What field of law is the most relaxed and least competitive?

Jim: What field of law is the most relaxed and least competitive?
I’m interested in pursuing a career in law but I have heard it is a career that is high in stress. What field of law is the least stressful in terms of how relaxed it is and how competitive it is?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Esteban
Criminal Lawyers have very high stress jobs which usually end up in you fighting for a person that did commit a crime. Civil Litigators have not too stressful jobs and can meet very interesting situations.

Answer by sitcpsitcb
If you can’t handle stress, don’t go into law. You won’t necessarily get competition all the time, especially if you avoid the BigLaw rush, but there are always deadlines to meet and things to perfect and clients to meet and prep and research to do. Law is a field where one little mistake (filing literally thirty seconds too late) is the end of your career, no exceptions. I can’t think of one practice area that is less stressful than another, or less competitive – it all depends on your specific situation. You can open your own firm and take a low number of cases and not compete against anyone, but that doesn’t pay back your loans.

And forget about civil litigation – that’s pretty much all big firm work and it is absolutely as cutthroat as it comes. Not sure where that response came from.

Answer by mailaccount63
All of the areas of Law are stressful – you are focusing on the wrong thing. THE reasons that the field of Law is such a stressful vocation is because: there are simply way TOO MANY lawyers already, the economy, most people today think they can do their own legal work thanks to the Internet.

Choosing a career is one of life’s most important and difficult decisions. But knowing what your expectations are, and then comparing them to the realities will help you make educated decisions.

There are more attorneys than there are legal employment positions. We simply already have way too many Legal Professionals. AND the legal profession is dramatically changing: it is in absolute CRISIS! Job searching in this vocational field has changed >>DRAMATICALLY<< in the last five years. And, every year, more and more people graduate from law school, but there are fewer and fewer jobs. Even the largest and most reputable law firms are experiencing unprecedented cutbacks. I don't expect the situation to improve in the coming years…..

Be aware of what you are proposing on getting yourself into. Please do more research first. Reminder: We are STILL in a World-wide Recession. Obviously, economic conditions affect the number of jobs available. Consider career paths that have available JOBS.< Jobs in the field of Law are drying up fast!! This no longer is a good field to invest time and/or money into. This is a SHRINKING, crumbling, and dying vocational field. Many, many reasons: We now have computers. So, many people today (mistakenly) think they can do their own legal work, thanks to the Internet and legal books. Also, there are a lot of companies out there making very efficient legal software for the field of Law. Today’s graduating lawyers tend to be very computer savvy, so they just do the work themselves to save themselves the cost of overhead – they aren’t hiring legal staff. Also, the “Public” buys this legal software/law books in order to get legal work done without the expense of an Attorney. Also, we simply already have way too many Legal Professionals – we just have an absolute glut!! (“Legal Professionals” includes, but is not limited to: Attorneys/Lawyers, Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Legal Secretaries, Bailiffs, Court Reporters, etc, etc) For example: Sites like legalzoom.com have taken away work that many small-time attorneys/lawyers would do/used to do.

The field of Law has a mystique that actually exceeds reality. The field of Law is a vastly overrated career – especially by television.<< There are many myths regarding the field of Law:
**myth: working as a Lawyer is mentally challenging (Actually, most work as an attorney involves mountains of routine paperwork: research, cite checking, drafting documents, and document review. Attorneys need to write down and track EVERY activity they do, all day long [in 6 to 15 minutes increments, depending on the billing system] – a painstaking but necessary task – handling details is a large part of working as a lawyer),
**myth: being an attorney is thrilling, high-powered, and glamorous (remember: television is FICTION – the fictional lawyers on TV are ACTORS – the majority of work that an attorney does, does not happen in a courtroom),
**myth: law students think that because they are good at arguing they will become great attorneys (Actually being a great attorney is more in one's ability to mediate between differing sides and bringing them to agreement/compromise. Many people mistakenly think that being an attorney is about the ability to argue. Actually, a successful attorney is defined by his/her commitment to the PEACEFUL resolution of disputes. Lawyers are actually: mediators, advocates, negotiators, advisors, evaluators, and peaceful intermediaries between clients.),
**myth: as a lawyer I can correct injustices (actually legal decisions are more about reaching compromises than about right vs. wrong),
**myth: guaranteed financial success (actually when salaries are compared, you also need to account for cost-of living expenses [most large law firms are in large cities – the bigger the city, the more cost-of-living expenses will be], payment of debts accrued while attending law school, and time needed to build a client base. Many large law firms require lawyers to work 60-80 hours per week. There are a FEW attorneys that earn a lot of money – but MOST attorneys just about make a living. Most attorneys do not make as much money as most people think. Also, remember: there are more attorneys than there are available jobs.).
And then, to top it off, attorneys have to keep their client's information confidential. (You cannot use "juicy" tidbits that you have become aware of as fodder for the gossip circles.)

Law is a more demanding profession than most people realize. It is not like what you see on TV.

Cost of law school to be lawyer, approx $ 150,000+. Be prepared to take on a LOT of debt, if becoming an attorney is your "true", ultimate goal!!<<>I found this out the hard way.) Also, the law school’s program needs to be accredited by the American Bar Association – if it isn’t, you are just wasting your time/money.

Even if you finish law school, you won’t be able to find a job when you are done. Since this vocational field is shrinking (at an alarming rate), many new attorneys/lawyers are, themselves, having to work “down” as Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Legal Secretaries, Bailiffs, Court Reporters, etc, etc, to simply try to keep some of their bills paid. And the competition is fierce in TODAY’s job market!!

Now… the law schools know this, but they won’t tell you the truth >that the job market/economy is just SATURATED with way too many Legal Professionals. Instead the schools will feed you a fairytale and will LIE to you. The root of the problem is we already have too many law schools. We are STILL in a Recession, and the schools are fighting for their own survival – they will tell students anything to get to the students’ money. (Which is why they won’t tell you the truth about the job market for the field of Law.) And these schools continue to recruit and churn out even more graduates………….Remember>>> law schools are BUSINESSES – their TOP concern is making money for themselves.

>>>>>THE #1 MOST IMPORTANT THING (and I can’t stress this enough>>>): You ESPECIALLY have to beware of the BOGUS, INFLATED law school salary/job stats given out by >law schools< (AND by the U.S. Bureau of Labor)!!***<<<<<

If you don't believe me, then:
**do a SEARCH here on Yahoo Answers to see what other posters are saying about the current status of the field of Law. Call some local law firms – ask to speak to the Manager of Human Resources – ask them if they are hiring; ask them what they think about future job availability in the field of Law………………
**Do "informational interviews" with several attorneys from at least two or three different firms. (You can find how to do "informational interviews" from your local Public Library – ask the Librarian.) Interviewing attorneys is a time-efficient and extremely beneficial way of discovering if law is the right vocational field for you. Talk to a few Human Resource Managers who work at employers in the field of Law. Ask them what their opinion is on future job availability for the field of Law. Ask them if they have any current open positions. Ask them how many resumes they receive when they advertise ONE open position. (It is ususally approximately 300 resumes are received for each open position advertised.)
**Talk to recent law graduates. Ask them what success they are having finding employment opportunities. <<>>Healthcare, Information Technology, Law ENFORCEMENT, environmentalism, emergency planning, accounting, education, entertainment, utilities, home-car-commercial-industrial repairs, vice industries, clergy, and/or debt collection. I spoke to a career counselor from Jobs and Family Services, and HE told me that these areas are where the jobs are, and future job opportunities/availability….and scholarships.

Good luck.