Careers Related to Lawyers in Pakistan
Career as a lawyer has always been a respectful option in a civilized society. A legal system exists in every civilized society to safeguard people’s rights, interest, their life and property. To run the system successfully a person is required who can understand law, interpret law and explain it to common people which is the job of a lawyer. An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another person, especially in a legal context. In the legal profession the law graduates have many options over the course of their careers.
Paralegals and legal assistants perform a variety of tasks to support lawyers, including maintaining and organizing files, conducting legal research, and drafting documents. A young lawyer who aspires to do private practice shall do the jobs of a paralegal and an associate lawyer at least for two to three years before embarking on independent practice.
The lawyers can apply for competitive exams for becoming a Civil Judge or for the Additional District Judges (directly) after a certain years of practice. The route for elevation as a Judge of a High Court is also open for the successful lawyers after a certain years of practice and subject to age limit.
In the legal profession, lawyers have many options over the course of their careers in addition to private practice. These include a District Attorney on division level and Assistant District Attorney on a district level. Jobs for lawyers are offered as Advocate General in the High Courts and as Attorney General in the Supreme Court. Likewise the Advocate General office has vacancies of Assistant Advocate General and Additional Advocate General. The Attorney General office has vacancies of Deputy Attorney General. Other options can be public prosecutor and government counsels.
Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators facilitate negotiation and dialogue between disputing parties to help resolve conflicts outside of the court system.
The academic career can be taken as a full time teacher or professor of law; and a part time teaching in law colleges or law subjects in various institutions can be made. A lawyer may also conduct research and publish scholarly papers and books. Another option can be in house legal counsel of a company or a banking institution. A lawyer with good corporate standing can also do job as a company secretary or a director legal.
In Pakistan the independent practice can be done as part of an established law firm or as an independent lawyer. Most lawyers are general practitioners who will take almost any kind of case that walks in the door. However, in developed countries like United States of America and Europe the lawyers specialize early in their careers in a particular area of law. The tendency of specializing in a particular filed of law is increasing in Pakistan and is beneficial from earning point of view.
