No doubt about it, a law degree is an excellent qualification. Being a lawyer has always been seen as a career with kudos, respect, good financial prospects, job security and intellectually stimulating. Many of these still hold true, but when it comes to firms outside perhaps the top 250, the financial prospects are not nearly as good as many might think. Being a solicitor in a small practice, whilst intellectually stimulating, also results in dealing with clients who do not have the same view of solicitors they maybe did 20 years ago. Lawyers are now seen as service providers more than professionals, as a commodity, a means to an end. this is reality whether fair or otherwise.
There are many other careers well suited to those with a good analytical mind and qualifications. We will highlight some of these on an ongoing basis.
1. Commercial Investigations
Kroll are the market leaders in what has become a very interesting industry. Commercial investigators tend to work closely with law firms, accountants, insolvency practitioners and there are some really excellent and fascinating careers out there for law graduates in this field, where legal skills and the need to stay within the law are highly valued. The image of investigators is really completely incorrect at the corporate level. A lot of the work such as high level due diligence is, whilst discreet, not at all “murky”