Specific Areas of Study

[SKW]

Forgive me if a similar thread has already been created in the past...

When lawyers that I know find out that I will be attending law school this fall I'm immediately asked what specific area of law I want to study (Answer: Intellectual Property, Media and Information Law). Yet, my answer is usually met with a dismissive "You'll probably change your mind when you get there," etc.

OLs: What area of law do you want to concentrate on? Are you also told that you'll change your mind?
1Ls-3Ls: Just how true have you found the aforementioned statement? Did you start law school with one specialty in mind and completely changed course?

[Denny Crane]

I'm interesting right now mostly in Criminal and Constitutional Law, with some interest in International and Administrative law. 

This could all definitely change, though I will say that the biggest influences in my decision to pursue law were criminal lawyers, which in turn sparked my interest in criminal law.  I expect that interest to endure.

[A.]

You likely will change your mind.  You simply don't know all that the law has to offer.  I went in thinking I wanted to be an appellate litigator.  Now that would be toward the bottom of my list.  And you don't even need to decide what you want to specialize in while in law school.  Most people specialize 1-2 years after they start practicing (although some remain generalists their whole careers, but that's increasingly less common).

[A.]

I'm interesting right now mostly in Criminal and Constitutional Law, with some interest in International and Administrative law. 

That's another thing...as a 0L, your interests aren't that concrete.  I've never met a "constitutional lawyer."  And most "international lawyers" do something like international arbitration or some other subspecialty of "international law."  So don't feel bad about not being able to give people a concrete answer.

[philibusters]

I was thinking health care or some type of constitutional law when I started, now I am thinking either taxation or state and local government law.

[pikey]

I have fairly specific interests, but I'm definitely open to change.  Right now I'm thinking either trust and estates, tax, real estate or reinsurance, all areas in which I have some sort of educational or professional background/interest.  But who knows, I may discover something completely different that I love.  The only thing I'm certain of is that I want to be a transactional lawyer.  If I never set foot in a courtroom that'll be perfectly fine with me.

[2Lacoste]

Like Alci, I started out with an eye towards a career in appellate litigation.  However, I enjoyed civil procedure and the more trial litigation-related aspects of my 1L year and summer experience that now I am much more interested in being a trial lawyer.  My substantive issues, like a lot of 0L's, were vague and general: "I want to do constitutional law -- church and state, commerce clause, whatever."  Although I have yet to take constitutional law, I'm pretty sure I will end up doing something else.  As Alci noted, I've never met a "consitutional lawywer."  Perhaps some of the stuff I work on as a trial lawyer will have constitutional implications, but yeah.

If you have a really deep-seated interest in something, chances are that won't change.  I knew I wanted to be some sort of litigator and that transactional work would never interest me.  And that has been the case.

[Special Agent Dana Scully]

Like Moni, I have some specific areas of interest, but I'm open to change as well.  I'm thinking Entertainment law stuff (contracts, communications, deals, etc) or maybe trusts and estates.  A former patient of the dr I worked with urged me to go into litigation (she was one, and said there aren't enough women of color litigators).  I figure I'll take the time to explore different areas and clinics to get a better idea of my eventual goals and career plans.

[Pulchritudinous Male]

Forgive me if a similar thread has already been created in the past...

With all due respect, please feel free to make as many threads and replies as possible...ahem.

For me I'm a science/technical major, so naturally that will probably lead me to IP or Patent law right??

But watch me wind up as an attorney that represents gynecologists with malpractice lawsuits.

[Sparkz1920]

Always wanted to go into Criminal Law, and be a trial atty or maybe practice Family Law, since i most enjoyed that course, even though i dont feel like i did my best


I may change my mind, but i always wanted to attend law school to make a difference, and i know with either of these two specialties, i can do that. Rather than going into Corporate,Tax,or Patent Law.

Also, as another person posted, Criminal Lawyers and Distrcit Judges have inspired me to do so.