Careers that May Better Align with Your Skills and Passions

The practice of law requires lawyers to work long hours, often delving into stressful cases. While not all clients and cases are alike, even the most relaxed, straightforward case can take an unexpected turn due to unforeseen circumstances. This is an occupational hazard of the practice of law. But that’s why you became a lawyer, right? If that imposter syndrome just doesn’t seem to go away, then it may be time to consider practicing in a different area of law.

It is possible to find a legal career that offers a healthy work-life balance and stable hours while being mentally stimulating and engaging.

Below are some alternative areas of law to consider:

• Estate Planning: Helping clients plan for their future can be incredibly rewarding. Estate planning is much less fast-paced than other areas of law. As such, you can devote the right time and attention to your client’s matters.
• Real Estate: Drafting contracts, providing guidance on what can and can’t be done with property, and settling closing details are some of the most common aspects of real estate law. Most real estate transactions tend to follow an established routine, making this area of law an excellent choice if you’re looking for more structure.
• Government: Working at the local, state, or federal level as an attorney can be a gratifying experience. You’ll play an integral role in policymaking that will improve your local community. Government jobs are also known for structure and stable hours.
• Transactional Intellectual Property: Unlike IP litigation, transactional IP law has the potential of being both exciting and straightforward. Your clients will be creators, inventors, and companies; it’ll be your job to ensure their hard work is protected by securing trademarks, patents, and copyrights.
• Honorable Mention - Law Librarian: Law libraries are integral to the practice of law. By working as a law librarian (either at a law school library, a county law library, or a firm library), you’ll conduct legal research, analyze sources, and classify library materials. Most law librarian jobs require a JD, making this a good career option to keep in mind. Passing the bar exam is not a requirement to work as a law librarian.

Other Law-Adjacent Career Opportunities

Law school graduates and lawyers alike have a unique blend of education, knowledge, and experience that is perfectly suited for a variety of industries. Great research skills, excellent written and verbal communication, meticulous attention to detail, an analytical mind, and personable disposition are common traits among law professionals. While these skills are honed specifically for legal careers, they are excellent also in other job industries.

Having a JD can open up countless doors to a wide variety of alternative careers. Below are some exciting options to consider.

Education

From faculty to administrative roles, law schools offer many career opportunities for people with law degrees. Law professors teach and guide the next generation of law professionals, so this can be a very rewarding career choice.

Publishing

The skills of a lawyer are a perfect match for the publishing industry. Take Texas Bar Books, for example. As the State Bar of Texas’s legal practice resources division, we publish law books in print, digital, and online formats.

Our publications attorneys play a vital role in the publishing process. They are responsible for a variety of tasks, including analyzing and researching legal issues to ensure accuracy in manuscripts. They also collaborate with volunteer authors to develop the many practice manuals and forms legal professionals in Texas use on a daily basis. This is just one of the many publishing careers law professionals could embark upon.

If you have more of a penchant for fiction, you could always go the John Grisham route and become a New York Times best-selling novelist with a legal background!

Legal Technology

With the advent of AI, the realm of legal tech has grown to unprecedented heights, and it shows no sign of stopping. With growth comes career opportunities. By serving as a legal technology advisor, for example, you can play a vital role in implementing tools that will improve the practice of law. Who knows, maybe you’ll be at the forefront of the next legal software that will be used by practitioners around the world.

It Is Possible to Find the Right Legal Career

For further insight, you can partake in CLEs that focus on specific fields of law that may interest you. That way, you can speak with other practitioners to see if that particular field would be the right fit for you.

Also consider joining area-specific sections such as the Computer & Technology section, Entertainment and Sports Law section, or the Intellectual Property Law section. Many sections waive dues for new attorneys who have only been licensed for a few years, so there’s not much to lose but so much to gain!

We’ve only scratched the surface of the available careers you can pursue as a law school graduate or lawyer. No matter your aspirations, there are countless job opportunities available where you can hone your skills and make a comfortable living without sacrificing your sanity and mental well-being.