When I first set out to write this paper I did not realize how wide of a range the term lawyer covered. When I asked my uncle, a lawyer himself, in an e-mail, to describe to me what a lawyer does he replied, "Your e-mail is a little along the lines of trying to condense US history into two paragraphs."(Bellock) There are many different occupations a person licensed to practice law can go into. A Vista lawyer that I talked to, Dan Carroll, said, "There are too many lawyers because there are too many ways for them to make money." The most well known area of law, and the one I am the most interested in, is criminal law. Criminal Lawyers "concentrate on cases of theft, murder, arson etc. A criminal lawyer defends the client of criminal charges or conducts trials against a party on behalf of his client" (Peopleone). A lawyer works on either on the prosecuting or defending side of the case. These cases are the most essential part in maintaining law and order throughout the country because they put criminals in jail and keep innocent people out. One of my goals in becoming a lawyer would be to become a partner at a major law firm that specializes in criminal law. Based on the research that I have done, the schooling that a lawyer has to go through, the numerous job opportunities, the possible salary, the specifics of being a criminal lawyer, and the work environment, make me believe I would make an excellent lawyer.
When an aspiring lawyer is going through college, there are two steps they must take. First they must go through four years of preparatory study. This is to prepare them for the LSAT exam, which is given to those who wish to enter law school. After they have passed that they must go to law school for 3 years before taking the bar exam. Law school is not an easy process, and many end up dropping out. "Law school is rigorous, and too many people find out too late that the actual practice of law does not meet their expectations.
