re: Non-Law jobs with a law degree

I'm pretty dead set on the corp. I've met with a couple colonels and a Lt. Colonel and I love the culture. My time up in DC confirmed that.

Biggest thing holding me back is the pt. Working daily on that though.

I appreciate your advice/comments.

I did the same thing - figured out over halfway through law school that I didn't want to be a traditional attorney. I managed to land a position with the Feds, a position that is not a "legal position," but one for which I would've never been hired without a legal education. I've moved up extremely fast and, due to my Govt experience, I now have private sector options that would've never been open to me at this stage of my career had I chosen a more traditional path. I'm not leaving the Feds anytime soon, but when I do, it will be for a very high salary.

A good friend of mine took a non-legal HR position out of law school. He's very much a people person. I know HR sounds like a total waste of a legal education, but he's surrounded by very average employees and he's a rockstar almost by default. He's been doing quite well financially and is in a fairly stress-free environment. Individuals with a legal background willing to work as HR Managers are apparently a rare breed.

My advice -
1. your law school career services people, unless they know specific individuals you can submit resumes to, will likely be worthless in your pursuit of a non-legal position. You may be better off making connections with professors that teach legal topics in the business school. Somebody mentioned applying to be a Landman in a previous reply. That's a good start.
2. It's hard to convince people to take a chance on you because they're afraid you'll leave when you find an "attorney" position somewhere else. You need to start thinking of ways to combat this perception while selling the positives you'll bring.
3. Friends/family will tell you that you are wasting your legal education if you aren't going to be an attorney. I'll agree that somebody with no intention of being a lawyer probably shouldn't decide to go to law school, but nobody anticipates changing their mind after they already begin law school. In other words, tell those people politely to keep their opinions to themselves because you're making your own way.
4. You don't know where your life is going to take you, but as long as you leverage your legal education whenever possible, you'll have a leg up on virtually all of your co-workers (who will not have a legal education). The same is true in your non-work life. For instance, I would've never had the confidence/knowledge to become a landlord had it not been for my Property, Contracts, and Real Estate classes in law school. This sort of thing will help make your 3-year sacrifice feel more worthwhile.
5. You should still sit for the Bar, even if you're not going to "use it" in your job.

Best of luck.

What type of position if you don't mind me asking?

The tax departments of the Big 4 accounting firms hire attorneys regularly. The work is generally more compliance oriented (tax returns) than legal/research, but a legal education will be put to fair use.

Awesome advice, I really appreciate it

I have a bunch of contacts up in DC and will probably try to intern there again this Summer. I will try to milk it for all it's worth -- I absolutely loved the work.

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The tax departments of the Big 4 accounting firms hire attorneys regularly. The work is generally more compliance oriented (tax returns) than legal/research, but a legal education will be put to fair use.

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I don't have a finance background. Is there anything I can do in law school or outside of law school to build that base?

USPTO FTFMFW

I'm in oil and gas doing A&D work...I practiced as an O&G lawyer for about 6 yrs, went inhouse with a small E&P and over time worked my way into A&D...wouldn't have happened without the law degree...that degree has made everything I'm doing now possible and gives me an edge in contract negotiations.

Bottom line a law degree has a lot of value outside of law - there are many options. The only limit is your imagination, will.

In house Landman with one of the majors.

Graduated from LSU in 07' and I was in the same boat as you. I started up a mid-size CPA firm in Houston doing State & Local Tax work. (because it paid $10k better than my Big 4 offer) I now manage a group within a large O&G service company's tax department.

Law school didn't explicitly prepare me for my job, but I think it's given me an advantage over the traditional CPAs that I've worked alongside.