Any attorneys out there that changed careers?

I am an attorney and have been for 10 years and I really can't stand it. Unfortunately, law school got me into huge debt and it's not that easy to change careers and take a big pay cut.
Anyone out there make the move from the legal field? If so, what are you doing now? I really have no idea what I would WANT to do with my life which makes this that much more frustrating. Any input or advice would be helpful.

Re: Any attorneys out there that changed careers?

I'm not one, but EXBF before I met DH is.

He did some work in real estate for a little while and then pursued his dream of opening an outdoors/hiking store and now leads people on hikes in the wilderness.

I am not in that frequent contact with him for obvious reasons, but his company is on my FB page and it seems he is pretty successful.

I am sure the market for attorneys right now is not that great either, but maybe working with another population is the type of break you need.

Also, how easy is it to become self-employed?

Maybe that is a route to pursue :).

Re: Any attorneys out there that changed careers?

Well people I know have gone into teaching (college level and someone was telling me that their friend's husband who was an attorney went into teaching social studies).

Insurance - claims- a number of people I worked with were attorneys who wanted better hours/less stress etc- some companies esp in the Med Mal area of insurance prefer or only hire those with JDs.

A couple of people I went to school with went into real estate as well.

I think there are a couple of books out there about things you can do with a JD that don't involve practicing law.

Re: Any attorneys out there that changed careers?

My DH went from being an assistant DA in manhattan to a teacher. He loves it!!!!! and he is actually making more money than he did as a DA However, teaching is very hard to get into right now because of all the budget cuts and excessing. Good luck to you!

Re: Any attorneys out there that changed careers?

I work for a construction company in their risk management department.

I love it. Don't have all the stress of the attorneys. i still review contracts but only for insurance issues so its just a small part of the contract.

Many of the people I deal with are attys.

Pay is good with less stress.

Re: Any attorneys out there that changed careers?

I have some attorney friends who went into real estate. Attorneys do not have to take the exams. They went through the process to claim their licenses. It's still hard work but it was a needed change for them. It's worked out well.

I have some other friends who changed practice areas completely. That can be like a whole new career.

For me, becoming a sole practitioner was a step I needed. I kept my main practice area but I always liked it. For about 3 years I had a side business unrelated to law. That helped me to keep the balance when I was working on very sad cases. I sometimes have a lot of fatally ill clients. Now I find that my child helps me to keep the balance when my cases are sad. I will tell you that managing and opening a side business really showed me that lawyering skills can take a person to a lot of places.

Depending on where you work now and what field you decide to get into, you might have to expect a pay cut at first. The student loans may limit you but hopefully you can follow your dreams.

Re: Any attorneys out there that changed careers?

I am an attorney. I worked at a large Manhattan law firm as a corporate litigator for many years. When I was just shy of my 9 year anniversary at the firm, I decided to leave and to go into residential real estate sales.

My decision was largely motivated by lifestyle factors. I had a baby and moved to LI, and then when back to work at my firm, which involved commuting to the city, travel, and -- even though I was able to work out a flextime arrangement given my seniority -- often long and unpredictable hours. I hated having to keep track of and bill my time, and I didn't like the idea that I was being judged by the number of hours billed as much as or more than I was being judged by my efficiency and the quality of my work. And I just didn't enjoy the work I was doing all that much anymore... I don't know that I ever really LOVED it, if I am being honest! It was satisfying at times, but it's not like I had a passion for it.

Real estate has been great from the standpoint of providing extreme flexibility and allowing me to be there for my son more than I ever could be at my old job. I love being my own boss, especially after years of working at a very hierarchical firm. It's also pretty fun and relatively stress-free (as far as the work itself).

However, financially it's tough to work on commissions alone. My husband has a good job and I am lucky that I can get health insurance through him. But I also have hefty student loans from law school, and my old job was SO much more financially lucrative, there's no comparison. I wouldn't recommend real estate to someone unless they have other sources of income (a spouse's income, investments, a part-time job, etc.). It's a tough field to break into and it definitely takes awhile to build a business.

I keep my bar admission current and I always keep open the possibility of returning to law again, although I don't think I'd ever go back to big firm practice.

Several of my former law school classmates and colleagues have gone into legal recruiting and teaching. Some have gone to work in the HR departments of law firms or career services departments of law schools. Others have gone to much smaller firms or have switched into other areas of law. Also, I know people who have gone to work in in-house legal departments and who now love their jobs.

I think if you are unhappy, I would first try to pinpoint what is making you unhappy. If you are bored with your work, maybe another type of law would make you happy. Of if it's the people, maybe another firm or company. If it's your hours, maybe you could go part-time or maybe go to something like a government job, where you don't have to bill your hours and they are more predictable.

But just know that you are NOT alone, and almost every lawyer I know has struggled with wanting to make a career change, but not knowing what to do next!

Re: Any attorneys out there that changed careers?

Re: Any attorneys out there that changed careers?

Not sure if you want completely out of anything legal, but law librarian might be an option for you. My coworker used to practice, then did sales and training for Westlaw, and then became our reference librarian. She started as a temp, but loved it so much that she became permanent and eventually went back to school to get her MLS. Having both degrees is a great asset when looking for librarian jobs. And while you are still in the legal field and dealing with lawyers, the pressure is much less and the hours are generally predictable.