Competing Life Goals? Career in Law vs. Location Independence/Flexibility

profile427

Hi All,

As October 3rd approaches, I've been pondering my fate quite a bit (this will be my second crack at the LSAT since taking it for the first time in 2013).

One of my "values" or "goals" in life is to be relatively location independent. One of the reasons is because my partner is a scientist and has slimmer job prospects throughout the world compared to me [in my current profession in allied health].

So, seemingly just in time to make me even more confused, I came across an article that advertised Legal Nomads (.com), which is basically the story of a young lady lawyering in NYC and then quitting the gig to travel the world.

My question is - have you ever heard of ANYONE having relative flexibility to continue working in the legal field while marrying their love of travel (okay, and/or frequent relocation)?

My current goal is to pursue a law degree with a healthcare certificate, as that's my background, and I feel strongly as both a clinician and director in my field that I have the chops to make some changes in the increasingly complicated field.

That being said, International Law sounds super sexy and may be more aligned with my dream of traveling/relocating, but I have no poli sci background. Maybe there's a way to fuse Healthcare Law with a sprinkle of International Law to broaden my employability across regions and nations?

(I'll leave the dream of being an entrepreneur for a later date)

nicole.hopkins

@profile427 said:
International Law sounds super sexy and may be more aligned with my dream of traveling/relocating

I'll let @Pacifico explain why this (sexy int'l law) is unrealistic for most.

Because you need to be licensed in every state in which you practice (right??!) (though there are some reciprocities?), this plan scares me a little bit, in terms of viability. But maybe there's something I don't know. I feel like there's a reason I've never heard of anyone doing this successfully—unless you have a private jet I don't know about or are just doing law for fun (not to make a living).

Andrew K

I sometimes work with folks in International Arbitration and they get to travel for cases a lot. Unfortunately though, when they travel it is normally for a big hearing or filing and they work 90-100 hours a week.

People who work on domestic cases at large firms will also travel a lot for depos, hearings, meeting etc. Normally, though like Arbitration they will be working most of the time. The trips for domestic cases are quite short as well. It is not unheard of for a busy attorney to fly cross country and back in a day.

As far as actual time off, that varies by firm. Some firms respect vacation, some don't. Some will be flexible with you working from different locations, some will not.