Litigation vs Transactional Law [What Does a Corporate Attorney Do | What Do Litigators Do]
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ก.ค. 2024
- LITIGATION VS TRANSACTIONAL LAW//Hey guys! Wondering what does a corporate attorney do? What do litigators do? What it’s like to be a young lawyer practicing as one or the other? You’ve come to the right place! As you may have already experienced yourself, lawyers are traditionally divided into two major categories: (1) corporate (or transactional) lawyers and (2) litigators. There are tons of sub-specialties in each category, but which one you fit into (or aspire to fit into) will be the question you are asked most often once you declare that you want to be a lawyer!
P.S. Deciding your career path in law school and beyond graduation is not easy, and law schools do a terrible job of explaining the difference. SO, to get the ins and outs of the realities of litigation vs transactional law -- what each means, what the job looks like, and how you can expect your career to develop -- check out this video!
See you guys in there!!
Angela
................................................
Very special thanks to BRETT CENKUS for joining me in this video! Go check out all of the great law-related videos on his TH-cam channel HERE: / brettcenkus
Visit Brett’s law firm website (Cenkus Law) HERE: cenkuslaw.com/
Connect with Brett on LinkedIn HERE: / brettcenkus
................................................
1. Corporate law: WHAT DOES A CORPORATE LAWYER DO
2. Litigation: WHAT DOES A LITIGATOR DO
3. Corporate law: JUNIOR ASSOCIATE V. SENIOR ASSOCIATE
4. Litigation: JUNIOR ASSOCIATE V. SENIOR ASSOCIATE
5. Corporate law: WHAT TYPES OF CLIENTS DO YOU WORK FOR
6. Litigation: WHAT TYPES OF CLIENTS DO YOU WORK FOR
7: Litigation: EXPECTATIONS V. REALITY
8: Corporate law: EXPECTATIONS V. REALITY
9. Corporate law: MOST CHALLENGING V. MOST FUN
10. Litigation: MOST CHALLENGING V. MOST FUN
................................................
👉🏻 Download the FREE GUIDE: “Best Questions to Ask in Law Firm Interviews": launch.angelavorpahl.com/best...
................................................
👉🏻 Looking to connect with other law students and build your network?
JOIN THE FREE LAW STUDENT NETWORK FACEBOOK GROUP: / lawtribenetwork
................................................
#lifeofalawyer #lawyermentoring #lawyercoaching
................................................
P.S. SUBSCRIBE and Ring the Bell 🔔 to see new videos EVERY TUESDAY!
................................................
Check out my playlist of other LEGAL LIFESTYLE VIDEOS here!:
The Truth About a Big Law Firm Salary: • The Truth About a Big ...
Work Life Balance for Lawyers: • Work Life Balance for ...
How Much do Lawyers Work: • How Much Do Lawyers Wo...
How to Become an International Lawyer: • How to Become an Inter...
Lawyer Personality Types: • Lawyer Personality Typ...
Millennial Lawyers 2019: • What Millennials Want ...
Top 5 Myths About Lawyers: • Top 5 Myths About Lawy...
Why I Became a Lawyer: • Why I Decided to Becom...
Girl Lawyer War Stories: • Girl Lawyer War Stories
................................................
Hit me up on social media with any questions about how to succeed as a lawyer in the legal industry!!
/ angelavorpahl
/ angelavorpahlofficial
/ angelavorpahl
angelavorpahl@gmail.com
................................................
• Litigation vs Transact...
![[TH] VCT Pacific Stage 2 - Playoffs Day 3 // DRX vs GEN | PRX vs TLN](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CWM1Q-2-o3M/mqdefault.jpg)
![[LIVE] ใครคุยเรื่องบอล "พ่องตาย" #คุยให้เด็กมันฟัง EP.43 (13/7/67)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8bHYL8RuBqs/mqdefault.jpg)
👉🏻 Download the FREE GUIDE: “Best Questions to Ask in Law Firm Interviews": launch.angelavorpahl.com/best-questions-to-ask-visit
Which category (litigation or corporate) are you guys leaning more towards???
Thanks for the videos. I’ll be a summer associate next summer, and I’m hoping to get some exposure to transactional work. My 1L internship was all litigation though, so I’m leaning in that direction at the moment.
@@9502937 Awesome!! And keep in mind that there are some niches that have a bit of crossover with litigation and corporate, like bankruptcy, tax, labor and employment, and IP if you're looking for a practice group to do a bit of both :)
Litigation
Angela Vorpahl coporate lawyer is what I be when I grow up
Thanks for helping me understand law better
Corporate
I’m so glad I found your channel! I’m a 1L right now, and your videos are really helping me get a better idea of my career options/what my career will look like. Thank you for posting these videos!
Hey, Gwendolyn!! I'm so glad the videos have been helpful!! I'm excited for you guys to see the new ones coming up starting back again Feb. 4!!
Great video Angela! I enjoyed getting to see two different perspectives and this was definitely helpful! I appreciate the work and effort you put in your videos. You’re so underrated. Thank you!
Hey Selena!! Thanks so much for your super sweet words!! I'm glad the video was helpful! :)
Thank you so much for making this video! This certainly has helped me gain better insight into the actual work of an attorney. Not only that fact, but also your hindsight as to expectations compared to the reality of the profession from years of experience paints a much clearer picture of the work of attorneys than other TH-camrs.
I'm so happy to hear that! I love sharing what I've learned along the way and how big the gap was between what I know now and what I knew when I started (which was basically nothing). I think it's crazy important to help law students and young lawyers fill in those gaps so that it doesn't feel like you're going through the profession totally blind for 3 years :)
I’m a currently in a pre law program and I couldn’t thank you enough for all your great videos! They are all so informative and well constructed.
My pleasure!!! I'm so glad they're helpful!!
I’m a college senior planning on taking a year off and studying for the LSAT to go to a t14 school. I just discovered your channel and I love it!!
I'm so glad!!! Congrats on taking the LSAT and feel free to hit me up with any questions as you make your way through the process!! :)
Angela Vorpahl what are the t14 schools?
@@justinbrosnahan373 t14=top 14
As a first-generation law student needing to prepare for OCI during a pandemic and without much connections, your videos is one of the best things to happen to me recently!! I am so grateful to you. Thank you.
I'm so happy to hear it! If you're interested in more information and support, I run a free FB group for law students, prelaw students, and new lawyers. Would you like the link to join?
@@AngelaVorpahl I'd love the link! I'm a new lawyer.
@@lifeafterlawschoolwithmari8627 Great! Here's the link to join: facebook.com/groups/lawtribenetwork See you inside!!
Thank you for all your videos Angela! Headed to law school in the fall, your videos are very helpful!
Excellent!! I'm so happy to hear that!! And I'm pumped for you guys to see the new ones coming out soon!!
Hey Angela, this video has helped me a lot. I definitely can see myself doing litigation and this has help me really pursue a career as corporate lawyer
That's so awesome to hear, Noah! It's crazy how law schools don't ever really explain the difference between the two biggest umbrella legal groups, and people kind of have to figure it out on their own (or by accident), so I'm so glad we were able to make this video!
Thank you, this is the kind of video I needed to make the decision on what type of law that I will practice when I get to Law School.
That's so awesome to hear!!!! I'm so glad the video was helpful!!!
Thank you for this video. Throughout my experience with the law, I always just drifted from Litigation into transactional with no clear stream of development on either side. I so want to get on my feet in court and like yourself I was 'terrified' about speaking in court in the past. This video has helped me a lot in cutting forward and developing the Litigation path. Thank you.
Hi, Wayne! I'm so happy to hear that! And cheers to you for trying out both -- corporate law freaked me out so much that I've never dared cross over to the other side. But it's definitely doable if you're open and willing to learn! :)
I just found your channel and finding your content really useful - I'm currently applying for Training Contracts in the UK but videos like this are still super helpful!! Thank you so much :)
That's awesome!!! I'm so glad the videos have been helpful!! :)
such quality content, so little views :( you should try to collab with legal eagle!
Thanks, Jonathan!! That's not a bad idea! I should totally reach out, they make great videos!!
@@AngelaVorpahl i will like to learn more about law i don't know if you can be of help
Great video, so glad I found this channel. I'm a UK law student who will be joining a US biglaw firm's London office in a few months time, so getting the inside scoop on US firm culture is great. So interesting to see that the litigator/transactional line is so defining in the US system. Here, pure litigators don't actually exist (well barely) in the big firms. Instead, the people who represent clients in court are 'barristers' who are merely instructed by a big firm. So in terms of the people at big firms (who are typically 'solicitors'), most are involved in corporate work with a smaller number doing pre-trial litigation matters. This is particularly true of the US firms in London, most of whom do exclusively corporate work.
Congratulations! And thanks so much for your comment, that's so interesting about London firms! I know litigation is a huge industry in the states, but never knew the extent of its role in Europe as compared to corporate law :)
Yessss thank you for this video I feel like you made it for me!!!!!
Haha I'm so glad!!! Enjoy!!
Awww I love Angela’s smile it looks like a heart so cute :D
I’m hoping for a little of both, but I’m leaning towards more corporate/transactional. My summer position is with a midsized firm and they have both. They said I’ll be exposed to several different areas. My goal is to get assignments from multiple practice groups so I can see what I really like.
That's perfect! That's exactly what you should be doing. And be sure to use the summer to ask young associates what their professional life really looks like there, what they're working on on a daily, weekly, monthly basis, and how senior you have to get in order to start getting to the next level of substantive opportunities :)
This was very helpful. Thank you!
My pleasure!! I'm glad the video was helpful!! :)
Love your videos. Thank you always! :)
Yay!! My pleasure! I definitely didn't know the difference between litigation and corporate law before law school (or that that distinction even existed) so I'm glad to be able to share what I know now :)
I’m not a lawyer and don’t ever wanna be one, but I’m dating a litigation associate at a V10 in NYC and this video helped me understand what he does for a living 😂 thanks!
Haha that's amazing!! I'm so glad the video was able to shed some light :)
Still dating?
Amazing content. I'm a 2L summer associate this summer, and this is super helpful stuff. Thank you.
Hi, Asher! I'm so happy to hear the videos are helpful!! Do you have an idea which of the two you're leaning more towards right now?
@@AngelaVorpahl Thanks for your reply, Angela! Definitely transactional. I've taken some tax and ERISA courses, and I think I'd like those spheres. I noticed from your videos that you're IP. My fiancée is studying for the patent bar right now through the PLI review course. Much respect to you guys; I have no idea what she's looking at all day but proud of her commitment to it.
@@ashermitchell2794 Very cool!! For me, I actually never took the patent bar -- luckily that's only for people who want to be able to draft patents :) If you want to be a patent litigator you can just be regular lawyer :)
Litigator here. I’m attempting to transition to a transactional role. A video from someone who has similarly crossed that fence would be great. There isn’t much info out there on the topic.
Hi, Jeff! That's an awesome idea for a video, I'll definitely add it to the short list.
This would be an interesting conversation discussing civil litigation vs criminal litigation.
Oooh I love that idea!!
Love your videos!
Yay!!! Thanks so much, Naomi!!! :)
Great video!
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! :)
Great job.
Hi Eustace! I'm so glad the video was helpful!
Super informative
Yay!! I'm so glad the video was helpful!!
👍I thoroughly enjoyed the video!!
Yay!!!! I'm so glad!! Thanks for watching!! :)
I am practicing since 10 years and I m glad to learn new things!! From India 👍
@@advocategtgonpapa1587 That's awesome!! I'm so glad I can be of help in shining some light on inter-workings of the U.S. legal industry! I hope you find it interesting!! :)
Another great video as always! So when you start in big law are you specifically assigned as either a litigator or corporate lawyer? Also which one would you say is more prestigious?
I'm so glad to hear the video was helpful! The short answer is that once you have been made an offer to become a summer associate you will be asked your preference for practice group before the summer associateship starts, and usually biglaw firms ask for your top 3 preferred practice groups and then they place you based on the needs of the firm, what you requested, and what you have experience in. If you split between two practice groups during the summer associateship, they will usually ask you at the end of the summer if you have a preference for which group you start in if you're made a permanent offer, but at the end of the day they will place you where they need you most. And no, there's zero difference in prestige between litigation and corporate, both are very necessary to the health and book of business of a full-service law firm. Great questions!
Hi Angela! First and foremost, Very informative, well-rounded video I appreciate it more than you know! What tips or advice would you give a high schooler (upcoming senior) looking to pursue this career?
Ooh I have some thoughts for you on this! I actually think I'll wind up making a video specifically on this topic...
Shoot me a DM on Instagram (@angelavorpahl) and I can share my thoughts with you via audiogram!
Hey i try to learn english from your vlogs. Keep going ❤️ (From Georgia).
Hi Kaxa! That's amazing!! Learning a new language is no joke! 💪
Very helpful
Awesome!! Glad you liked it!!!
Hi Angela, could you talk more about patent litigation vs patent prosecution in the big law? Hours, work load, billable hour requirement etc?
Hi! The short answer is that biglaw firms don't make distinctions between hours, work load, and billable hour requirements by practice area -- all associates are held to the same standard in all of these areas.
The longer answer is that each practice group will ebb and flow a little bit differently in terms of busyness throughout the year, but regardless of which practice group you're in you'll be expected to bill the minimum billables per year.
In terms of patent law, biglaw firms will either (i) have patent litigation as a completely separate practice group from patent prosecution (and some biglaw firms don't even have patent prosecution), or (ii) have patent litigation and patent prosecution together as one practice group.
Let me know if that answers your question!
Angela
Hi, I love your channel! What’s your thought on having your CPA license and law license?
Hi, Cristina! Do you mean, is it worth getting your CPA before getting your JD if you want to practice a type of corporate law? Or do you already have your CPA and are wondering if it's also worth going after your JD? As a general rule, I would say that you should go after your JD only if your career goal is to be a practicing attorney -- it's a 3-year / $100k-$200k investment, and if the type of career you want can be done without a JD then I would definitely say no need to get the JD :)
THANK YOU
For sure! I'm glad it was helpful! Which way do you think you're leaning -- litigation or corporate? :)
@@AngelaVorpahl Litigation
@@jor_wish Very cool! I actually run a free FB group for law students and prelaw students, would you like the link to join? :)
Great video, thank you!
One question about corporate vs litigation. I'm preparing for interviews and noticing a lot of the big firms have department groups like bankruptcy and insolvency or M&A, and I can't always tell whether these groups are "litigation groups" or "transactional/corporate" groups. Do different groups tend to have both litigators and transactional lawyers? Do some specialty areas, like insolvency, require you to have both litigation and transactional skills? Hope that question makes sense!
Hey Vanessa! YES, there are a few practice groups that have crossover between litigation and corporate types of work. The most common ones are bankruptcy, labor and employment, IP, immigration, and tax. If you're interested in one of those that's a great interview answer to say that you're interested in a practice group that offers the possibility of developing litigation and corporate crossover skills :)
@@AngelaVorpahl Ok great, thanks!
@@vanessa2292 Sure thing!!
Hi, I have a question about corporate law and litigation. So I'm only in high school, currently a junior, so I've still got alot of time before law school. But I've always been passionate about law and trial/court specifically. So I'm leaning more towards litigation, but I was wondering if a litigator has a lower or higher salary than a corporate lawyer and if a big law firm is more likely to hire you as a corporate lawyer or litigator? Also I was wondering if it would be possible to do both corporate and litigation?
Hi, Finn!
(1) With respect to the difference in salaries between litigators and corporate attorneys, in the context of a law firm that has both of those practice areas, the associates will be paid the same. The difference in salaries will come more when you're talking about different sectors. So, for example, if you are a litigator for the government (e.g. prosecutor in criminal matters), you'll make less than an attorney working in a corporation (e.g. in-house counsel).
BigLaw firms are "full-service" meaning that they have a large variety of practice (both corporate and litigation), so as a general rule you won't be more or less likely to be hired as one or the other. There are some law firms that are corporate-only or litigation-only, but I don't think there exists more of one type over the other. My recommendation would be to pursue the type of law that interests you the most because whether that's corporate or litigation there will be lots of different job options available.
(2) There are some practice groups that have aspects of both corporate and litigation practices, like patent prosecution and patent litigation and bankruptcy, but most practice groups are one or the other. When you're in law school you will be able to try out different types of law, but by the time a law firm hires you it will be for a specific practice area so that you can start learning that area of the law and gain expertise and experience and increasingly become an expert in your field.
I have a very desirable tech background. I'm an 1L at a T25, and interested in Patent Law. Assuming I can start at a CA BL for Patent Lit/Pro, I kinda want to move in house down the road, just because of the hours. I was told by many in house counsels that I kinda need to know everything for in house, ie. Tech trans/tax/employment, etc. I enjoy negotiating deals but the contract class is my least fav so far... so really not sure if tech trans is for me...
Hey, NoseTackle! It's true that the most in-house counsel positions are going to have a little bit of everything going on, including reviewing and signing off on contracts the company enters into. That being said, there are increasingly more in-house positions that are focused solely on IP work, so your tech and patent background would definitely market well for those positions. I wouldn't worry too much about not liking contract law at the moment (it's the absolute worst law school class ever) -- negotiating contacts in the real lawyering world can actually be fun, strategic, and challenging, especially if the content is centered around an area you enjoy!
P.S. If you want to get an idea for the types of positions out there that you might be interested in down the road, run a search in LinkedIn and Indeed.com for "general counsel intellectual property" and see what comes up :)
@@AngelaVorpahl Thanks a lot for your tips! And your videos have been really helpful!
@@nosetackle3929 My pleasure!!
Litigate vs mitigate
this might be a dumb question but when we talk about big law, what would be the variations in job roles? would it be litigation vs transactional? I'm interested in Intellectual Property or patent law but only researched in house law for tech companies
Ooh such good questions! Send me a DM on Instagram (@angelavorpahl) so I can send you a voicenote with all my thoughts :)
Hi angela I just discovered your channel and decided I want to become a lawyer, the problem is I dont know which type of lawyer, I hope you don't mind breaking them down for me, and Im really bad at maths, would that matter?
Hey, Abdullah! So this video breaks down the two main "umbrellas" of law practice (litigation and corporate). Within each of these umbrellas are a ton of sub-specialties, each of which focus on very different niches of the legal industry. I'm planning on making a video giving a quick overview of 10-15 of these sub-niches to give people a better idea of what each type of lawyer does on a daily basis, so stay tuned!
Would it be possible to get a version of this without the music?
Did you become an IP litigator right out of law school? What was the average salary? I am interested in becoming just that. I live in Houston TX and that is where I plan on practicing more than likely. Also, what are you now? Thanks :)
Hi Ra! My first job out of law school was as a federal judicial clerk, which is a 1-year position. After that, I went to work for the law firm I previously summered with and YES I started out in the IP litigation practice group. The salary depends more on the law firm rather than the type of law. So, for example, if you practice IP litigation at a biglaw firm in Houston, TX, you're likely going to start out at $190,000, but if you practice IP litigation at a smaller or midsized law firm your salary could range quite a bit (ballpark I would say $75,000 to $150,000). IP litigation boutiques (i.e. law firms that practice ONLY IP litigation) are also quite common, and can have a range of salaries as well, but may pay up to as much as biglaw firms.
I am currently a full-time coach for law students and early career lawyers!
Have you already started law school or is that the goal for the near future? :)
You mentioned doing research and writing. Is it possible to have a career specialization in these areas as an attorney?
Good question! So there's no official practice group called "research and writing," BUT if that is what you're interested in then there are definitely ways to focus your career down that path. Research and writing is a BIG part of litigation, and if you're interested in working for a law firm you can make it clear from the outset (and/or at various points during your career) that that is what you would like to focus on, and there's a really good chance that request will be respected since all litigation groups are in need of good reseachers and writers. You can also focus on practice areas and job opportunities that focus almost exclusively on work in research and writing like appellate practices, government and NGO think tanks and policy research centers, and academia!
Appellate lawyer
This sounds a lot like law firms need to get their act together, have a better work environment and better time and people management. What you said at 13:00 having multiple partners giving things not caring what else you have to do for other partners seems to me just like really bad management and that such a thing can go on just shows that those firms are badly managed by people who think that having a lot of work and having a "tough time" is just some kind of masochistic characterbuilding.
I couldn't agree more that law firms as a general rule are poorly managed w/r/t their workforce. As lawyers move up the ranks they're not taught how to manage teams or the importance of respecting their workers' schedules and boundaries, and that leads to a perpetual cycle of mismanagement and disgruntled associates. I love thinking about ways to improve the status quo :)
@@AngelaVorpahl that's one thing keeping me from the profession even though i would be interested. It's a perpetual cycle of "i had to do that too why shouldn't the new guys suffer the same stress" and honestly i don't see the point in working for people and companies where i get the feeling that they don't care one bit about me. I am a hard worker and well motivated but such disregard for ones workers is just showing a lack of respect and most importantly a lack of leadership skills and that needs to addressed because i think a lot of companies are losing out on a lot of talent because of that. Improving wouldn't be so hard just teach leadership and only let people become partners if they are actually good leaders AND bring in the skills and numbers. Firms need to see Partners as Officers and Officers have to be good leaders.
@@hansgruber1686 🙌 *preach* 🙌
Does a patent attorney practice litigation law or corporate law? Or is the answer more complicated then that?
Either or both! The corporate aspect to a patent attorney is "patent prosecution" (i.e. drafting the actual patent), which requires you to have passed the Patent Bar. The litigation aspect to a patent attorney is patent litigation (i.e. one individual or company with a patent suing another individual or company for allegedly infringing that patent). Some law firms do both, some do one or the other. I personally did only patent litigation, not only because the firm I worked for only did patent litigation but also because I was not qualified to sit (nor interested in sitting) for the Patent Bar to be able to draft patents :)
Thanks for responding. This clarifies a lot for me. I’m still in undergrad figuring out what I want to be, but I enjoy your content.
@@mediumoscar My pleasure! It's definitely a tough road to decide on your first career path, but just know that there is no "wrong" answer. Pick something that you think will be fun, exciting, that uses your strengths, and go with it, and if you decide later you want a change you can always pick again :)
Hello, do you recommend i take a year off before taking the LSAT? Because i plan to go to law school right after i graduate college.
Hi, Hannah! So there's absolutely nothing wrong with going straight through from undergrad to law school, and a lot of people choose to go that route (myself included). That being said, given that law school is such an extreme commitent both in terms of time and money, if you feel like you would benefit from some extra time to think over whether you actually want to go down that road I would absolutely recommend taking some time off before going. Law schools love to see previous work experience, especially since it's not the norm with most entering law students. All of that being said, keep in mind that if you're fairly convinced you're going to wind up wanting to go to law school, you could go ahead and go through the process of studying for and taking the LSAT while you're still in school study mode, get your score, and then sit on it for a year before deciding whether to apply. I hope this helps!
Angela Vorpahl omg thank you for the response! I’m in my sophomore year of college. I’m currently studying Entrepreneurship. Law has been an reoccurring interest for me since I was in high school but since it was a HUGE financial commitment, and I can’t burden my mom with that kind of responsibility, I never paid much attention to it anymore when I went into college. But I was offered a law school scholarship (everything i need will be taken care of. Tuition, books, dorm, and allowance is paid) just late last year and I can’t stop thinking about it ever since. My course is already a pre-law course and this opportunity sparked an old interest of mine and I’ve been just so excited. The thought of studying law intimidates me a lot but I’m just excited right now and it’s definitely made me a more productive student. I’m not naturally smart. I get really good grades from being determined and hardworking. But I don’t know if that’s enough for law school. Do you think I should pursue?
@@hannahlomtong7882 Congratulations on your scholarship, that's so awesome!!! The good news about having a scholarship like that is gives you a little bit more leeway in terms of how confident and convinced you ideally "should" be that you want to work as a lawyer before deciding to go to law school. Because of the time and financial commitment, the general rule is that you are ideally "very sure" that you want to work as a lawyer before making that time and financial investment (even though of course there's never a way to be 100% sure because there are so many factors in play and you won't actually know until you start working), but ideally you want to at least go in strong.
For you, the time commitment will be the same (3 years), but the lighter financial investment means you could conceivably be somewhat less sure if you want to be a lawyer and still take a chance and go for it. The best way to help you with your decision is to get as much as exposure to lawyers n their day-to-day as you can (i.e. get an internship or volunteership, and multiple if you can). Of course there are thousands of different legal jobs out there and hundreds of thousands of different lawyers, so everyone's career and approach to the practice of law will be different, but if you can get yourself exposed to how lawyers work at least in a few example settings you'll be so much better informed with respect to whether it's a career you might want to spend 3 years of training to pursue.
Keep in mind that the financial commitment will still be solid (i.e. 3 years of lighter living expenses + 3 years of lost work income), so you should still think through the decision thoroughly and feel relatively confident that you want to pursue it. But the fact that you are pumped and excited about the idea of going is a great sign :) And the other thing you have going for you is that if you do decide to go, graduate, work as a lawyer for a few years and ultimately decide it's not for you and you want to change careers, you will be in a great position of (hopefully) having little to no debt and being able to transition into a new career. It's important to remember that many people who are 100% convinced that they want to be lawyers going in wind up working a few years, or even 10-15 years, and then decide they want to pursue something else professionally. So the bonus of having to little or no debt coming out of law school is a game-changer to give you that freedom and flexibility in your career.
With respect to the perceived lack of book smarts, I would first of all say that I see myself exactly the same way -- not crazy smart, but have managed to be successful through hard work. And in my experience, hard work beats out book smarts every.single.time. If you want something more than the next person, and you're willing to work harder than them to get it, you will be successful. Learning how to study in law school is an art (and I made a couple of videos on how I went about it), but hard work will always play a huge role in getting good grades. And lawyering is just like any career, you learn it over time through experience and repetition, so you will get the hang of it. Definitely don't let a perception that you're not "smart enough" stop you :)
Angela Vorpahl thank you soooo much! An advice from a lawyer is really what I needed right now. And now, I’m certain that I’m going to pursue law :) Thank you so much. I’ve just started watching your videos and I’m HOOKED. subscribed right after i finished the second video I watched. You don’t know how much of an inspiration you are for people like me who’s planning to go to law school but just needs a little bit of encouragement and push :) If I ever become a lawyer, you’re definitely the first person I’m going to thank. If it was not for you taking your time to actually reply to me, I would probably have a lot of self doubt and not continue law school. I’m really grateful :) Keep creating content for aspiring law students because you don’t know how big of an impact and difference you make with our lives :)
@@hannahlomtong7882 That's so exciting!!! Go get 'em!! And dang girl, that is so sweet of you to say, I'm so happy to hear that the videos were helpful in making your decision! Demystifying the legal industry and helping people understand what it means to be a lawyer and how awesome the profession can be was my original goal with these videos and I'm so glad to hear that they're having that type of impact on people!! :)
Hello I have a questions for both of you regarding law school and after. I am currently exploring law school and topic I would like to get involved with include real estate, taxes, creation of businesses, and wills and estates. Does law school prepare you as to what documents needed to be filed in addition to the law. If not, how does one graduating after law school get knowledge as to what document to file or prepare first whether it’s a probate or closing a property. I guess how does one get the education or training to know what to do. Any and all help truly appreciated. Thanks and also interested in transactions.
Hi, Rich! So the short answer is law school does a pretty terrible job preparing people to learn the actual day-to-day work of how to be a lawyer (especially on the transaction side), but the good news is that if you're resourceful you can find ways to give yourself a jump start on that knowledge base before graduation.
Specifically, once you hit 2L and 3L years you will have the ability to start choosing elective courses and you can plan your schedule to include all transactional-based electives. I would also recommend signing up for a "clinic," which is a practical-application course where you work as a "real" lawyer representing "real" clients (under the supervision of a professor), and most law schools have transaction-based clinics such as small business formation or tax clinics. And of course the absolute best way for you to get experience in any of these areas and start building up your skill set is through internships your 1L and 2L summers, and externships during your 2L and 3L years if you can swing them. These can be with law firms, but also with non-profits, government agencies, or small businesses. During the school year, there are also always non-profits that have one-off "wills and estates" volunteer days where they give you a 3-hour training and then ask you to come help people in the local community fill out their wills. So that's a quick way to get introduced to the subject matter as well.
I hope this helps!
Angela
Angela Vorpahl love this detailed response. I like the perspective. Wishing you much success.
@@TH-camNavigator767 Thanks, Rich! And good luck with your law school search! Let me know where you decide to go!
Angela Vorpahl will do.
How much time did you spend studying for the LSAT?
I took an LSAT class, which ran 6 months (January to July), and then took the exam at the end of July. I think we had class a few times a week, and then we were encouraged to come in and work on practice problems as often as we could. It was a pretty intense time, especially as it got closer to exam time. That being said, I went to law school with a lot of people that didn't take an LSAT prep class and just ordered the books and studied on their own and they did really well. It all depends on how you study, if you need accountability to put in the time, and how self-motivated you are!
"Vorpal" Did your family get named after the sword or did the sword get named after your family? Hint Jabberwocky!
Haha that's so funny that you ask because my sister, Amy Vorpahl, is a gamer and DM in the D&D scene in Los Angeles, and everyone tells her how she has the PERFECT last name for it. She even made an awesome music video about being a DM(!): th-cam.com/video/r4KFI6wHTrM/w-d-xo.html
@@AngelaVorpahl I am just seeing this two years later. I guess it didn't alert me.
Great video. Music gets annoying pretty quickly
Which one has the better work life balance generally?
Good question. I would say that litigation is a bit more predictable because you get a scheduling order at the beginning of every lawsuit that sets out the major deadlines in the case. That being said, unexpected projects and needs come up all of the time in litigation as well (e.g. client questions, emergency motions, last-minute objections) so I wouldn't choose my practice area based solely on that alone. Instead, a much better indicator of work-life balance is the sector you work in more so than the type of law you practice.
Are you interested in pursuing law school or already headed that way? :)
hi, is intellectual property law more litigation or corporate?
Good question! It can actually be either or both. Patent prosecution (i.e. the actual drafting of the patent) as well as trademark creation are much more "transactional" in nature, but you can also be an IP litigator that represents a party who is suing (or has been sued) for IP infringement. I was an IP litigator, for 5 years and loved it!
You can also be IP corporate. Big law firms have major practices advising on very complex IP-related contracts and IP issues in the context of M&A.
The video is good but you guys are too fast
I am 300l law student can you help me know more about law proceedings 🥺
I’m 13 what can/should I do to learn some things to get ahead
Hi Jonathan! Good question! I'm definitely going to make a video on how to prepare for law school in high school, but in the meantime things to focus on would be: getting your grades as high as possible, developing amazing writing skills, and trying out moot court/mock trial/speech and debate if your school offers it! Any internship or volunteer experience you can get is also a plus, especially in sectors related to community development or non-profits. P.S. If you find out you're not a big fan of oral advocacy, then you may naturally be more interested in corporate/transactional work :)
Angela Vorpahl thank you so much
@@jonathannelson6533 My pleasure!!
@@AngelaVorpahl You’re thirteen and have a big entire whole life ahead of you. You shouldn’t be thinking about this level of law career at this stage in my opinion unless it is really a massive passion for some reason. If you play your cards right, train, dedicate yourself and develop mastery in other skills (could be software coding, music, a high paying sport, entrepreneurship, fashion, whatever) then you won’t need big law by the time you are college age. Or if you are really focused on corporate ladder then study economics and finance, get top grades to go into the top 5 Ivy League colleges, ace it while there and out of the gate you can make it into tech or private equity/venture capital/hedge fund. The rat race there is as tough if not more tough than Big Law but at least you’ll make more bank to justify the madness.
It's litigation all the way for me 🥳
Haha niceee!! Are you currently in law school or working on heading that way? :)
@@AngelaVorpahl I'm in my fourth year of practice now haha. :D
I really enjoyed seeing this video. You had an interesting exchange. Personally, I also make time in sharing my experience to younger colleagues whenever they ask me about this topic.
@@LiempoBaboy That's awesome! There is definitely a need for attorneys willing to spend time to train and mentor young associates :)
Is there anyway I can be a corporate lawyer but appear in court now and again
Hmmm good question. If you work for a smaller law firm that does some corporate law and some litigation you could potentially do a bit of both since there are fewer lawyers in that law firm and people tend to dabble in a bit of everything if they want to. You could also start your own law firm and choose to take on both corporate and litigation matters. And then bankruptcy law is a bit of both corporate and litigation work. And if you're interested in patent law, there are aspects of corporate-type work in patent prosecution (i.e. drafting the patent language) and you can also work in patent litigation. So there are definitely ways to make it work!
How long was it before you had to litigate?
My litigation experience was actually fast-tracked because of the first case I happened to be staffed on and the awesome senior team members that let me have the chance to present in court! Within 6 months of joining the firm, I argued a very simple motion for partial summary judgment in federal court :)
@@AngelaVorpahl Thats awesome!
#ARcourt79
I was browsing some of the law schools like USC and UCLA looking if these schools focus on corporate law. I didn't see anything on corporate law but it does have focus on business and consumer law. Is that the same thing or different?
Hey Sam! Business law, corporate law, transactional law are all names for the same wide umbrella of law (of course with dozens of niches within). Consumer law sounds more to me like consumer protection litigation or work done by organizations like the Federal Trade Commission, but not what I would consider "corporate law." I also didn't know that law schools claimed to specialize in any particular type of law, which is interesting because they all generally tend to offer the same types of classes. What usually differs is how well the professors are known in their fields. I hope this helps!
unrelated but ur teeth are so white - what's ur secret? sorry lol
Omg that's so funny that you ask because in my latest trip to the dentist I asked about teeth whitening options because I think they're noticeably un-white. The reason they look whiter in the video is straight up the lighting :)