Blog > Careers

10 Alternative Careers for Lawyers: Is it Time to Take the Leap?

10 Alternative Careers for Lawyers: Is it Time to Take the Leap?

Moving on from law doesn’t need to be as daunting as you might think. Read on for 10 alternative careers where your skills and expertise will fit right in... 

It’s no secret that solicitors often decide that a traditional law career isn’t for them, whether they are one, three or fifteen years into their legal career. If you have fallen out of love with being a lawyer, you don’t need to stick with it just because it’s all you’ve known and you’ve put a lot of hard work and time into studying, qualifying, and gaining experience.  

It can be hard to imagine a life after law, but there are so many transferable skills that you might not have even considered, which means that it’s never too late for a career change. Whether it’s your attention to detail, analytical or communication skills, there is a new role that’s right for your skillset out there.

In this article, we discuss ten alternative careers for lawyers. Ready? Let’s go…

1. An alternative niche of law

Think about why you are looking to leave the law. It is because you’re bored and aren’t being challenged enough? Do you want to try something new? Are you looking for a better work-life balance? Well, a different area of law could be the answer in this case.

According to an article on LinkedIn, these areas of law have the best work-life balance:

  • Public Policy
  • International Law
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Conveyancing 

2. Move In-House

Moving in-house is a great way to change your current scenery and learn something new without the change being too daunting. As an in-house lawyer, your responsibilities are likely similar to those you had to undertake before, but the circumstances in which your expertise will be used will be quite different. In most situations, a company might enlist the help of outside counsel as well as an in-house lawyer.

Lots of other solicitors have moved in-house and found the transition pretty straightforward. Take a look.

3. Content Writer

As a solicitor, you probably have great written and communication skills, something that content writers also have in abundance. You could become a content writer for a law firm, or a marketing agency that works with law firms, as you will have a lot of experience in different niches. But you could also decide to become a copywriter for a completely different industry too as your experience with writing documents and communicating information to your audience will be very beneficial.  

4. Web Developer

Yep, seriously! We have a former lawyer working as a Junior Website Developer. What started as a lockdown hobby using YouTube tutorials, turned into a part-time course, and ended up in a career.

One of the many transferrable skills from law is problem-solving and thinking about outside-of-the-box solutions to challenges that arise. The solutions tend to include fewer words than as a solicitor though!

Another transferable skill is the importance of punctuation. For web developers, a misplaced comma can lead to a whole host of problems with websites, and for lawyers, a comma in the wrong place can change the whole meaning of a contract. Attention to detail is therefore a very important transferable skill! 

5. Start your own business

Have you got a hobby on the side? Is there something that you’re passionate about? Is there something that you could help to improve in the legal sector? If you are unhappy, or just want to try something new, becoming an entrepreneur could be a great alternative career path for you.

Your legal expertise and understanding of law will be a great transferable skill here. You’ll understand the jargon associated with setting up a business and be able to review legal documents, ensuring you are fulfilling everything you need to.

Alternatively, you could decide to become a consultant. This way you can still help clients if that’s what you enjoy doing as a lawyer, but you don’t have to deal with as much pressure, burnout, and admin time.

6. Public Relations

Another alternative career for solicitors is public relations. It combines networking, building relations, being confident in what you are saying and more. Easily transferable from a career in law! You could join a large corporate firm or something more boutique but there are lots of industries that need PR that would suit. 

7. Teaching

Could teaching be the next step for your career? You could join a secondary school or college, or head back to law school to mould other young legal hopefuls! Not only do you have the legal knowledge and experience, but as a lawyer, you are likely to have a good level of higher education qualifications which will be a plus for this course of career.

In addition to this, you’ve already been there so you can relate to what law students are going through, take them through their studies and help them with vacation schemes and training contract applications too. You could be a great asset to a law school! And this could be a satisfying new challenge for you to undertake.

8. Project Managers

What does a Project Manager do? Well, this blog sums it up quite nicely. But again, there are lots of transferable skills that a lawyer will already possess which could make them great for the job! A project management role requires strong organisational skills, problem-solving abilities, emotional intelligence, and people-management skills – things you are likely to come across in a legal career if you think about it.

9. Mediator

Mediators require individuals who are calm, can see both sides of an issue and can come to a fair and mutually agreeable decision where possible. This sounds a lot like a lawyer’s role, especially those in family law, consumer law or commercial litigation, doesn’t it? Your transferable skills and legal knowledge would come in very useful for a career in mediation.

10. Human Resources

A role within HR could be another well-suited career move for a solicitor. If you are already working within employment law, you will already have a good understanding of policies and procedures that might be in place. In addition to this, you will probably possess people management skills and have experience with difficult matters and coming to favourable outcomes.

Ready to apply for a new job?

Has this article inspired a new role, or are you ready to give law another try? If you want to stick it out in the legal sector but think a new firm or a new niche would be a better fit for you, head over to our vacancy page to see what’s currently available.

If you have any top for changing careers as a lawyer, let us know in the comments below.