It is actually pretty easy. The world of lawyers is divided into two segements:

1. litigators
2. non-litigators (transactional lawyers)

Even in the litigation world, most attorneys are not ever in court (in an average size full service firm of 100 lawyers, 35 or so might be in litigation, and only 15-20 or so of them might be typically involved in courtroom work).

But if you don't want to be in court, you could be:

• general corporate
• mergers & acquisitions
• real estate
• commercial finance
• securities law (IPOs, filing compliance, etc)
• intellectual property
• health law
• trusts and estates (will, planning, etc.)
• tax law (the business planing and transactional kind, not tax court kind)
• some employment law (ERISA, etc)

Take a look at the websites of the major law firms in your town. There will be plenty of explanation. I did real mostly estate and M&A my first 5-6 years, specifically doing REIT (real estate investment trusts) work. Then I started doing more commercial finance. Most people think about LA Law, or the Practice, or Matlock when you say lawyer. But most lawyers never see a courtroom.

__________________
Fredrick T. Greco
Senior Pastor, Christ Church PCA (Katy, TX)
Christ Church Blog

"The heart is the main thing in true religion...It is the hinge and turning-point in the condition of man's soul. If the heart is alive to God and quickened by the Spirit, the man is a living Christian. If the heart is dead and has not the Spirit, the man is dead before God." (J.C. Ryle)

I've been wanting to do estate planning, but thus far, the only job I can turn up for the summer is with the D.A.'s office.

Any suggestions for getting into an office to start watching how it goes? Is just sending in resumes a good practice or is something more better? Should I try to network (which has yet to turn anything up), or just walk into offices?

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Andrew DeShazo, Deacon, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN
"All of us stumble in many ways, but if anyone is never at fault in what he says, then he is mature, able to control his whole body."(James 3:2)

What is your current status? Have you completed law school? Passed a bar? Worked before? Feel free to PM me.

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Fredrick T. Greco
Senior Pastor, Christ Church PCA (Katy, TX)
Christ Church Blog

"The heart is the main thing in true religion...It is the hinge and turning-point in the condition of man's soul. If the heart is alive to God and quickened by the Spirit, the man is a living Christian. If the heart is dead and has not the Spirit, the man is dead before God." (J.C. Ryle)

I'd dare say there are more non-litigation positions than litigation positions out there. I've been a litigator for 16 years in courts all over my state. You see the same faces over and over. Our state bar has around 30,000 members, our biggest county (King) has around 10,000 of them. I'd guess that less than a thousand in King County are regular litigators. All those other lawyers must work somewhere else!

All of these areas and more have non-litigation positions:

Corporate law (being on the legal staff of a corporation or other business or being with a small firm advising business), estate planning, business workouts, transactions (both real estate and corporate acquistions), securities law, immigration law, education, non-profit organizations, governmental agencies (policy analysts, etc.), judicial clerks. On and on.

Edit: Oops, I see Fred already answered the question more thoroughly than I did.

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R.Vic Bottomly
Providence Reformed Baptist Church, Tacoma, WA

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