Whether you’re a law student or seasoned lawyer, there may come a time in your legal career when pursuing your passion feels better than following the money. And fortunately, there are so many different ways to use your legal background for good — and it all starts with discovering your passion and using your law school experience to lead a more fulfilling life. These three tips from Wise Laws Trademark Lawyers will help you to get started!
1. Discover Your Passion
After you’ve put so much time, money, and energy into working toward your law degree, the mere thought of pursuing your passion may seem absurd. However, pursuing your passion doesn’t necessarily mean leaving the law to pursue a completely different career path. This is where an online degree may come in; pursuing a different field allows you to pick up new knowledge and beef up your skill set. Taking courses online provides additional benefits, providing convenience (you can study wherever and whenever you choose) and cost savings.
Sometimes it’s as simple as choosing the right type of work within the legal field. This is a great starting point for law students, prospective students, and attorneys who are ready and eager to pursue their passions, as the assessment can be used to discover the following:
- Personal values and motivators
- Preferred work environments
- Legal practice areas and career matches
- Alternative career paths for non-practicing lawyers
In addition to completing this assessment, the American Bar Association (ABA) shares a few tips for following your heart when choosing a litigation practice area. And depending on your skills, experiences, and abilities, the right practice area for you may include family law, patent law, or immigration law. Alternative professions are also worth exploring if you’re ready to make a complete career change.
2. Start a Nonprofit Organization
If pursuing your passion means using your legal background for good, starting a nonprofit organization may be the right option for you. You could launch a nonprofit that helps families and their children, current and former military members, individuals with disabilities, victims of domestic abuse, and households facing foreclosures, natural disasters, and other housing crises. Plus, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) offers grants to legal professionals serving underserved groups such as these.
3. Launch Your Own Law Practice
For law students and legal professionals who are passionate about entrepreneurship, launching a law practice could allow them to turn their legal background into a rewarding career as a small business owner. And while launching a law firm takes a lot of hard work and determination, Kiplinger discusses some of the things lawyers shouldn’t do when starting out, like failing to choose a mentor, select a specialty area, and build an online presence.
When starting any type of company, you’ll also need to consider a business structure. You may have studied business law and know best as to next steps, but if you’re unsure, consider forming a limited liability company. You’ll have less risk, a chance at more financial support and lower taxation.
It’s also important to think about how you’ll manage your future employees, especially if you’re new to business ownership. You can use either automated systems or easy timesheet tracking in Excel to track employee hours. A well-made spreadsheet timesheet with functional formulas can also be easily integrated into a more robust payroll platform down the line. Other helpful tools for new business owners include project management, video conferencing, and marketing software tools.
Now that you’ve decided to use your legal background to pursue your passion, it’s time to start thinking about where you’ll go from here. Will you use your legal skills and expertise to launch your own law practice or nonprofit organization, or will you explore alternative careers in finance, government relations, academia, management consulting, or another chosen field? Whatever you decide, it’s important to not only follow your heart but also your mind. Focus on your skills, strengths, and personal and professional goals, and have a backup plan in mind in case all else fails.
You can count on Wise Laws Trademark Lawyers to provide great quality legal service, you would imagine only from a large law firm company, but we provide that same type of lawyer service but our local and family like run lawyers and attorneys, all while enjoying the security of doing business with a well respected law firm. Our philosophy is to provide you with excellent legal service that will exceed your expectations for our affordable prices. Call 800-270-8184.