Alternative Careers for Lawyers: Some Thoughts and Advice

Have you been searching for advice and inspiration on alternative careers for lawyers? 

If so, you have come to the right place. 

In this post, I am going to share both higher-level and actionable thoughts on how you can use your legal background to launch a different career. 

Whether you’re currently in law school, are looking to break into Big Law, or have been practicing for decades, you can use the tips and advice here to get closer to the career you desire. 

What Do You Actually Want?

If you start from the highest possible level, you’ll find that there are plenty of alternative careers for lawyers. In all likelihood, there is something out there that will be more satisfying—and perhaps more lucrative—than your current gig.

That said, the struggle often comes from the fact that you may not know what you want to do. It’s actually more common than you may think. Many of us go to law school because we’re ambitious, but don’t necessarily know what we want to do with our lives. Before we know it, we’re in a position where we want to change careers, yet the sunk costs of law school and a legal education make it difficult to act.

The psychological hurdles are real. Because of this, I’d highly suggest spending some time thinking about what you actually want to do. Sure, you can go back to childhood and think about what interested you. But at the same time, some of your most unique and exciting possibilities may not have entered your mind in your earlier years. You can adapt this exercise as you see fit, but the objective is to think as large as you can. You want to embrace possibilities at this stage, eliminate them. 

From there, I’d recommend that you speak with a career coach. I can speak from experience. My career coach helped me evaluate my skills and interests outside of my life as a corporate litigator. Moreover, he was an objective, third-party voice that held me accountable. 

I’m not saying that this is an easy process. It may take months—even years—to truly discover the alternative careers for lawyers that speak to you. That said, wrestling with this process early on will make it much easier to find the perfect career for you. 

In some circumstances, this may lead you to a much different path outside the law. In other circumstances, however, going through this exercise will convince you to stay in the legal field—albeit at a different firm or in a different area of law. Effectively, your interest in alternative careers for lawyers may direct you to the same place. 

Take Stock Of Your Skills

One of the great things about practicing law is that you acquire plenty of “soft skills” that you can apply in other domains. 

Sure, they may not be obvious when you are Shepardizing case law or are guiding a client on certain nuances of tax law. Nonetheless, both in law school and in the practice of law, you are mastering skills that are priceless in other domains. 

I talk more about these skills in Reversed in Part. That said, some of the skills that seem most obvious to me include attention to detail, the ability to work long hours under pressure, strong communication skills, and understanding complex topics in short periods. These are valuable, timeless skills that you can apply in all types of jobs and careers. The specifics will depend on the gig that you’re seeking, yet you should be able to creatively apply them to separate yourself from your peers. 

As for your hard lawyering skills, they probably won’t be directly relevant on a day-to-day basis. However, there may come times when your ability to review a contract, for instance, can be valuable. If, on the other hand, you were a human rights lawyer and are looking to work at a startup, your daily lawyering work probably wouldn’t be as applicable. As a general rule, you’ll likely find more value in emphasizing your soft skills more than your hard lawyering skills. Nevertheless, having those hard legal skills in your back pocket may present some unique opportunities to create value within your new organization. 

So when you are thinking about your alternative career path, I urge you to consider how you can leverage your already-existing soft skills and hard skills. You don’t need to start from scratch in your next chapter. Arguably, you shouldn’t want to do this. Instead, what you should do is get a head start on your new career by using your prior skills and experiences as much as you can.  

Be Adaptable

Alternative careers for lawyers can encompass everything from the COO of a startup to a successful artist or creator. The book goes into much more detail on 15 individuals who were able to parlay their legal background and training into amazing careers. While your story may not be congruent with theirs, their paths show that there are plenty of ways to creatively use your legal experience in your next chapter. 

No matter which path you select, however, I urge you to be adaptable. Many alternative careers for lawyers don’t advance in a straight line. Rather, they are willing to take on different gigs—even if they result in lower pay—to achieve their long-term plan.

A great example of this is from Melinda Snodgrass. As she describes in the book, Melinda wanted to write sci-fi novels after leaving legal practice, but she couldn’t make enough money doing so. What she could do, however, was make a living by writing romance novels. It wasn’t her first choice, but she needed to do it so that she could achieve her long-term vision. 

You may come across a similar scenario. You may be looking for an operations role at a startup, for instance, but may have to take on a different role to get to that position. You may even have to take on a legal role to start and then express your interest in that other position. Or you may need to take some day job—even if it doesn’t use your legal skills—to pay your bills while you pursue your dream career. 

I’m not saying that it’s easy. It can take years to actually get the job or gig that you want. But you can make your life easier by being adaptable and embracing the non-traditional path. Ironically, the more adaptable you are, the more likely it may be to get the job that you actually want.

The World Is Your Oyster

I think that one of the more appealing parts of the legal field is that there is a defined path for us to take. Assuming you get good grades, you can quickly go to a great law school and find an extremely lucrative job. Even if you don’t work in Big Law, there are plenty of other paths that you can follow to achieve your career goals.

The fact that you are actively thinking about alternative careers for lawyers shows that you are audacious. It is all too easy to stay on the path. It is much tougher to veer off of the path and try something new. 

The great news? There are plenty of alternative careers for lawyers, whether they are in sales, marketing, operations, non-profits, or something else. The skills that you learned in law school and legal practice aren’t irrelevant. 

You may need to be creative. You may have to scratch and claw. However, you have the power to use your education and experience in a way that suits your interests and goals. The road to your dream job may not be a straight line. It may be full of bumps and obstacles. However, there is a road. All you need to do is start walking on it.