It’s no secret. Practicing law can be extremely stressful. Think long hours, impossible deadlines, and overwhelming caseloads, just to name a few. It’s a small wonder that many law graduates and also experienced lawyers and advocates are looking for jobs that come with a healthier work-life balance.
If you’re in such a position, read on. Below I list 25 low-stress jobs for professionals with a law degree.
1. Law Librarian
This oft-forgotten-about career is perfect for a legal professional who wants to get away from all the tight deadlines and long hours.
Law librarians work in a variety of library settings, including courts, law firms, law schools, and corporations.
Their duties include evaluating the validity and accuracy of sources, doing research, and procuring and classifying library materials.
2. Legal Instructor
Just because you don’t want to practice law anymore, doesn’t mean all your knowledge and experience should go to waste.
Working as a legal instructor will allow you to share your legal expertise with others. You can provide continuing education for in-house lawyers or bar associations. Or you can teach a variety of courses, such as real estate law, criminal justice, and ethics, at a community college.
3. Law School Professor
Another option, if you like the idea of teaching, is to work as a law professor. Law professors typically work in the law schools of universities, where they teach the next generation of legal professionals.
As a professor, you’ll also do research and publish papers. Since this is a highly competitive field that’s a bit tricky to enter, you may need to obtain a fellowship or a Ph.D. first.
4. Writer
Earning a law degree and practicing law involves a lot of writing. Students in law school receive thorough training in legal writing and drafting since just about every phase of the legal process is accompanied by legal documents.
If the time has come to ditch your legal career, you can use your expert writing skills to make a living. You can write articles for legal publications, create a legal training course, or start your own blog.
5. Regional Planner
Working as an urban planner is another career where your legal knowledge and experience will come in handy, since federal, state, and local laws often come into play.
To gain the necessary knowledge of urban planning, you can complete a course, or you can apply for an entry-level position with a planning agency or consulting firm. Urban planning can be very rewarding because it often involves the planning of sustainable developments.
6. Legal Videographer
Legal professionals who are looking for a complete change can consider working as q legal videographer. It’s a perfect job for lawyers who hate being lawyers.
Legal videographers make video and audio recordings for legal purposes. Apart from courtroom cases, legal videographers record the signing of legal documents, evidence at crime scenes, depositions, and accident scenes.
7. Legal Recruiter
Another alternative career for professionals with a law degree is working as a legal recruiter. It’s one of easy jobs for lawyers since they can use their expert knowledge of the field to supply law firms with qualified and talented employees.
As a legal recruiter, you’ll attract and headhunt lawyers and attorneys, as well as other legal staff like paralegals and legal assistants.
8. Business Valuation Specialist
Your legal expertise will also come in handy in the field of business valuation. A business valuation specialist determines the economic value of a business.
Their detailed reports are used when a business owner wants to sell their company, or merge with another business.
Business valuation specialists are also used in divorce proceedings and estate and succession planning.
9. Foreign Service Officer
If you like the idea of public service and working abroad, working as a foreign service officer may be a good fit. As a foreign service officer, you can occupy various positions.
While political officers, for instance, work with government officials at various levels, consular officers focus on humanitarian issues, such as adoption and human trafficking.
10. Career Coach for Lawyers
Your knowledge of how to build and maintain a career as a legal professional can be put to good use by working as a career coach.
Career coaches for lawyers focus on helping their clients reach specific goals. Some career coaches, for instance, specialize in helping their clients obtain raises or promotions, while others help their clients find alternative careers.
11. Government Lawyer
Government lawyers provide legal advice to members of government departments regarding issues like discrimination and taxes.
Depending on the precise nature of the job, you may draw on your knowledge of fiscal law, labor law, employment law, tax law, and grants management.
You may also have opportunities to become involved in policy-making. While you’ll still be practicing law, this job has regular hours.
12. Claims Adjuster
The insurance industry provides a safe and stable alternative career path for legal professionals.
There is a strong relationship between insurance adjusting and practicing law, which is why many insurance companies are employing legal professionals as claims adjusters.
Liability claims, workers’ compensations, and personal injury all involve a lot of legality and litigation.
13. Real Estate Attorney
Real estate attorneys specialize in matters relating to property, including rental agreements and the buying and selling of property.
The work you’ll be doing is quite varied, since you may be busy with the acquisition of a large firm one day and resolving land disputes the next.
Although you’ll still be working as an attorney, rigid deadlines in this line of work are rare. As such, it’s one of the best legal jobs for work-life balance.
14. Law Clerk
Another low-stress job with a law degree is working as a law clerk. These professionals provide support and assistance to judges.
Lawyers who have recently graduated often work as law clerks. Apart from providing you with opportunities to work at law firms, working as a law clerk will also make it easier for you to pursue alternative careers with a law degree, such as in academia.
15. Traffic Attorney
One of the least competitive areas of law is traffic law. Most cases that a traffic attorney handles are pretty straightforward.
Apart from DUI cases, these professionals mostly deal with simple speeding cases. Such cases require minimal preparation and complications are rare, so it’s one of the least stressful legal jobs out there.
16. Intellectual Property Attorney
Working as an intellectual property attorney is another low-stress job for professionals with a law degree since this job doesn’t require the late nights and intense busy periods of many other legal positions.
Intellectual property attorneys protect the brands, logos, and patents of their clients against plagiarism.
17. High Street Lawyer
Another low-stress job for professionals with a law degree is working as a high street family lawyer. High street companies are small-to-medium firms that are often located in towns.
Because of the smaller size of these companies, the work of lawyers typically involves fewer deadlines and less stress. While trainees must work in at least three different areas of law, qualified lawyers can specialize in one area, such as family law.
18. In-House Lawyer
In-house lawyers provide legal advice for a specific company. Since they’re only working for one client, in-house lawyers have less rigid deadlines and the work is not as demanding.
The type of work these professionals do is varied and can range from working on contracts to dealing with breaches of privacy to advising a company on their tax affairs. For this reason, it can be one of the more interesting and fun jobs in law.
19. Estate Planning Attorney
Estate planning is yet another low-stress field in law. If you’re looking for flexibility in your career while still practicing law, working as an estate planning attorney is a good option.
The job involves creating wills, designating beneficiaries, managing their clients’ property, and finding ways to reduce estate tax.
Estate planning attorneys actively work towards avoiding the need for court proceedings by drafting clear legal documents.
20. Legislative Analyst
While working as a legislative analyst doesn’t require a law degree, employers tend to prefer applicants with this qualification.
If you’re looking for a job in the legal field but you’re not into pressure and tight deadlines, this career may be a good fit.
Legislative analysts keep up to date with changing laws and new bills and determine how these may affect their employers.
21. Compliance Officer
Since a compliance officer ensures that a company is in compliance with state and federal regulatory and legal requirements, it is a good alternative job for a person with a legal background.
The job requires a thorough understanding of the relevant rules and regulations that apply to a company. Through their work, compliance officers protect a company against big fines or sanctions.
22. Legal Consultant
Legal consultants provide legal advice to their clients. If you want to remain in law but don’t want to represent clients anymore, this job is a good option. In addition, it comes with a flexible schedule and a variety in the types of assignments and responsibilities you’ll have.
Companies tend to hire legal consultants when their expertise in a specialized area, such as medical law, litigation, or compliance, is needed.
23. Mediator
Parties who are embroiled in a legal dispute often call in a neutral third party, called a mediator or arbitrator, to settle the matter outside of court.
Although a law degree is not a requirement, your experience in practicing law can help you navigate the complexities of legal negotiations.
This is another role that allows you to work in the legal services industry without having to represent clients.
24. Employment Lawyer
Employment lawyers prevent legal issues, or potential legal issues, from turning into matters of litigation when it comes to issues in the workplace.
These professionals mediate disputes and also review employment contracts and other relevant documents. As an employment lawyer, you can work in a law office or in-house for a company. This type of job normally involves regular office hours.
25. Contract Manager
A contract manager oversees the creation and maintenance of a company’s contracts. Since contracts are legally binding documents, your expertise as a legal professional will come to good use.
However, you won’t need to burn the midnight oil like you would when working as a lawyer or an advocate.
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