J o h n s o n | 1

Topic Outline
A. Lawyers are typically people who prosecute and defend criminals
II. Description and History
B. Court rooms, law libraries, and offices
C. Curriculum Development
1. Careers of law
a. Civil law
b. Bankruptcy
c. International
d. Environmental
2. Specialties
a. Reading
b. Writing
c. Speaking
d. Research
III. Benefits
A. Salary
B. Creative thinking
C. Masters degree earned
IV. Negative Aspects A. Long Cases
B. More times and money spent on schooling
C. Long hours
J o h n s o n | 2

V. Required schooling
A. 4 year degree
B. Masters degree required
VI. Conclusion
A. Lawyers are hard workers and do a great job at helping out society If there were no bad
people there would be no goo lawyers (Charles Dickens) without


















J o h n s o n | 3






lawyers, people who could potentially go to jail would have no hope, it would be only the
judges decision. Lawyers typically are people who prosecute and / or defend people accused
of committing crimes but their jobs involve much more. Lawyers also represent people in
transactions & contracts, taxes, estate planning, and mortgages, (careers for the twenty-first
century law) over time, as our society progressed and got more complicated, so did the laws.
The laws began to get harder for people to follow. Everyone felt they needed a way to defend
themselves against these unreasonable laws. This is where lawyers began to progress. When
lawyers are called to represent someone in a case, they begin spending time plotting out
how their case will progress. They often get their work done in court rooms, law libraries, and
offices (www.college grad.com/careers/proft60.shtml). Lawyers dont only represent criminals;
some also represent civil law, people who need lawyers for bankruptcy, International law, and
environmental law. Not all people can be lawyers, in better words, not all people can be good
lawyers. Good lawyers specialize in advanced reading skills, writing, great speaking skills, and
advanced reading skills. Without these specialties, being a lawyer would not be an easy job for
anyone.
People are getting smarter and smarter now a days; they are letting lawyers, instead of their
conscience, be their guide (William Rogers) this explains that lawyers are being sent to clean
up the messes that others have made. Even though most lawyers love what they do, they
are certainly not doing it all for free. Their salaries are a huge benefit of being a lawyer. A
J o h n s o n | 4

lawyers annual earnings ranked to $118,280 in 2007, those working directly in legal services
occupations earned $124,230 while those working in local and state government earned
$87,130 and $78,310 respectively (www.collgegrad.com/careers/proft60.shtml) The District
of Columbia saw that the highest salaries for lawyers, with annual earnings of $143,520.
(www.collegegrad.com//careers/proft60.shmtl) Another benefit of being a lawyer is, after
attending school, upon graduation, lawyers receive a second advanced degree, such as a
master of business administration, in addition to their degree. (Careers for the Twenty-first
century) During Law school, soon to be lawyers often practice things that will improve their
reading, writing, and researching skills. This is a benefit for lawyers because after attending
schooling for law, their reading, writing, and researching skills will be very advanced and most
likely above average.
In addition to the benefits of lawyers, there are many negative aspects. When being a layer, its
very expected to have a busy working schedule throughout the week, in fact, about thirty seven
percent of lawyers work fifty hours or more per week. (www.collegegrad.com) When having
the career of a lawyer, people shouldnt often expect to always have much time on their hands,
especially throughout the week. Another downside of being a lawyer is, becoming a lawyer
requires much time in school. A four year degree plus three years in law school are the basic
requirements for lawyers. (www.collegegrad.com). This requirement is one of the many things
that stop people from wanting the career as a lawyer. In addition to being a lawyer, you still
need to be able to obtain a well-rounded education to stay abreast of changes in the world that
may affect your work. (http//womenthenest.com). Having the basic work schedule of a lawyer
and having to obtain other standards of a lawyer or a soon to be lawyer, may be way too much
for some to handle. Some think that becoming a lawyer is harder work than being a lawyer. The
J o h n s o n | 5

amount of time it takes to finish schooling and training to become a lawyer is much longer than
the usual 4 years of college. A four year degree in college plus three years of law school and a
masters degree in addition to that, is required to become a lawyer.

Being a lawyer is hard work, but without lawyers, people who could potentially go to jail would
have only the decision of the judge and many people would be hopeless. Lawyers have a big
part in helping the judge decide whether or not people should be sent to jail. People say things
that are true and people also say things that are false, its the lawyers job to defend or work
against the criminal or potential criminals statement. Judges most likely couldnt do it all on
their own.

J o h n s o n | 6

Works Cited
www.collegegrad.com/carere/proft60.shmtl Quin Street Inc. 1996-2014
Bell-Renwoldt, sheri careers for the twenty-first century- Law, New York. Thompson Gale: 2005
www.superpages.com/supertips/top-10-facts-about-attourneys.hmtl
http://enwikepedia.org/wiki/probate-law
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/environmental-law
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/elder-law (United States)
www.crowlawfirm.com/wiki/ the international-lawyer
http://fun.yokozimo.com/facts-about-lawyers
http://women.thenest.com/interesting-being-law
www.careerprofiles.info/lawyers-attorney-career.html