Hi Sheesh,

An attorney here. I've been an attorney for 27 years, having been a Registered Nurse for 10 yrs (still licensed as a nurse).

Law is like many other professions wherein people tend to specialize in specific areas. Many attorneys don't even practice law, but, instead use their law degrees in related fields. Law itself is so varied. What you see on TV is far from the reality. There is everything from civil law (plaintiff or defense), family law, criminal (prosecutor or defense), tax, probate, contracts, business, intellectual property, entertainment, etc. Many attorneys do not like courtroom work, and instead, are very good at research (preparing briefs, legal opinions, legislative analysis, etc.) There are both State and Federal jurisdictions and people tend to specialize in one or the other.

In my case, I specialize in insurance defense and own my own firm with 4 attorneys. These days I spend more of my time "running a business" and less time practicing law. I oversee and assign the files as they come into the office, and cover calendar appearances when we have calendar conflicts. We also handle Administrative Hearings and we end up doing quite a lot of pro bono work in that area.

It is true that law can be boring or tedious at times - dealing with deadlines and rules of court, etc. I think that is true in almost any profession.

Many people have an idea of what they want to de before they go to law school. By the time they are finished, they find they like another area of law. Most law schools have externship programs of some sort, or clerkships with judges wherein the students get exposed to various areas. Those programs often lead to job opportunities.

You might want to look around and see if there is a law firm willing to hire you and do some "on the job" training in a clerical capacity. That way you will get an idea of the "atmosphere' of a law office. Again, however, every law office is different depending on the type of practice. Keep an open mind. Even if you go to law school and don't actually practice law, the education will always serve you well.

Please feel free to PM me if you want.

Good Luck!!
Nina