Legal Careers

Pre-Law Advice at College of Charleston

I. Legal Careers

Individuals contemplating law as a career must realize that law is a highly competitive and in some areas an overcrowded profession. There are lots of lawyers. In 1980, there was already one lawyer for every 410 people in the United States; by 1990, the figure had risen to one per 325 people (cf. Abraham, 1980, ch. 2; 1990 data courtesy of Law Services). In 2005, we anticipate about 140,000 students to be enrolled in American law schools. But there is always room for a good lawyer, just as there is always room for a person who is good at anything that he or she desires to do.

Some critics of law and the legal profession (cf. works by J. Auerbach and D. Kennedy cited in the bibliography) cite the above data as an argument against the need for more lawyers. The fact remains that today's American society appears to need lawyers. For a recent graduating class at the University of South Carolina School of Law, approximately 98% were employed in full time legal positions six months after graduation: law firms: 52%, judicial clerkships: 25%, corporate-business: 7%, prosecution: 6%, government: 5%, military: 2%, public interest: 1%, public defender: 1%. Although some areas of practice are more crowded than others, a law practice presents a fledgling member with a variety of choices. Some law school deans have mentioned the following new or open fields of law: elder law, internet and mass media law, space law, patents, sports arbitration, environment, entertainment, and tax law. Exactly what specialty you might strive toward, or what specific expertise you might desire, evolves. There is no apparent correlation between undergraduate majors and legal specialties. For you, the College of Charleston undergraduate, it is too soon to think very much about legal specialties. If you want specific information about types of law practice, ask some lawyers.

Contrary to the myth of the lawyer as champion of the poor, there are very few like Jerry Spence or Leslie Abramson. The lawyer who is flamboyant, very rich, and unorthodox is also the lawyer who is very rarely found in American society today. Nevertheless, there are some unifying characteristics which most in the legal profession possess.

Dean Roscoe Pound once noted that members of the legal profession abide inherently by three commitments. "Historically there are three ideas involved in a profession: organization, learning, ... and a spirit of public service" (Pound, 1954, at 6). First, the legal profession is organized through associations, such as the American Bar Association, the various state and county bar associations, and groups organized by specialty, such as insurance, litigation, family, criminal, etc. (see, for example, http://www.charlestonbar.org/). Law firms themselves also may specialize. Learning is the second commitment. Finishing law school is merely the first step. Most states, including South Carolina, require lawyers formally to continue their legal education throughout their careers. The third commitment is "the spirit of public service." Few professions allow as many opportunities for public service as the legal profession. The public service is dominated by lawyers. For example, as long ago as 1984, one out of every 64 persons working in Washington, D.C. was a lawyer (Abraham, private communication). The American Bar Association and most state bar associations either require or strongly encourage lawyers to engage in "pro bono" work. At the College of Charleston, local attorneys have volunteered to be part of our Attorney Assistance Program (see http://cofc.edu/StudentAffairs/atrnyastprgrm/legal.htm).

Dean Pound argued that the legal profession is vital for the maintenance of a proper balance in a free society between stability and change, order and liberty. Shakespeare agreed. In Henry VI Part II, there is a dialog about revolution, from which a quote is often taken out of context. The quote is: "The first thing we do let’s kill all the lawyers." The context was that if a disorderly revolution were desired,, killing all the lawyers was a necessity. Shakespeare was right; so was Dean Pound.

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