Envisioning Your Law Practice In Ten Years

Asking yourself where your career will be in ten years is a difficult question. Asking yourself where your law practice will be ten years is, at least, equally as difficult, if not a more problematic question. Of course, some form of this question is commonly asked at employment interviews, but it becomes a more significant query when the intention is to have your own law practice.

If you have no idea as to how to answer the above questions, relax, it is no cause for concern, most people, including law students and young lawyers, do not have a clue. Perhaps one of the first questions to consider is where you want your personal life to be in ten years. After all, typically, one’s personal life drives one’s career. Of course, one’s personal goals are related to one’s financial goals, which are related to one’s career goals.

As a simple example, if you want to have a large family, you must plan on having a job or career that provides the necessary support in dollars and time. Often, having enough money and time is difficult to accomplish since the abundance of one creates the absence of the other.

In determining some answer, better yet, direction, to this question, consider your skillset and how it may be useful and conducive to attracting employment opportunities. Better yet, try to determine how the development of this skill set to the next level may prepare you for where a certain practice area may be evolving. Those individuals who saw the growth of the internet and developed their skills accordingly put themselves in a position to qualify for new positions for which other individuals with conventional training were unqualified.

Consider what your professional interests will be at the ages of 30, 40, 50, etc., and what type of cases and area of law you think you would want to handle. Consider what knowledge, training, and experience will be required to achieve these professional interests.

Any facet of a professional goal requires a detailed roadmap that likely begins in the present day, even for goals that are five or ten years away. However, legal careers move along a long and winding road. Life changes often cause you to change your goals, so it is imperative to not place excessive pressure on yourself to predict, and even plan, the future with the utmost pinpoint accuracy.

The California Desert Trial Academy focuses on providing an academic experience that emphasizes a practical approach to becoming a lawyer. We believe this is the most efficient and expedient pathway to a successful and rewarding legal career. At CDTA, we train, educate, and develop students to be exceptional attorneys and trial advocates. Call us today at (760) 342-0900 or find out more online here.