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Dear Fishes, I am switching for the ist time in my life in 8 years.Need guidance on which will be better in terms of wlb,job security and learning wise.offered compensation is nearly same in all 1.Harman(product) 2.Hitachi Vantara 3.Banking captives:-Deutsche,UBS, HSBC Yoe:8 Techstack: java,Microservices,Devops,AWS,Azure Harman Harman Connected Services Hitachi Vantara Deutsche Bank UBS EY Deloitte PwC Tata Consultancy Wipro Capgemini Cognizant HSBC HSBC India
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There is not enough information here to answer.
Depending on where you live, calibrate the demand for an area of expertise against the supply; that will dictate your ability to go solo and clear $200k annually.
I practiced 17 years, 10 public and 7 private. I was not efficient until year 5 and did not know enough to be successful solo until year 8. I found family law to be in VERY high demand and the clients to be insufferable. In brief period s of dabbling with immigration law, I found the judges lacking, prospective clients were 98% seeking pro bono work, opposing counsel rigid, and the satisfaction lacking.
My personal experiences with real estate law were fleeting. I was AWFUL at the topic in law school and tried to stay away from it, but got roped into it a few times. It is transaction work at a desk. There was one water case that got me out of the office for a site visit and into court to litigate the issue. Water rights lawyers got paid out the yin-yang (whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting), and there is a level of expertise essential to concummating a proper transaction among ranchers to swap land around that pays handsomely. My work was less interesting, in demand, and I often passed on the projects.
I have not done entertainment law, but the legal issues I have read about (AI, copyright, contracts, general advocacy in representation) are intellectually challenging and nuanced. The clientele appears to be in endless supply, the expertise demand warrants a high salary, and I wager there may be some high satisfaction in the work. Plus a few side benefits (tickets and proximity to stardom) that are attractive.
In summary, I humbly suggest you change the issue question you have posed to, “What area of law will give me the most satisfaction?” You get to choose among four practice areas. Your ultimate goal is to open your own shop and seek to clear $200k annually. The answer, in my brief experience, is NOT family or immigration law. Depending on how you seek to practice law, my inclination is to lean toward a highly transactional, non-adversarial real estate practice that will have you on your own within 5-10 years or with a specific focus on water law that will take a full 10 years but have you clearing closer to 300k annually. Or something a bit sexier with better variety: entertainment law.
I offer one wrinkle: I had three babies while in public service and one baby while in private practice. If I had it to do over, I would have had all four children while in public service the whole way through. The benefits to me and my family were immeasurable.
Just remember: your judgment is infallible, choices like this are half-chance, and no matter what focus on your personal happiness. The money will follow, but it is the happiness that cannot be replaced.
May the force be with you~
Have you considered working at a firm to get some experience in any of these practice areas before going solo?
F
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I’ve been in the legal field for 26 years and have worked in , or know attorneys who have worked in all of those areas.
Entertainment: This is a very niche practice area that is hard to get going unless you have strong connections already established in sports, film, etc. A guy I went to law school with was an athlete with some connections and has worked for a sports & entertainment law firm for the last 8 years. He still hasn’t tried going solo.
Real Estate: This one absolutely varies based on the housing market and interest rates. If you go this direction, I’d be sure you live in or near a high growth area with a lot of need for buying and selling homes regularly.
Immigration: This one is tricky and will constantly depend on what legislation gets passed. If you go this route, your safest bet is sticking with corporate clients who sponsor workers who need visas or are seeking citizenship.
Family law: I’ve spent most of my career in this area so I’m going to be brutally blunt. It’s a high stress area of practice because clients’ emotions run high constantly. It’s rare that you’ll have an amicable divorce or custody case. Clients are often looking to get under each others skin and in doing so, will ignore the advice you give them and dig themselves a deeper hole (ex: we told a client to pay his alimony on time and because he was annoyed that his ex reported him being a couple of days late a few times, he decided to pay over $900 in pennies left in a box on her driveway—on time). He was immediately ruled in. Expect there to be slow periods between November-February and a lot of people wait until they receive their tax returns to actually move forward months after seeking a consult. Late Friday afternoons you’re guaranteed to get angry/panicked calls about visitation exchange problems. Monday mornings you’re guaranteed to walk into long emails and voicemails about weekend visitation problems you’re expected to instantly act on. Most Now, the other option for family law that may be much more appealing is a collaborative divorce practice.
F