There’s no doubt about it – with the world the way it is right now, we are in dire need of more lawyers! But, what are the key reasons that are causing this unprecedentedly high demand for legal professionals? Well, one of the reasons is that fewer students are choosing to pursue a higher education qualification in law. They are electing instead to complete more novel areas of study – such as cyber security, for example. Further, fewer law graduates are using their degrees to go into a career as legal professionals. But how to overturn this downturn in lawyers, and meet this increasingly high demand for legal professionals? Just keep reading as we explore this concept further.
Becoming A Lawyer: Higher Education Qualifications in Law
If you’re interested in becoming a legal professional, you will, of course, be required to complete a tertiary qualification in law. Indeed, courses for lawyers are essential for anyone wanting to pursue a career in the legal field. As part of your law degree, you will learn and develop key skills, capabilities and attributes that are vital to becoming a lawyer. Some of these qualities include communication skills, problem-solving capabilities, time management and organisation skills, negotiation expertise, and attention to detail – just to name a few!
The best thing about this type of degree is that you can choose to complete it online. Importantly, off-campus study is a great way to save both time and money as a student. By completing your course online, you will not have to commute to your university campus – avoiding travel time, as well as transport costs. You will also save on course fees. This is because your university facility will experience reduced overheads if you choose to complete your qualification remotely. As such, they will not need to pass on-campus costs to you. So, your course fees will be lower than if you chose to attend in-person lectures, tutorials, prac labs, and other on-campus events.
More Lawyers: Why Do We Need Them
There are many reasons why we need more lawyers now than ever before. Some of these reasons include the fact that legal students simply aren’t graduating and progressing their careers fast enough! This is essentially a classic case of supply not meeting demand.
Also, fewer people are choosing to pursue a career in law today. 20% less, in fact! This is because of a decrease in the number of students choosing to enrol in legal studies. This can be attributed to demographic factors, as well as a shift in the areas of study that students are choosing to pursue. A lucrative career in cyber security, for example, is in many ways more appealing to ambitious students aspiring to a high-level, well-paid career pathway.
As such, we need to make studying law and becoming a lawyer more appealing to upcoming students and graduates. We must also allow ourselves to grow our legal ranks by employing more ‘non-lawyer’ legal experts and paralegals.
Legal Career Paths: What Job Prospects are Available to Law Graduates?
Students who complete a law degree have many job options available to them in the legal field upon graduation from their course. Some of these career prospects include:
Lawyer
The role of a lawyer can be extremely varied! However, most of a lawyer’s daily tasks and responsibilities are made up of representing clients at court appearances, for example, or providing legal support. For this reason, being a lawyer can also be somewhat of a legal advisory role.
Barrister
A barrister’s role differs from that of a lawyer, in that rather than being employed by a legal firm, barristers are independent legal practitioners. As such, they will usually be tasked with providing specialised legal advice and guidance.
Solicitor
A solicitor is also a legal advisory or legal counsel role, albeit often less senior than that of a lawyer or barrister. This means that solicitors are usually responsible for the preparation of court documents, as well as negotiations outside of the courtroom.
Legal professionals – in particular, lawyers – are in higher demand than ever before. This increased need for lawyers can be attributed to the fact that fewer students are pursuing legal studies today. Even if they do choose to complete a legal qualification, once they graduate, many students are not choosing to utilise their law degree to become a lawyer. Instead, many are simply aspiring to attain this qualification for prestige!
That being said, we need to make the legal arena more appealing to law graduates. To do this, we need to offer more benefits. A higher salary, perhaps, or a greater work/life balance. Either way, we need to do something to meet our ever-growing demand for more lawyers – before we are left with minimal legal resources to call upon.
