According to the statistics for this blog, a person found this site by asking the following question: “how fun is a criminal law practice?”
I am going to begin my discussion of this topic by addressing three background issues.
First, I am going to respond to a slightly different question: How fun is the practice of criminal law? A lawyer may love practicing criminal law but hate the business side of running a law practice. This post ignores the business side of the law and only focuses on the law side.
Second, I can’t answer this question for all lawyers or other lawyers; I can only answer it for myself. Some lawyers may hate the practice of criminal law and others may love it.
Third, I am going to define a “fun practice” as one that a lawyer is passionate about and one that maintains a lawyer’s attention during the work day. This may not be your idea of a fun practice, however, this is the definition I am going to work with.
Given these parameters, the practice of criminal law is fun for me. I am passionate about fighting for my clients and guiding them through a scary process. (When I was a prosecutor, I enjoyed fighting for “justice” as I saw it and seeking a fair system.) The practice of criminal law also (usually) keeps my attention throughout the day. More often than not, the story behind an arrest is interesting and I don’t find myself bored and wanting to think about something else.
