How to Become a Legal Consultant

Legal consultants are attorneys hired by law firms to assist with a particular case or legal matter. They are often experts in a specific field of law, such as real estate, business, or health care. This qualifies them to be a consultant for firms that may not have a lot of experience in a particular kind of law.

Law consultants market their legal expertise to clients in a manner that lies outside the realm of traditional legal representation. They offer legal expertise in matters such as employment, securities, governmental compliance and structural organization.

What skills do I need? Aside from a law degree and experience working as an attorney, consultants typically have foundational knowledge in one or more specialized areas. Some consultants in the corporate world also have a master’s of business administration.

Legal consultants typically have a law degree, and earning state licensure can improve job prospects for this career where they provide legal advice to clients in a specialty area, such as business or nursing.

Too many career change aspirants think management consulting is a good career option after completing their MBA. Sudershan ‘Suds’ Tirumala (Regional Director, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth) lifts the veil from one of the most misunderstood (and abused) career goals in MBA essays.

First-year consultants with a Bachelor’s degree at most major firms (often referred to as “associate consultants”) can typically expect to earn between $60,000 and $90,000. At the low end, then, first-year consultants are making about $60,000 and working 55 hours a week.

You probably won’t be rich.

Most lawyers earn more of a solid middle-class income,” says Devereux. You probably will be carrying a large amount of student loan debt from law school, which is not at all ideal when you’re just starting out in your career.

If you ask are lawyers rich – yes, you can find plenty of truly rich lawyers. Some law lawyers make millions of dollars per year. But to become rich as a lawyer they would have to jump all the necessary hoops, from going to good law school, gaining experience at good law firm and opening their own legal business.

Law is hardly a dying profession — as time goes on, more precedent is set and more laws are made — but legal professionals can definitely be aided by technology. Lawyers spend a great deal of time searching through old court cases, conversations, opinion pieces, and so forth.

Government law is the easiest. Very little work at a state or federal commission.

Summer clerkships are intensive and full-time work experience, whereas paralegals generally work continuously part-time as they complete their studies, according to Ms Whittaker.