Feature
Attorneys: Alternative Career, Anyone? By Rebecca E. Neely In the recent nationaljurist.com article, ‘’More lawyers seeking alternative careers’’, former attorney and author Hillary Mantis discusses the fact that about seventy percent of the law graduates from 2010 are employed at jobs for which passing the bar is a requirement, according to the National Association for Law Placement employment report. Since NALP began collecting this type of information, this is the lowest reported statistic.
She surmises that many law graduates are seeking to combine their law degree with a different career; as well, because they are unable to secure a job within the legal profession due to the economic downturn, among other reasons. Aside from current economic conditions, many attorneys and/ or law graduates have sought, and continue to seek, careers in other fields. Per the article, U.S. News & World Report recently reported that Yale Law School affirmed approximately ten percent of their alumni work in a business setting five years after graduation. James Leipold, Executive Director of NALP was quoted as saying in the nationaljurist.com article: “These are jobs that by definition, someone without a law degree could do. Often the J.D. is the thing that gets you the job.” Leipold will address the topic of choosing alternative careers in the webinar sponsored by Michigan State U. College of Law, “Career Options and Market Outlook for Attorneys”. Mantis makes several recommendations for attorneys seeking careers in other fields, for whatever the reason. They include doing research via market reports and statistics to determine
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which fields are growing, as these areas will more likely have better employment opportunities. Mantis also recommends that attorneys and/or law graduates assess what other skills they have that will lend themselves to an alternative career. These skills include research, writing, counseling and negotiating, among others. A career counselor for over a decade, Hillary Mantis, Esq., specializes in helping lawyers find alternative careers, and she is the author “Alternative Careers for Lawyers”, and “Jobs For Lawyers: Effective Techniques for Getting Hired in Todays Legal Marketplace”. Highlights of “Alternative Careers for Lawyers” include the actual stories of lawyers who changed careers. These include a former NBC news anchor, and an individual who built a multimillion dollar attorney temp agency. Mantis also includes advice on resume building, networking, interviewing, and more. Mantis is also the Director of the Career Planning Center at Fordham University School of Law. She also served as the Associate Director of Career Services at New York Law School. As well, she is a graduate of both Brown University and Boston College Law School.
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