Tell me about your practice area
Okay, lawyers. I know you’re out there (or at least I hope the hits I’m getting aren’t just from random people searching for a completely different blog…). Please tell me about your practice area and what you like about it. Is it really the law firm that quashes any chance of work/life balance or does the nature of your practice play a large part?
I’m especially interested in hearing from immigration attorneys, labor & employment attorneys, family law attorneys and environmental law attorneys. I thought trusts & estates sounded interesting until I realized that it involves waaayyyy too much math! Similarly, you can’t do IP law if you can’t even remember how to divide a fraction. ;) I have experienced transactional areas in my work as a legal secretary (specifically communications law and corporate) and the only thing I can say is “Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”.
I’d also like to hear from attorneys who have a job that deals more with lobbying/policy. How did you move into that position? Did you work several years at a firm and develop a niche area first? Leverage your undergrad and pre-law work experience to find the right post-JD position?
Please comment below or e-mail me directly at ptlawmom@gmail.com. Thank you!
May 24th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Anybody? I’m interested in this subject, too.
May 28th, 2007 at 8:15 am
[...] the last week of April this morning. Odd! I’m still looking for responses to my May 23 post about practice areas so if you’re interested in old posts, that’s the one you should check out. :wink: [...]
May 29th, 2007 at 9:11 am
First off, love the new blog — it’s beautiful!
Next up, best of luck as you begin law school tonight. You’re certainly going in with your eyes wide open, which will stand you in good stead.
Last but not least, practice area: mine was IP with an emphasis on patent litigation — not at all what interests you, from the sound of it. However, you might consider trademark work. Prosecution and litigation are both fairly strong fields, they sometimes lap over into advertising law, and IF you like it (which I didn’t, despite much effort) it can be a work/life balance friendly area. I did some TM litigation, and it was far less stressful than the patent lit or the general civil lit that I’m doing now.
As for WLB itself, the firm and your comfort within it play a huge role, but the practice area makes a difference as well. To judge practice area impact, consider the degree to which outside influences (i.e., a court, a closing, a securities offering) can determine your schedule. And, without going into the rant on WLB that I usually do on my blog
, remember that it’s up to you to define it and design it. It doesn’t happen without a lot of effort.
Hope this helps — don’t hesitate to drop me an email if you’d like more info or if there’s any other way I can help.
June 9th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
PT Law Mom - I may have told you already, but I’m a contract litigator. I specialize in government contracts and construction. I do a bit of transactional work - drafting complex construction contracts. I handle mostly fairly large cases. It’s interesting and I enjoy it, but it sounds like you’re focusing on a couple of specific areas. My firm has an immigration practice and a labor and employment law practice and one of my BFF practices environmental law. I also have friends and former co-workers who work in more policy/lobbying positions, so if you have any specific questions, send me an email.