Lawyer Job Reflection Essay Sample

Introduction

The career that is of interest to me is the career as a lawyer because it is more like an extraordinary calling. Even though the pursuit of the career to become a lawyer requires time obligation and financial speculation, job position of a lawyer positions someone at a respectful level in society. The job of being a lawyer is rewarding, and it is intense and hectic despite the assumptions that it is perceived to be attractive. Lawyers can serve either as advocates or advisors in society. Often when lawyers serve as advocates, they represent their clients before court hearings presenting admissible evidence whereas; they work as advisors by counseling the clients regarding their legal rights and obligations. Generally, lawyers are referred to as attorneys and counselors because they can interpret and apply laws to certain conditions and even draft and amend laws. The work of lawyers mainly comprises of researching precedents, which are the modern understandings of rules and the history of judicial decisions based on the law. Lawyers make use of the standards to back up their cases in court; hence they are open up to a broader range of materials for research.

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My all-time dream has always been to pursue my law studies in the University of Kansas because I believe that it is the most outstanding university in Kansas. However, some of the educational qualifications that every lawyer seeks are the bachelor's degree and the degree of the law school. In a nutshell, some of the significant college courses include English, history, political science, economics, and even social sciences. However, the individuals with interest in pursuing patent law to become patent attorneys always major in engineering whereas tax lawyers still major in accounting (American Bar Association). Students usually get admitted to law school after a period of maximally three years after college even though most students must pursue college studies first before proceeding to law school. The score usually determines the admission to law school in the aptitude test after which the law classes are in categories such as property law, criminal law together with constitutional law. Law students always get the opportunity to specialize in their various areas of law in which they desire to pursue (American Bar Association).

Law school graduates often get jobs with the help of the placement offices of the law schools whereby various law firms and corporations send their representatives to law schools to recruit the graduating students. Students who always get the best chances of being hired by law organizations are the ones with good grades who have also worked on the law reviews that are published by the various law schools. However, those who are interested in working for the government register for the civil service test. Multiple organizations which include even insurance companies, financial institutions, accounting organizations, and even manufacturing firms always provide employment opportunities for lawyers. Therefore, the various responsibilities that are assigned to lawyers depend on the jurisdiction and type of law that individual practices ("American Bar Association").

Most people start their lies as associate lawyers with farms or even as research assistants or law clerks to other experienced law personnel or judges. However, they partner with their organizations or set up their organizations after several years of experience. The journey taken by different law graduates is based upon the interest of an individual because some join politics or become judges whereas others become prosecutors or even district attorneys (Sheldon and Krieger 219-226). Even though there are several people practicing law countrywide, the demand for lawyers is also expected to rise faster hence may lead to stiff competition for the available jobs due to the increase in the number of people joining the profession. However, those who intend to work for law firms will have the best chances of developing their career in urban centers whereas those who are interested in establishing their practices have the likelihood of career development especially in suburban regions (Sheldon and Krieger 226).

The working condition for lawyers is not equally favorable because lawyers work for long durations establishing the basis of court cases even though those who work in private firms can schedule their workloads. Similarly, the lawyers who partner with law firms are assigned cases hence must ensure adequate preparation for a court appearance or even the development of legal documents. Generally, lawyers spend some time familiarizing with new laws and various court decisions that lie within their areas of interest. As per the year 2004, the annual median remuneration for lawyers was calculated at USD 94, 930 with all median earnings for lawyers working for the state and local government ranging from USD 70,280 to USD 73,410 annually. On the other hand, the annual median salary for lawyers of the federal government was at USD 108,070 and those lawyers who joined big law firms had annual salaries that ranged from USD 34,000 to USD 80,000 according to the article "Lawyer Job Description, Career as a Lawyer, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education, and Training Requirements, Getting the Job" (Career Planner)

The earnings and benefits for those who set up their law firms right after graduation from law school are usually low for the few years of business; however as they grow, they enhance their performance. Depending on experience in practices of law, the most experienced lawyer can earn an annual salary that ranges from USD 130,000 to USD 1 million and those who work as associates in law firms get paid and receive salary increase depending on how they take more responsibilities. The level of partnership in law firms usually increases with the rise in the years of experience practicing law; hence the increase in benefits and compensation in terms of some percentage of the firm's profit. In summary, there are various reasons to work as a lawyer some of which include the transferability of skills, flexibility, and the ability to help others even though it the requires patience and commitment to working for long hours to achieve the best rewards and benefits this is in accordance with the article on "Lawyer Job Description, Career as a Lawyer, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job" (Career Planner).

Work Cited

American Bar Association. "Lawyer Job Description, Career as a Lawyer, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education, And Training Requirements, Getting the Job." Careers.stateuniversity.com. 2019. Accessed on 8 Mar 2019 from https://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/721/Lawyer.html

Career Planner. "Lawyer: Job Description". careerplanner.com. 2019. Accessed on 8 March 2019 from https://job-descriptions.careerplanner.com/Lawyers.cfm

Sheldon, Kennon M., and Lawrence S. Krieger. "Service Job Lawyers Are Happier Than Money Job Lawyers, Despite Their Lower Income." The Journal of Positive Psychology 9.3 (2014): 219-226. Web. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2014.888583