I had a non-traditional background prior to applying for law school. My undergrad was in nutrition and development, and I wanted to build on this
training and work and combine it with the law school training. I could have gone to a different type of graduate school, but I thought the J.D. would give me more versatility.

I encourage all law students to think outside the box!! There are many jobs where you do not practice law per se but need legal background. One example is managing trusts. You can work at any bank or college in the nation
—which definitely constitutes a large list of employers. Banks need people who can manage trusts and know the legal implications of their decisions. Alumni and Development departments need people to draft trusts and estate documents when alumni want to donate to their schools. If you think outside the box, you will realize how many employers could benefit from your legal education. You now have an advantage over every other interested employee who does not have a JD.

Right now I am looking into jobs offered by the Federal Department of Agriculture, and Department of Commerce. I may even try to open up a fitness center. I think my law degree will help me become a better business person in the future.

On Monday February 2nd, I was laid off from my firm which has 59 attorneys. The reason was the sagging economy. I did banking, finance, and real estate law for the past 5 years. Now that I find myself looking for a job, I catch myself looking for an attorney job, just to come up empty handed. So, im trying to look outside the box and look for opportunities in government, non-profit, corporate America. So far I've had little success, but its early in the search process.

I'd love to hear from others that are searching for legal jobs or are retiring from the legal rat race.

I received my JD in 1984, practiced criminal law for 5 years, then one day I represented a client with a federal narcotics charge. The charge was the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. My client was a pharmacist and did not use proper procedures when selling oxycoton.
After I got the client probation, I decided to partner with him and for the last 17 years we have been operating a small chain of pharmacies in Indiana.

I dont regret making the career move. In fact, I love the work/life balance I have operating a pharmacy.

If it was not for practicing law, i would not have been presented with an opportunity to do what I am doing now.

So, while you dont have to practice law at all once you graduate law school, if you decide to practice law at all, you also dont have to practice forever.

This question is for Hugh JD. You said you got into pharmacy because of the work life balance. Dont pharmacists work weekends and keep late hours?

Were there any other reasons for choosing pharmacy over the practice of law?

I graduated law school 11 years ago with my JD. I went right into corporate legal rather than a law firm. For the past 11 years I did in-house insurance defense. I was recently laid off and now that I am trying to get into a law firm the firms are saying that I dont have "law firm" experience nor do I have any clients.

So, in response to the posts in this thread I warn you that if you leave the practice of law, its very hard to get back into it again. If you leave at all then you are out!

Good luck!

Check out this article from CNN today about laid off lawyers now practicing "non-traditional law" http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/03/16/lawyer.layoff.public/index.html