If you want to pursue a career in law, you will eventually have to decide on a specialism. There are so many different areas of law to go into and after your initial training, you need to think about which path you want to go down. Are you interested in criminal law or would you rather deal with corporate law?

If you want to work in corporate law, what kind of companies do you want to work for? Some areas of law are incredibly specific so whatever your interests are, you should be able to find a niche that suits you.

However, some people don’t know where to start because there are just so many options. If you are planning to pursue a legal career, here’s how you can decide on the right specialism for you. 

Research Your Options 

Before you make a decision, you need to know what your options are, and that means doing some research into the different areas of law.

There are three broad areas that you can work in; commercial law (working with companies), family and client law (working with individuals), and criminal law (prosecuting or defending people accused of crimes). Do some research into the day to day work involved in these different areas and then think about which is best for you. 

Once you know the broad area you want to work in, start looking in more detail at the specific options within that area. For example, if you want to work in commercial law, are you looking to work for a big corporation handling their legal issues or would you rather do something more fulfilling, like working with a charity? Maybe you want to work with businesses but you’d prefer to work with startups. 

Get Some Experience 

The only way to know for sure if a career path is right for you is to get some work experience. You might find that it’s not for you and start looking into other areas, but at least you’ll know for sure.

Get in touch with a recruitment company like Origin Legal and they can help you find your first position. If you speak to a recruitment specialist about what area you are interested in and what you want out of a job, they will give you guidance and help you find a law firm that suits you.

You may find that you love the job and you want to continue down that path. But you might not enjoy it, so you need to go back to the research stages and consider other options. 

Think About Future Prospects 

When you are deciding on a career path, you should always think about your future prospects. Eventually, you will want to branch out further in your career and find ways to progress. It’s important that you think about this when deciding on a specialism.

Consider what avenues for progression there are and whether you would enjoy working in those positions too. This is also an important consideration when deciding on a specific law firm to work for. 

These steps will help you decide on a specialism but remember, you are not tied in to anything and you can always change course in the future, so the best thing to do is try something and see if it’s right for you.