An Attorney’s Career Path

attorney career pathAttorneys and lawyers face some of the most grueling preparation there is for their career endeavors. Attorneys go to school for a considerably long time in order to prepare for time in the courtroom. They are also required to work their way up the career ladder very gradually under the supervision of mentors and senior attorneys in their practice. Attorneys must be very devoted to their career path in order to get through the arduous training their career requires.

An attorney needs to complete a masters degree if they hope to practice law. If they do not, a position such as a paralegal is as much as they can hope to achieve. Once they finish their masters degree, they need to then pass the bar exam for the jurisdiction they hope to practice law in. The bar exam is known to be one of the most difficult tests that a professional is required to take.

Once the bar exam is passed, which frequently takes more than one try, a novice attorney who does not have any actual courtroom experience must learn under a mentor. A novice attorney takes a job either in a private or a public practice. Novice attorneys do not have the option of starting their own practice because they have no professional experience. Whatever firm or law office takes them on does so with the knowledge that they will be wet behind the ears at first.

After working under the guidance of more senior attorneys for a certain amount of time, an attorney establishes a reputation for themselves and begins to build a clientele base and a name for themselves. This is where their careers begin to build significantly. The more time they have in the courtroom, the better equipped they become at taking on more and more challenging cases.

Eventually, an attorney will work their way up to becoming a senior partner within their firm or a senior attorney in their law office. This is the height of their career, when they are well respected and admired, and begin to mentor and groom younger attorneys.

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