Beyond the Big Firm: Profiles of Lawyers Who Want Something More Book

This succinct paperback will fill a major information void for students and recent graduates who are interested in a legal career outside the typical large, corporate law firm. "Beyond the Big Firm" offers more than 30 engaging profiles of lawyers who have chosen to follow nontraditional legal careers, in a wide range of subject areas, practice settings, and types of work. This distinctive book explores the many possibilities open to graduates of law school through the use of profiles -- written primarily by students interested in public interest law -- of lawyers who made "alternative" career choices. The editors of this informative compilation are long-time public interest lawyers; the actual authors of the profiles are primarily students who capture the personalities of their subjects in a way that is sure to resonate with the audience because they share the same questions about career choices. The subjects of the profiles have been out of law school 10-15 years, they represent 18 law schools, and they work in 15 states. The lawyers profiled have jobs in governments, non-profits, and small private firms; both civil and criminal law are covered, including prosecutors and defense counsel. Some of the fields that the lawyers work in are civil rights, civil liberties, immigration, personal injury, and human rights. In addition to the fascinating lawyer-profiles, special features include: a special resources chapter to help students determine and follow their career choice; a final chapter with mini-profiles of 3 lawyers who are not practicing law, but for whom their legal training is vital to their work; and short essays by current and former Stanford Law School deans Larry Kramer and Kathleen Sullivan.Read More