Alternative legal careers

OK, so you are thinking about law school, but you don't know if you really want to be in a courtroom setting throughout your career. Or, you are in the middle of law school, and you have decided that Bay Street is not your gig. Or, even better, you are just finishing up your bar admission requirements and you are really wondering if billable hours will soon drive you insane. Here are my thoughts for today on alternative legal careers.

Step One: Get your LLB/JD, and do your best. Absorb the law school experience, even if you have dediced that you don't want to be a "traditional lawyer." Many people have gone into law school with the full intention of NOT being a lawyer. Why would they do that? Because just about everything that they absorb in law school will have some benefit down the road, regardless of the career choice.

Potential Careers:

• Polititian (As a matter of fact, fourteen of Canada's twenty prime ministers were, or continue to be, lawyers. Among the prime ministers who were not lawyers was a doctor, a diplomat, a labour expert, and a printer - and once you are done politicing, then maybe you'll be ready to return like this guy did.)
• Legal researcher
• Business Executive (here is a compelling case for lawyer-CEO's)
• Consultant
• Member of various Board of Directors (I have heard of some people who actually make a living doing this!)
• Lawyer for Contract (have a say in your hours and types of work!)

more ideas to come...