A lawyer is a fairly common specialty these days. More and more young people want to connect their future professional activities with jurisprudence. Therefore, every year, thousands of future applicants ask what they need to become a lawyer.
What is the work of a lawyer?
Before planning your future legal career, you need to figure out who these experts are. A lawyer is a fairly common specialty these days. People in this profession protect violated rights, help in preparing documentation, and represent the interests of an innocent party in court. The task of a lawyer on a more global scale is the development of civil society and the legal court.
Education
If you want to contribute to the development of civil society and legal proceedings, then feel free to submit documents to the Faculty of Law. The education of a lawyer largely depends on the choice of a university. There is a stereotype that even from the worst institution you can come out as a good specialist. Do not console yourself with this thought. In good universities, you will be provided with quality education, and the competitive environment will motivate you to study hard.
After two years of study, students are offered a choice of two specializations: civil law or criminal law. In the choice of civil law students pay more attention to land, notarial, civil and labor rights. If the choice fell on a criminal law specialty, then here the maximum bias goes to forensics, ballistics and criminal law.
Many people mistakenly believe that if you graduate from the institute with a civil law bias, then you will not be able to work in the criminal specialty. In fact, for both the first and second specialization, a higher legal education will be sufficient. After graduation, the professional activities of a lawyer can be carried out in several directions.
Lawyer
By choosing this specialty, you will provide legal protection in court or other authorities. A person who has chosen this profession is required to be independent and obey only the legislation of the country in which he operates. Therefore, such people are not recommended to work in areas where a biased opinion is formed.
To obtain a specialty, you need to successfully pass the qualification exam at the Bar. After that, you need an internship in advocacy, which will last at least a year. You can get a full-fledged job only with work experience of two years.
Notary
This specialist has the right to conduct notarial activities, that is, to certify documents, copies, and so on. At the same time, he can work both in any organization and engage in private practice. His work is regulated by a license. To obtain a license, you must complete an internship at a notary's office and pass a qualification exam.
The prosecutor
Supervises activities to prevent criminal acts. He also appears in court, but is always obliged to take the position that the state adheres to.
Investigator
This person works in the prosecutor's office or in the investigating authorities. His tasks include the initiation of a criminal case, and then its conduct and disclosure. In other words, the investigator leads the whole case, up to its disclosure. After that, the case materials are transferred to the prosecutor.
Referee
The judge is awarded the entirety of the judiciary. His responsibilities include court ruling and monitoring the implementation of laws. Also, independence, immunity and irremovability is assigned to a judge. But the person who administers the court is strictly forbidden to conduct any entrepreneurial activity, to belong to any political parties or movements.
In order to become a judge, at least five years of work experience and successful passing of the qualification exam are required. You must also be at least 25 years old.
International lawyer
His tasks include carrying out legal activities in matters of international scope or conducting diplomatic activities. In addition to Russian law, a lawyer is required to know international, as well as speak at least one foreign language.
Legal Advisor
Carries out the activity in the state or commercial organizations. It helps in solving legal issues, monitors the legality of actions in the organization and takes a direct part in the process of drafting contracts.
Requirements
Two groups can be distinguished into which the requirements for a lawyer are divided: personal and professional. A lawyer must have the ability to analyze the situation, look at it from different angles and only then make a deliberate decision. You should never give rash answers. But for high-quality and fast work, you need to have a good understanding of psychology. Sometimes a five-minute dialogue is enough for a good lawyer to understand the essence of the problem.
In this profession, perseverance and the ability to defend one's point of view are especially appreciated. Therefore, law students are taught oratory. But the ability to acknowledge one's mistakes is also much appreciated. To know everything is simply impossible. Therefore, you need to be able to stop in time and help the client in finding the right solution to the situation.
You also need to remember that it will be very difficult for people with a mild character to "survive" in this field of activity. So, a future lawyer needs to know that having resistance to stress and emotional stability will pave the way to the top of the career ladder. But that's not all. In order to be considered a highly qualified specialist in his field, a lawyer needs good knowledge of his field of work. This includes legislation, politics, and proficiency in your profession.
What laws should a lawyer know?
This question is not formulated quite correctly, since each field of activity has many of its regulatory legal acts. Young lawyers are required to know the basics of law and the main provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. It also includes civil and criminal law.
If we are talking about legal advisers, then civil-procedural and arbitration law is added to this necessary knowledge, since there are cases when legal advisers participate in the courts as legal representatives of the plaintiff or defendant.
Career
The speed of career advancement depends on the level of education of a lawyer and his personal qualities. Remember that even if you memorize all the laws, it still will not make you a good specialist in your field. The uniqueness of the profession lies in the ability to look at the situation through the prism of the law, and not everyone has the "talent" for this.
You also need to remember that the law is constantly evolving and changing. Therefore, continuous improvement of one's own skills and knowledge is necessary. Beginning lawyers need to know that after graduation, their studies do not end. She will accompany them throughout her future career.
Such prospects await individual specialists:
- Legal Advisor. The young specialist begins as an assistant lawyer. Further steps: legal adviser, senior legal adviser, leading and then the main legal adviser. The top of the career is considered the head of the legal department.
- Lawyer. Here the speed of advancement in the career ladder depends only on the person himself. Winning cases and personal qualities are taken into account.
- Investigator. In this case, you can rise from a simple investigator in the security organs to a counselor of justice.
Tips for novice lawyers
Even if you are studying for this specialty or are just considering the prospect of entering the law faculty, these tips will be useful.
- Dress according to occasion. Many lawyers know what to wear and on what occasion. One of your main tasks is to be convincing, and your appearance should help in this. Therefore, give preference to a strict classic style.
- Every novice lawyer needs to know that discussing something is better in person. During the internship, you will be given various kinds of tasks. After you receive it, try to discuss all the details in person with your colleague. So you can get the location and trust of more experienced lawyers. In addition, it will help you better understand what a highly qualified lawyer should be able to do and what results are expected of him.
- The result is a priority. No need to pay attention to the time spent. Focus on getting a quality result from work. Do not be afraid to work more hours than you plan. Your efforts will not be wasted.
- Silence is gold. In offices, as elsewhere, there are a lot of rumors and gossip, through which you can find out some interesting and juicy details of the life of your colleagues. But you yourself should not spread rumors. They will certainly reach the main character of the story, and this can play a trick on you. You need to be careful with posts on social networks. Chat lovers very rarely inspire trust among both colleagues and clients. But the ability to listen carefully and be silent when necessary, will help you in further activities.