I'm a state-level law clerk about to end my clerkship. The pandemic and this work experience have shown me that I don't like the practice of law and that it's probably only going to get worse with more intense practice. I'm stuck on what I should do at this point. I'll be taking the Bar in a couple weeks, but I've got no prospects lined up after that. Any encouragement or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

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Take the bar and apply to law jobs. It'll be easier once your lisenced. Give it a year and reevaluate after.

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I'm aware. It's my advice to get a job as a lawyer and reevaluate their interest in law after a year. After three years of law school they can spare one more year to see if they actually like being a lawyer. Practice is not like clerkships.

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You owe it to yourself to take the bar. Get the license, but don’t feel like you HAVE to practice. There are a lot of alternative career opportunities in business, health administration, compliance, consulting, journalism, etc. You may find it helpful to talk to your state or local bar association or other lawyers about non-traditional jobs that may be a better fit.

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What type of judge were you clerking for? It could be that you just don’t like that area of law. A civil courtroom is very different from a criminal courtroom. My first job was in civil and it was awful - the judges were cold, opposing counsel was obnoxious, and the work itself was boring. I’m in criminal law now and it is my dream job.

I am a part of a legal research department. We work for all judges on an assignment basis - so no specific judge. I've been working on civil stuff mostly. I was going to attempt transactional work, but I'm just not feeling it anymore.

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