6 Non-Traditional Career Paths For Lawyers

Law careers

 

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Whether you have just graduated, or you have been practicing law for many years, you may find yourself wondering where you want to be in a few years’ time. After all, a law degree is extremely versatile, and open doors to an impressive array of potential career paths.

Yet competition is fierce. In fact, in 2016, over 20,000 students were accepted onto undergraduate law courses in England and Wales. In the same year, the SRA registered more than 5,000 new traineeships, and over 6,000 qualified solicitors were added to the roll.

To get to where you are today, you have already put in countless hours, and demonstrated that you have the determination, conviction, and intellect to excel in the field of your choice. Yet that does not necessarily mean you plan to become a solicitor. The skills you develop during law studies, and throughout your career within your chosen legal sector, are immensely transferable.

So if you are looking for a change of pace, or you have your sights set on a career that takes you beyond the traditional fields occupied by law graduates, here are a few ideas that you may want to explore.

1. Legal Recruiter

Working for a recruitment firm is a great way to apply your skills to a new discipline, while remaining within the legal sector. This career path is best suited to an experienced lawyer who knows what to look for in an employee, and is able to determine when a potential recruit might be a good fit for a firm.

Within this role, you can also act in advisory capacity to employers and recruits alike. Your knowledge and input can be instrumental in shaping the future of these individuals, and helping them to assemble cohesive teams with complementary skills and compatible aspirations.

2. Project Manager

Project management roles require excellent planning, leadership, and time management skills. You will also benefit from being the sort of person who thrives under pressure, and can readily influence and inspire their team. This type of career path would be ideally suited to a lawyer who loves seeing things through to completion, and feels confident juggling multiple responsibilities.

Depending on the industry you enter, projects could include anything from the delivery of a marketing campaign, to the installation of a new security system. However, while specialist knowledge will be required, the core skills of a successful project manager remain the same.

Your role would be to plan, budget for, and oversee a proposed objective from start to finish. This includes setting timescales for delivery, predicting and making provisions for setbacks, assigning roles to your team, and even overseeing the development of team members’ careers.

3. Business Developer

The core aim of a business developer is to increase the profitability of a business. This can include anything from developing new products, identifying and targeting profitable niches, or even exploring partnerships with other organisations.

Your knowledge of legal expectations and compliance regulations will also come into play here, as they will enable you to more accurately weigh up the viability of an idea, identify potential stumbling blocks, and find suitable workarounds.

A lawyer with a keen eye for detail and commitment to research and development could excel in this position. Strong interpersonal skills and good recall are also a bonus, as you will need to negotiate with potential clients, identify key demographics, and retain a comprehensive knowledge of the products and services offered by your business.

4. Marketing Director

The ability to think outside the box and deliver on ambitious projects carries over perfectly to a career in marketing. Your job would also encompass all aspects of content planning and delivery, and the creation of a coherent marketing strategy that integrates each part of your campaign into a cohesive whole.

Some of the areas you are likely to cover in the role of marketing director include:

  • Creation and distribution of video content.
  • Conducting market research and interpreting the results.
  • Creating non-linear and experiential marketing campaigns.
  • Facilitating localisation.
  • Promoting and developing brands.
  • Integrating social media and influencer marketing into your campaigns.

Ultimately, your role is to plan and oversee the marketing strategy for an organisation. This means setting realistic budgets, creating a calendar of events and campaigns, and keeping your finger firmly on the pulse of the industry.

Along the way, you will also need to be aware of what the competition is up to, while simultaneously monitoring and optimising the performance of your own campaigns. This career lends itself well to a highly driven individual who wants a change of scene.

By choosing a career path that suits your lifestyle and aspirations, you will be able to play to your strengths

Naturally, your legal background will still be useful, as it can inform your decisions on everything from protecting your intellectual property, to ensuring your campaigns are compliant with legal requirements in all areas.

5. Content Creator

For recent graduates, or those looking for a lower pressure career, content creation could be the way forward. Your ability to conduct in-depth research, understand complex topics, and create high-quality written material will all benefit you in this line of work.

You might decide to set up your own business, or take on freelance contracts through existing agencies. Whatever you decide, working as a content creator can give you some flexibility to your working hours that is lacking in many of the other career paths listed here.

This can be especially beneficial if you have personal commitments, travel often, or are planning to start a family. It even serves as a fantastic means of sustaining an income while undertaking training for new disciplines.

Meanwhile, this line of work can be extremely rewarding in its own right, and gives you the opportunity to learn about a wide range of topics that you may not have previously considered.

As you develop your knowledge of digital marketing best practices, SEO optimisation, and content delivery, you will also be creating a firm foundation upon which you could build a career in marketing consultancy, content management, or as an ecommerce entrepreneur.

6. Investment Advisor

A lawyer with a background in financial or business law may be especially well suited to a career as an investment advisor. Your role could see you supporting budding entrepreneurs as they set out their budgets and business plans for a new startup, or advising growing enterprises on how and where to invest their assets.

This career path can be more or less as broad or focused as you choose. Some investment advisors offer their services as a complete review of their clients’ financial behaviour. Meanwhile, others offer specialist advice on a particular type of investment.

For example, you might choose to hone your expertise on marketing ROI. Alternatively, you might decide to specialise in a field such as capital investment, with the potential to lead into a career in business development, if you choose to branch out further in the future.

Ultimately, the key to finding an alternative career path is to focus on options that you can envision yourself enjoying. After all, success depends not only on your determination and commitment, but on your personal well-being.

By choosing a career path that suits your lifestyle and aspirations, you will be able to play to your strengths, and be happier in your work overall. As a result, you allow yourself the potential to reach even greater heights, while pursuing a future within the industry and sector of your choice.

 

Victoria Greene is an ecommerce marketing expert who loves to help businesses grow. She’s also a freelance writer and runs her own blog at VictoriaEcommerce. Big advocate of creative content marketing and making the most of social media.


Alleged New York Subway Bomber Akayed Ullah Indicted

akayed ullah

Dana J. Boente, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Geoffrey S. Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a grand jury in the Southern District of New York has returned a six-count indictment (the “Indictment”) against AKAYED ULLAH in connection with ULLAH’s detonation and attempted detonation of a bomb in a subway station near the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City on December 11, 2017. The Indictment charges ULLAH with one count of providing and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (“ISIS”), one count of using and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, one count of bombing and attempting to bomb a place of public use and a public transportation system, one count of destruction and attempted destruction of property by means of fire or explosives, one count of conducting and attempting to conduct a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system, and one count of using a destructive device during and in furtherance of a crime of violence. The case has been assigned to the Honorable Richard J. Sullivan.

ULLAH was initially arrested on a Complaint and presented before the Honorable Katharine H. Parker on December 13, 2017. ULLAH was ordered detained and has been in federal custody since his arrest. He will be arraigned before Judge Sullivan on January 11, 2018, at 3:00 p.m.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Less than one month ago, during the holiday rush hour, Akayed Ullah allegedly detonated a bomb in a major transit hub of New York City. In selecting this time and place, Ullah’s alleged purpose in the Port Authority bombing was painfully clear: to inflict as much damage as possible, and to strike fear into the hearts of New Yorkers in the name of ISIS. Ullah’s alleged plot failed, and he is now charged with federal terrorism offenses and facing life behind bars.”

Acting Assistant Attorney General Boente said: “As alleged in the indictment Akayed Ullah constructed a pipe bomb and detonated it in a mass transit hub in the heart of New York City to terrorize as many people as possible and to bring ISIS-inspired violence to American soil. Thanks to the tremendous efforts of the law enforcement community, the defendant was safely apprehended at the scene of the attack that injured three people, and will now be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The National Security Division remains steadfast in its mission to pursue justice against those who seek to harm our country and our citizens in the name of terrorism.”

As alleged in the Indictment and the Complaint:[1]

Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham

ISIS is a foreign terrorist organization based in the Middle East and Africa whose publicly stated purpose is the establishment of an Islamic state or caliphate based in the Middle East and Africa that encompasses all Muslims worldwide. ISIS has pursued the objective of an Islamic state through, among other things, killing and deliberate targeting of civilians, mass executions, persecution of individuals and communities on the basis of their religion, nationality, or ethnicity, kidnapping of civilians, forced displacement of Shia communities and minority groups, killing and maiming of children, rape, and other forms of sexual violence. ISIS has recruited thousands of foreign fighters from across the globe to assist with its efforts to expand its so-called caliphate in Iraq, Syria, and other locations in Africa and the Middle East, and has leveraged technology to spread its violent extremist ideology and for incitement to commit terrorist acts.

The December 11, 2017 Attack

On December 11, 2017, at approximately 7:20 a.m., AKAYED ULLAH detonated an improvised explosive device (“IED”) detonated inside a subway terminal (the “Subway Terminal”) in or around the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal located at West 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue in New York, New York (the “December 11 Attack”). Shortly after the blast, members of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department (“PAPD”) located ULLAH lying on the ground in the vicinity of the explosion. Surveillance footage captured ULLAH walking through the Subway Terminal immediately prior to the explosion, and then falling to the ground after the explosion.

ULLAH was subsequently taken into custody by law enforcement. During the course of ULLAH’s arrest, law enforcement officers located on his person and in the surrounding area what appeared to be the components of an exploded pipe bomb (the “Pipe Bomb”). Specifically, law enforcement located, among other items, (i) a nine-volt battery inside ULLAH’s pants pocket; (ii) wires connected to the battery and running underneath ULLAH’s jacket; (iii) two plastic zip ties underneath ULLAH’s jacket; (iv) several fragments of a metal pipe, including pieces of a metal end cap, on the ground; (v) the remnants of what appeared to be a Christmas tree lightbulb attached to wires; and (vi) pieces of what appear to be plastic zip ties, among other items.

After ULLAH was taken into custody, he was transferred to Bellevue Hospital, where he made statements to law enforcement officers after waiving his Miranda rights. During that interview, ULLAH stated, among other things, the following:

· ULLAH constructed the Pipe Bomb and carried out the December 11 Attack. ULLAH was inspired by ISIS to carry out the December 11 Attack, and stated, among other things, “I did it for the Islamic State.”

· ULLAH constructed the Pipe Bomb at his residence in Brooklyn (“the Residence”).

· The Pipe Bomb was composed of a metal pipe, which ULLAH filled with explosive material that he created. ULLAH used Christmas tree lights, wires, and a nine-volt battery as a trigger to detonate the Pipe Bomb. ULLAH filled the Pipe Bomb with metal screws, which he believed would cause maximum damage. ULLAH used zip ties to secure the Pipe Bomb to his body.

· ULLAH carried out the December 11 Attack in part because of the United States Government’s policies in, among other places, the Middle East. One of ULLAH’s goals in carrying out the December 11 Attack was to terrorize as many people as possible. He chose to carry out the attack on a work day because he believed that there would be more people.

· ULLAH’s radicalization began in at least approximately 2014. ULLAH viewed pro-ISIS materials online, including a video instructing, in substance, that if supporters of ISIS were unable to travel overseas to join ISIS, they should carry out attacks in their homelands. He began researching how to build IEDs on the Internet approximately one year prior to the attack.

· On the morning of December 11, 2017, shortly before carrying out the attack, ULLAH posted a statement on his Facebook account referring to the President of the United States, stating, in substance, “Trump you failed to protect your nation.” ULLAH also posted a statement that he believed would be understood by members and supporters of ISIS to convey that ULLAH carried out the attack in the name of ISIS.

Items Recovered from ULLAH’s Residence

On December 11, 2017, law enforcement agents conducted a search of the Residence pursuant to a judicially authorized search warrant. Law enforcement agents recovered, among other items, (i) multiple pieces of metal pipes; (ii) pieces of wire and fragments of what appear to be Christmas tree lights; (iii) multiple screws consistent with the screws recovered at the scene of the December 11 Attack; and (iv) a passport in ULLAH’s name with multiple handwritten notations, including: “O AMERICA, DIE IN YOUR RAGE.”

* * *

If convicted of the charges in the Indictment, potential maximum sentences could include: (i) 20 years in prison for providing and attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely, ISIS; (ii) life in prison for using and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction; (iii) life in prison for bombing and attempting to bomb a place of public use and a public transportation system; (iv) 20 years in prison (maximum) and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for destruction and attempted destruction of property by means of fire or explosives; (v) life in prison for conducting and attempting to conduct a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system; and (vi) a consecutive sentence of 30 years in prison (to life) for using a destructive device during and in furtherance of a crime of violence. The potential sentences are all related to Ullah’s detonation and attempted detonation of an explosive device in New York City.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Boente and Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative efforts of the FBI, the NYPD, the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and the PAPD. ULLAH’s arrest and indictment are the result of the close cooperative efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force – which consists of law enforcement officers of the FBI, NYPD, HSI, PAPD, and other agencies – and the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division.

The prosecution is being handled by the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shawn G. Crowley, Rebekah Donaleski, and George D. Turner are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Jerome J. Teresinski of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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