By now, we can all recite the sobering statistics. More than 5,500 attorney jobs lost in the last year. Major firms like Wolf Block, Thelen and Heller shuttered. The first-year associate class of 2009 essentially vaporized. This string of bad news, along with the reality that the legal industry will have to make permanent changes in the way it recruits, trains and pays attorneys, has many thinking it might be time for a change of career. While some have decided to follow their life’s dream to write a novel, open a restaurant or become a stay-at-home parent, others aren’t quite ready to abandon the industry they entered after enduring years of schooling and incurring six-figure debt.
Today, there is no need to leave the legal profession just because you no longer wish to practice law. There are a number of different administrative roles within a law firm setting for which attorneys are particularly well-suited. They include:
