Law

Brief Overview

Lawyers research legal precedents, spending hours or months in law libraries or with online databases. They prepare contracts, briefs, and other documents, assembling boilerplate paragraphs or writing text from scratch. They plan and conduct depositions, which in complicated cases can generate thousands of pages of testimony, all of which has to be read, analyzed, and refined into usable information. Sometimes, especially if they are litigation specialists, lawyers actually argue cases before judges or juries.

Many lawyers work for big corporate law firms or as in-house attorneys in corporations, while others hang out their own shingles and represent individuals or small companies in divorces, bankruptcies, estate planning, and the like. Other lawyers work for the government, in various agencies or as district attorneys or public defenders. Still others work for advocacy groups such as the ACLU or the NAACP. In addition, some lawyers—who’ve gone to law school and passed the bar exam—do not practice law, but choose to work instead in business, banking, academia, or politics. Then there are paralegals, high-caliber support people who do everything from word processing to legal research. Paralegals sometimes decide that they enjoy the field so much that they end up going to law school themselves.

Learn more about the industry and research specific companies on the Vault and WetFeet.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Vault

Helpful tips

Undergraduates often find it challenging to obtain summer internships with law firms. Most law firms hire law students for their internships and typically don’t actively recruit undergraduates. Many students do however find summer opportunities through networking.

  • Notre Dame Alumni can be located through Martindale.com
    - Locate lawyers and law firms by practice area, geographic area, law school attended; includes brief bio on lawyer and description of firm’s practice. Locate Notre Dame Law School Alumni using “Notre Dame Law School” for school name.
  • Irish Online and CareerSearch can also help students locate alumni and law firms in various geographic locations.
    - Review Networking and Develop Your Own Internship sections for more information
  • Students interested in interning in the legal field may also want to consider volunteering at legal services clinics such as:
    - Northern Indiana Legal Services – South Bend
    - Chicago Legal Assistance Foundation – Chicago
    - Refugee & Immigration Services – South Bend
  • Internships offered through the Washington Program offer multiple opportunities in the field. Although positions posted on Go IRISH are for fall & spring, many of the participating organizations offer summer internships.

Internship Links

Develop Your Own Internship

Students can also contact employers directly to create internship opportunities.

Networking

Tips for networking with family, friends, and Notre Dame alumni. Learn how to obtain access to the Irish Online alumni database.

Professional & Student Organizations

Professional organizations provide excellent contacts for networking and informational interviews. In some cases they may post jobs and internships on their websites.

Professional Organizations

Student Organizations