Everybody Needs a Lawyer
In today’s media, the lawyer is portrayed as a strong and charming personality with an eloquent and persuasive style. We follow him as he gets out of his glitzy car, and confidently walks into the courtroom wearing his classy suit. With their assertive attitude and in-depth knowledge of the legal system, a lawyer knows how to win any case. Everybody needs a lawyer at some point in their lives. Hence, the importance of studying law comes from the fact that it has such a vital role in every society. Lawyers are needed in a variety of settings from corporate, political and economic to family and workplace. The legal professions are of fundamental importance. They bring about justice, protect human rights, regulate interactions and keep social stability. Therefore, studying law is both important and relevant to our everyday lives in a number of ways.
In fact, law is one of the oldest academic fields in the world. A law degree is highly regarded as an in-demand qualification that gives you further career opportunities and advancement. Studying law allows you to acquire a range of skills applicable to various industries. It takes a lot of dedication, researching, extensive reading, understanding and synthesizing of complex ideas. As per Franz Kafka’s words, “A lawyer is a person who writes a 10,000-word document and calls it a ‘brief’”. If you are considering becoming a lawyer, you have to work on your writing and speech. Words are your power and knowledge is your weapon.
Career Opportunities
Besides court, a lawyer can work as an attorney at well-established law firms or the legal department of big corporations, as a public interest lawyer or even as an academic. Attorneys’ jobs differ depending on the area and the type of work they offer. The career opportunities are undoubtedly wide-ranging, as long as you have the work experience needed and you passed the final qualifying exams to begin your practice. Moreover, there has been an increasing importance of studying law specifically in Africa, because, as of 2012, there had been “a troubling shortage of African lawyers” as the journal article of Nicholas A. Kahn-Fogel suggests. Particularly, the article examines the “critical shortage of lawyers in Africa, using Zambia as a case study. It is the first comprehensive analysis of the causes of the scarcity of African lawyers, the effects of the shortage, and potential avenues for addressing the crisis.”
Why Law? The Importance of Studying Law
1. High Earnings and Financial Stability
A lawyer’s career can be financially rewarding if they manage to land a job at a big corporate house or a well-established law firm. Of course, money doesn’t come easy. You need years of hard work and exceptional performance to gradually advance and earn more. Corporations invest a lot in their legal departments. Hence if you wish for an out-of-court career, this would be a profitable choice too.
2. Expanding Your Career Options
As said, studying law opens up many other professional opportunities, plus it constitutes a strong foundation for further studies. After graduation, you can first work and train as a judicial clerk next to a judge. Later on, you can work for the government, law firms and non-profit agencies. You can even open your own private office or enter academia. Alternatively, you can pursue another degree in the same or different field and combine your academic qualifications.
3. Breadth and Depth of Legal Knowledge
Undeniably, studying law is important in order to gain round knowledge of different law fields and further pursue a specialised area of particular interest. Law students gain in-depth knowledge of the legal system, litigation, rights, and responsibilities and they constantly continue educating themselves during their professional practice.
4. Soft Skills
Apart from expertise and job-specific abilities, as a law student, you need to enhance your soft skills. Your oral communication, self-confidence, adaptability, critical thinking, strong reasoning and problem-solving skills are a few of many. It is also significant to demonstrate exceptional writing skills, engage in research and effectively manage your time to meet crucial deadlines.
5. You Can Make a Difference in the World
Inevitably, the importance of studying law is not only about you but, about society and the world at large. Being equipped with the necessary knowledge, you can stand next to the people of your community; giving your advice and support. Your role and actions are critical to the world and the common good.
Your Pathway to a Law Degree in Africa
If you are ready to put your suit on and set off on an intellectually challenging journey to make a difference, check out the law degrees offered by Unicaf and its British partner universities. Unicaf University in Zambia offers both LLB and LLM degrees, while the University of East London and Liverpool John Moores University offer a fully online British LLM.
