Legal Field? | Imamother

amother

Thu, Dec 04 2014, 6:48 pm

I would love to study law however I cannot see myself being a solicitor or lawyer. What other jobs are there in the legal field? The job would have to be something that is needed in the Jewish community.

I don't know if it's in the same field however I previously considered training to become a Financial Advisor however soon realised that I wouldn't have much work in my community.

Bring on your ideas!

amother

Thu, Dec 04 2014, 8:25 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

and sometimes they make coffee and answer the phone and copy documents.

There is scut work in every job. I am the top-ranking supervisor in my section and I not only sometimes make coffee, I make my own copies, answer my own phone and sometimes vacuum the floor of my office because the cleaning crew either does not bother or has such poor equipment that it doesn't pick anything up. Nor am I the only supervisor who does this.

amother

Thu, Dec 04 2014, 9:43 pm

Why can't you see yourself being a lawyer? There are a lot of different types of law practice that require different strengths. You don't have to be an uber-confident public speaker or brilliant debater.

If you are truly someone who would love the study of law and be good at it, you would probably be very frustrated as a paralegal and also frustrated by a fair amount of the work that actual lawyers do too.

Miri7

Thu, Dec 04 2014, 10:41 pm

Why can't you imagine being a lawyer? The field is so varied I think that there is a niche for everyone. Very few attorneys actually practice in court. Trusts and estates is rewarding work, you can work for yourself, have a pretty predictable schedule, etc. If you like research and writing, you can be a staff attorney somewhere. You can be in-house counsel at a corporation or for a government agency. You could practice elder law (a booming field). There are so many possibilities.

I encourage you to explore some of these options before dismissing law out of hand. I am an attorney and am happy to chat if you would like. Feel free to pm me.

amother

Thu, Dec 04 2014, 11:58 pm

Miri7, elder law is a booming field? Is this true? That would be awesome since my husband happened to find a job workin in that field. OP, please make sure you really want to go to law school. It is incredibly expensive, we are in a huge amount of debt. We pay close to 1000 a month, practically my husband's whole pay check. The market for new grads is pretty terrible.

Miri7

Fri, Dec 05 2014, 1:24 am

Elder law is growing quickly and is expected to continue to grow as the boomers age. "Elder law" wasn't even a discrete specialty a short while ago. Many fields that service an aged population are expected to grow as this group grows old. So I think it's a great area for your husband to develop expertise in - though I understand how tough it is for recent law graduates with lots of debt. I had the option of going to a top tier law school and taking out loans or getting a full ride at a great but less prestigious school. I am SO glad I took the scholarship and graduated relatively debt free. People considering law school should definitely explore all of their options and look at the job market before jumping in. I just didn't want the OP to write it off because she couldn't see herself as a litigator.

Amother above - Are you and DH able to defer the loan payments? Many law schools or lenders offer different deferral programs - I know we deferred my DH's grad school loans for a while until the payments were more manageable for us.

SRS

Sat, Dec 06 2014, 8:52 pm

amother wrote:

The job would have to be something that is needed in the Jewish community.

Why would the job have to be "needed" in the Jewish Community? And what does that mean? Does that mean you want to limit your work to only communal institutions.

If that is what you are looking at, you will not make a living. You might get bits and pieces of work in the community, but if someone else can advise pro bono, paying clients will be hard to come by.

amother

Sun, Dec 07 2014, 8:05 am

SRS wrote:

OP here. Thanks for all your posts. Thinking about it.
The reason I would like if to fill a need in the community is because I would like to be self-employed and most of my clientèle would come from the community.

SRS

Sun, Dec 07 2014, 9:40 am

amother wrote:

Being self employed can be a fine path to pursue, but many people are very loathe to hire someone in the community. The larger the money, the more loathe. The larger the confidentiality, the more loathe. When you deal with people's legal and money issues, you are managing two extremely sensitive areas of their lives. I do not think you can count on building a client base of only community members. You probably could work another job and put up a shingle and gain some community clients and see if the referwnces take you into a client base that allow you to be a contractor or sole proprietor.

Going into a field with one goal in mind could lead to a lot of frustration and feelings of failure. Going in and being open and committed to many possibilities while you try on self employment is a better aporoach.

amother

Sun, Dec 07 2014, 9:47 am

OP here. I did say I'm not looking to become a lawyer or solicitor so I'm not sure why I would be dealing with people's money.

In my current field of work I deal with people's personal issues all the time and work solely for the community. The reason I'm looking to advance my education is because I'm currently employed under an employer and if she decides to close up shop so to speak (this has been considered for a specific reason) then I am bound by contract and will not be able to continue work in the same field.

SRS

Sun, Dec 07 2014, 4:19 pm

amother wrote:

I refused to sign a non-compete contract once for exactly the reason that she could up and quit this line of business and that I would not be able to continue doing what I do which would allow a competitor in who had not ever been established in the field.

I had the upper hand and was not forced to sign in order to work. However, I spoke with a lawyer who considered the contract non-enforceable.

Perhaps you should speak with a lawyer now to see if the contract is even enforceable. It might not be enforceable because it might just simply be format taken that does not apply. But lifnei mishuras hadin is how I prefer to conduct myself and if you are the same, perhaps you want to amend the original agreement to allow you to enter this line of business yourself should she close up shop.

A P.S. you mentioned legal work (not a lawyer) and financial advisement. So I was under the assumption that it would be something along those lines. Where I am, building a Jewish clientele is not a given for the reasons stated and where people have worked within the community, there can be much agmas nefesh. Talk to people who work in the community before settling on this plan.