Monday, December 20, 2010

Legal Jobs Other Than Judges And Lawyers

There are hundreds of legal jobs, even though many people think only of judges and lawyers when they think of the legal profession. The law is an exciting and rewarding field in which to work, and no matter what your talents and skills are, you're likely to find an occupation that suits you well.

One interesting legal job is that of a trial consultant. This is a professional whose job it is to advise a lawyer which potential jurors to try to get on the jury for a particular case. This might sound like an inexact judgment to make, but trial consultants use all sorts of sociological, psychological and technological tools in analyzing the background of a particular juror and deciding whether or not he or she is likely to decide in a lawyer's favor given the facts of a particular case. (There was even a John Grisham novel that revolved around this particular occupation.)

Then there's the position of legal nurse consultant, a position most people have probably never even heard of. Legal nurse consultants are registered nurses who provide background information and advice for cases involving medical issues. Believe it or not, legal nurse consultants can make upwards of two-hundred dollars an hour, and this is a career--or side career, as many nurses do this kind of work in addition to their regular practices--that's really starting to take off. The practical knowledge that attorneys can glean from legal nurse consultants can mean the difference between a win and a loss in court.

The court reporter, by contrast, is a position that most people are familiar with. This was a job once called "stenographer" (it's still called that, by the way, in some places) and was once held predominantly by women. Court reporters create written records of every word spoken during a trial or other court proceedings. Aided by new technologies, court reporters can record up to two hundred words a minute in many cases. And there is a real shortage of court reporters nowadays, which means there are plenty of job openings, generous benefits packages, and plenty of vacation time available to those who enter into this profession. Some court reporters even make over a hundred thousand dollars a year.

There are also the jobs of paralegals and legal researchers to consider. The duties of these two kinds of professionals often intersect, but both provide crucial help to lawyers. Paralegals and legal researchers draw up legal documents and memos, research past legal cases that pertain to current cases and help lawyers write their presentations to juries. Both of these jobs require patience, ingenuity, hard work, long hours and self-motivation.

No matter what kind of job you have in the legal world, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're helping justice get served. Every day will involve new people to meet and new challenges to be solved. You won't get bored!