WHAT KIND OF JOBS CAN I EXPECT?
From SOLICITORS to FORENSIC SCIENTIST, they both come under a career in Law whether it starts hitting the books in the office or more hands on. However, it’s not just being a hotshot lawyer that can take you into the field. Plenty of people and cases will require INTERPRETERs, a perfect job for if you have a flair for language and an interest in the subject matter, but don’t want to pursue a direct action path to becoming a lawyer or barrister.
The core legal careers include Lawyers, Paralegals and Legal secretaries.
Careers in legal and admin support: Compliance Specialist, Conflicts Analyst, Legal Recruiter, Court Messenger, Law Firm Administrator, Contract Administrator Courtroom and Courthouse careers: Judge, Law Clerks, Courtroom deputy, Mediators Legal
Consulting: Jury consultant, computer forensics
Legal Education: Law school Dean, Law professor, Legal career counsellor
THE TYPES OF LAW
When speaking about a career in law it certainly covers a vast area of expertise, especially within the UK. Here we have a list of the main types of law you will find when starting your career path, however each area of law found here can still be split further into smaller areas. Over the course of your career and education, you’ll be able to find these out for yourselves and avoid the ones you don’t need to pursue your career options.
Reading through these should get you thinking about what you want out of your career and why and who you are doing this for. For instance, if you’re looking for a good paycheck and a credible name, you may be suited to intellectual property – but if your heart is set on helping your fellow man then maybe human rights law is your desired path.
CRIMINAL LAW
Let’s start with the most popular and well-known type of law. You’ll instantly be thinking of murder and arson, but criminal law also covers (more often than not) the small things such as littering or petty thefts as well as fraud and financial crimes.
PROPERTY LAW
Property law in the UK deals with everything to do with the buying, sale and transfer of tangible and intangible assets and also covers things such as squatting, renting and leasing properties.
COMMERCIAL LAW
Includes areas such as sports law, insurance law and tax law, as well as covering transactions, sales and purchases. This is a big area of law and most lawyers will practice from one or two areas of it because of just how vast it is
PERSONAL INJURY
I’m sure everyone is familiar with the adverts on television and pop-ups on websites when it comes to personal injury law. It allows people to be held responsible for their actions that have injured others, even when the two people have no binding, contracted or written relationship. Car crashes are a good example.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
A hot topic amongst most people today as copyright comes into play. Marking the ownership of ideas and products and other assets. There are two main areas of this kind of law, one being patents and trademarks, then copyright which involves art, music, films and books. On a large scale, think of Disney for example.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Human rights law can be both on a small or large scale. Even if you choose to work in the UK if you follow this path you may still be involved with international matters such as trade sanctions against countries who have poor human rights records. However, it can also be on a smaller individual scale when any one citizen feels their human rights gave been violated.
MARITIME LAW
Also known as Admiralty Law, this area of law deals with disputes out at sea and on boats. Whether that be marriages out in the ocean, injuries or shipping contracts.
FAMILY LAW
Family law often crosses over into property and criminal law, especially in cases of divorce and child/domestic abuse. A career path that is suggested to not for the faint of heart as cases can be heavy when involving children and often expert doctors and psychologists may be involved along the way.
EMPLOYMENT LAW
All about workplace issues. Covering everything from employment contracts to employer/employee relationships, health and safety and trade unions. Here you will have to decide who you want to represent, for example working in the UK for the Citizens Advice Bureau will mean you are almost always on the side of the employee. Think about who you are and what you want from your career to decide which way to go.
If you are considering studying abroad why don’t you discuss your prospects and opportunities with experts at Lurnable’s dedicated study abroad counselling division LurnPathways?
