Excellent Book for assessing a Career as a Lawyer
Customer Rating: 
I practiced law for 32 years and disliked it greatly much of the time. I would estimate that 90% of the lawyers that I know dislike the practice of law. I hated law school and only finished it because everyone told me that I didn't have to be a lawyer, that a law degree was very helpful in getting other jobs. The subtitle of this book would lead one to believe that the book will provide information about those jobs. In that sense the book is misleading.
There really aren't many jobs where a law degree, as such, is helpful. The author mostly lists every job that lawyers have ever taken outside of the law and obvious jobs in law related fields.
However, this book is a must read for anyone considering law school or who is greatly dissatisfied with the practice of the law. It has excellent assessment tools and practical advice as to what to look for to find greater satisfaction in one's career, whatever it might be. Many lawyers, myself included, went to law school because we didn't know what else to do and thought a law degree would be useful. With Law School costs being what they are that is NOT a good enough reason. The book explains the almost universal concerns that lawyers have with the practice of law, and also emphasizes that for the average practitioner the practice of law does NOT make them wealthy. So, if making money is one's sole motivation, other fields provide greater opportunities to do so.
Excellent Resource
Customer Rating: I purchased "The Lawyer's Career Change Handbook" along with other books written for people who have (or will soon have) law degrees, but are not sure they want to practice law. This book has been an invaluable tool in helping me realize where I want to go with my life. What I like most about it is that it includes exercises to make its readers think critically about their own skills, interests, and requirements in the workplace. I find that the book is very practical, and although I am just begining my job search, it has been helpful as a tool to prioritize what I'm looking for in an employer.
When considering whether to purchase this book, I read some highly critical reviews, but bought the book anyway. If you are serious about looking for a job which is more suited to you, I would encourage you to buy it too - and read it with a pencil and pad of paper close at hand.
For those of you who, like me, are very frustrated with law - whether you are already practicing or not, I want to share this passage, which summed up everything I feel about my experiences in the field of law. On page 12, Hindi Greenberg writes:
"One of my clients recently wrote a stinging evaluation of law practice, listing the things he dislikes. In his words: 'I disilke (1) the interpersonal nastiness of litigation, (2) the combatitiveness of litigation, (3) the win-at-all-cost attitude of litigation, (4) the crisis mentality of litigation, (5) that my goal is to defeat my opponent and my opponent's goal is to defeat me, (6) the pressure of being expected to do work that my oponent can never criticize - an absolutely unrealistic expectation, (7) that I am always around people who are angry at someone, (8) that I cannot be fair or reasonable, as I see fairness and reason, but have to fight for every advantage I can get out of a situation, (9) that I cannot spend my life working with a group of dedicated people to achieve a common goal but instead must constantly fight other people to achieve success.'"
Particularly with respect to number 7, this has been my experience over two summers of clerking for law firms.
The afternoon before I began reading this book, I went out for coffee with a fellow law student. I tried to explain to her all of the reasons that I am uninterested in a career as a lawyer - but no matter what I said, she was adamant that I will be able to find a fulfilling legal career, telling me, "not all law firms are like the ones you have worked for. There are plenty of areas of law where you never have to fight at all. There are better lawyers to work for. There are better areas of law to practice in." This book made me realize that I'm not being subborn or overly emotional, or closed-minded about career options. I am grateful to Hindi Greenberg for showing me that I am not alone, and that, frankly, there is nothing wrong with me for not wanting to spend the next 30 or 40 years of my life fighting for a living, or trying to do perfect work which can never be criticized.
In addition to giving me much-needed affirmation that I am not being an idiot, because being a lawyer is not for everyone, this book provides many practical tools for developing a job search, and for finding a career which suits my personality.
Another great resource in this book is the resume writing guide. As a first year law student, Career Services held a (mandatory) resume-writing workshop, teaching us how to make legal resumes - which are vastly different from non-legal resumes. On the brink of looking for a non-legal job, I found myself perplexed as to what a non-legal resume was supposed to look like. This book has examples of functional resumes versus legal resumes, as well as interviewing tips which I found to be infinetly more helpful than the tips provided by Career Services over the past few years.
I was very happy with this book, and would highly recommend it to anyone who is unhappy with his or her legal career, and definetly to law students who find themselves wondering whether there might be more worthwhile careers out there.
