Legal Question in Family Law in Wisconsin

Re: How might I determine which kind of law I want to pursue in law school?

Hello,

Nearly everyone starts out taking certain required law course in the first year: property, contracts, real estate, torts. Thus, there is little or no choice about what to study at first. The purpose for this is to give everyone legal knowledge in some areas that they will use regardless of what law area they end up in. Many people dont know what areas of law to pursue until they get into law school, some not until law school is over. After you take the required courses then you have more choice. If you have an idea as to what type of law you want to practice (law firm, specialized area, government, corporate, public), then you can take courses that tend to be in those areas moreso than the others. For example, if you knew you wanted to be a trial lawyer, you would for certain take more courses than the required ones in that general area. This will help because if you take courses you may have more interest in, you might get better grade and graduate higher in your class. No way do you have to know what kind of lawyer you want to be, or even what courses you want to take once you get there, you make your selections one year at a time. It is fine that some people think they have it all figured out; but for others they need more information to decide what is best for them and there is no rush. In fact, my guess is that some of those who take threir time come up with options that are out of the ordinary but might be better for them. These days many people dont end up with the older traditional law practices. This is not necessarily bad, it is just that times are changing and flexibility is good. Many people think they know what they are doing but change their minds once they get into law school with regard to course selection. Finally, one thing to keep researching, and I havent stopped doing this now over 20 years of practice, is what kind of law to practice and where. How do you know? Read, talk to people, look at state Bar website and see what is going on. The facts of different type of law practice and life after law school could be different than the law students perception, for better or worse, and you should try to base you decision on as current information you can get about yourself and various oppportunities and challenges. Best wishes, Mark J. Mahoney