subject: A Crime Fighting Profession In Fast Paced New York [print this page] You have been considering making law your career. You've seen lawyers fighting crime on television, read about them in books, and seen them in the movies. Maybe it was hearing about so many individuals being found guilty of crimes they didn't commit that makes you want this type of career. Whichever the reason there seems to always be a demand for a criminal defense New York attorney but you must be willing to put in some hard work and time.
In order to become a criminal defense New York attorney, you will have to be prepared to put in years of specialized training, that starts with getting a Bachelor's Degree. You must first obtain this degree from a college or vocational school and a few beneficial studies would be physics, economics, and math since it is rumored they can be helpful when taking the law school entrance exam.
After obtaining a Bachelor's Degree you must then go to law school. You will need to take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) in order to get into law school. In law school there will be general law classes that need to be taken on criminal law and procedures, as well as, ones that are specific to criminal defense such as trial advocacy, appellate and criminal practice classes. During your time in law school you will and should participate in an internship for criminal law. This could be working in a public defender's or prosecutor's office, an appellate practice firm or lawyer, or even as a judicial clerk. After you have finished your courses, you will be required to take the bar exam. Only after passing this exam will you be able to practice as a criminal defense New York attorney. It is good to try to obtain these positions during the summer so they will not interfere with your class curriculum.
Some newly graduated students will first try to get a job with a prosecutor's office. This can be beneficial in understanding how the other side works, while others will seek employment with a criminal defense New York firm or attorney before going out on their own. These positions can and will help put some experience under your belt but aren't necessary to begin your own criminal defense New York practice.
A criminal defense attorney practicing in New York usually has a high end salary of more than a hundred thousand dollars a year which does make this career choice a lucrative one. This may well justify the time necessary to achieve this career goal.
There's no disputing that New York is one of the fastest paced societies there are and it is no secret that it experiences quite a bit of crime, more so than quite a few other states and could be why there seems to always be such a demand for New York criminal defense attorneys. Although it is a fast paced society, there is nothing easy about becoming a criminal defense lawyer in New York.
