The Official Guide to Legal Specialties

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Summary: Today's Most Comprehensive Source on Legal Specialities
Review: As a lawyer and legal recruiter I know how important it is for attorneys to find the right practice area. This book provides the most comprehensive and current information available today about what it's like to practice law and how practice areas differ. Not only does the book provide factual information about the different specialties, it also provides firsthand accounts of the daily lives of practitioners. I strongly recommend this book to current law students, anyone contemplating a career in law and any lawyer considering a practice area change.

Rating:
Summary: Today's Most Comprehensive Source on Legal Specialities
Review: As a lawyer and legal recruiter I know how important it is for attorneys to find the right practice area. This book provides the most comprehensive and current information available today about what it's like to practice law and how practice areas differ. Not only does the book provide factual information about the different specialties, it also provides firsthand accounts of the daily lives of practitioners. I strongly recommend this book to current law students, anyone contemplating a career in law and any lawyer considering a practice area change.

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Summary: How to appear knowledgeable during on-campus interviews:
Review: For anyone who needs an edge over competition during recruiting season, here is your ticket. Abrams' books is well-organized, comprehensive and illuminating. If you read it, you will learn the most basic lingo of the various legal practice areas. You will also be able to identify the specialities that suit your personality (for instance litigation and corporate are very different). You'll enter the interview process more self-aware and be aware of what's out there; as a result you'll be able to effectively market yourself to particular firms. If you don't read the Official Guide and don't know anything about the different practices of law yet, how do you know you are not making a mistake pursuing the practice of law? Read it, then apply for those jobs.

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Summary: very informative
Review: I wanted to check out the different areas of practice so I could get a better grasp of hwat was offered and this book does just that.

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Summary: A very useful book for yourself or to counsel others
Review: I work in the career services field and have found this book very helpful in counselling law students. Most law students come into law school with a vague notion of what they want to do, but no sense of what it really means to practice a particular kind of law. Ms. Abrams book gives them a real-world account of what lawyers in each specialty do all day and what they can expect out of their careers. I'd highly recommend this to anyone considering a legal career or anyone helping those who are.

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Summary: All the Things You Wish Law School Taught You...
Review: In her new book, "The Official Guide to Legal Specialties," Lisa Abrams does a great job of breaking down more than 30 areas of law (from Tax Law to Legislative Practice to Entertainment Law). This is an invaluable tool when you enter into those 2L job interviews. This book has everything from a detailed explanation of each area to what law classes to take to bolster your background. Not only will it keep you from embarrasing yourself in an interview with claims like, "I've just always wanted to do litigation" and then not knowing a single answer to the follow-up questions, but it could save you from wasting your time in a area of law that you are ill-suited for. Well worth the price.

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Summary: "Must-Read" for law students, counselors and prospectives
Review: Think you know what law practice areas are all about? Think again! This resource is a comprehensive guide for students and counselors to discover what practitioners relate about their day-to-day activities, what law school courses are most beneficial in preparation, the satisfaction attorneys find in their work and much more! I encourage anyone who is seeking some guidance in finding the right niche to read "The Official Guide to Legal Specialties." You'll be so glad you did!

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Summary: Good points and bad points
Review: This book contains some useful information about various practice areas. However, it also leaves out highly pertinent information.

I am an ex-litigation attorney who left litigation because it was too confrontational. There is not a word in the litigation section of this book about the necessity of confrontation in this practice area. Instead the book talks about how litigation allows lawyers to develop "relationships" with clients.

In general this book discusses the positives of each practice area without discussing the negatives. But the negatives can be highly relevant and very helpful when deciding what area of law is not for you. By reading this book you get the idea that you could enjoy numerous practice areas when this may not in fact be the case. Use the book for the information it does contain, but do so cautiuosly, keeping in mind that you need to dig further to find out the full truth about a practice area in which you are interested.

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Summary: A very useful book for yourself or to counsel others
Review: This book is awesome. I would give this book 10 stars if possible because it details the major specialties of law in an interesting way. Each chapter defines a specialty and includes advice from lawyers practicing in that field. Though it is not a text book, it defines terms dealing with each specialty and gives examples of that type of law in society. This book shows that the field of law is vast and I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about careers in the legal field.

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Summary: Excellent Guide
Review: This book is awesome. I would give this book 10 stars if possible because it details the major specialties of law in an interesting way. Each chapter defines a specialty and includes advice from lawyers practicing in that field. Though it is not a text book, it defines terms dealing with each specialty and gives examples of that type of law in society. This book shows that the field of law is vast and I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about careers in the legal field.