Attorney-Editor at a Major Legal Publisher

Name: Jill Bergquist

Major: French

Law School: University of Minnesota

Description of your job: I am an attorney‑editor with a major legal publisher. Primarily, I work with other attorneys to make judicial opinions accessible and more readily researchable by the legal community.

Do you have any advice for students who are considering going to the same law school you did? It's a great law school. But before deciding on law school, make sure it's what you want to do. Experience what law firms are like by shadowing an attorney or doing an internship. Find out about other careers that require or desire a law degree.

Is there anything in particular that you did during your undergrad that benefited you more than anything else in getting through law school and/or transitioning into the legal profession? I obtained a liberal arts education, which taught me how to think. That's important for my current job, which is very analytical. But a law student does need to "forget" certain things learned in undergrad, like writing in beautiful language. Law school, and the legal profession, has a language all its own.

If you had a chance to go through law school all over again, is there anything you would do differently? I would have taken more practice clinics, for more concrete legal experience.

Is being a lawyer what you expected it would be? Why or why not? I did not anticipate the day to day activities that litigators engage in, like preparing exhibits, that don't require legal skills so much as they require tracking down materials, and require acting skills, organization skills, etc.

I also did not anticipate how stressed out some practicing lawyers can be, and how many hours they work.

What is it like transitioning from being a law student to being a lawyer? It really depends on what sort of job experience you had as a law student and what kind of job you go to after law school. Some students work in firms and see what those lawyers do. I worked as an associate in a firm after law school, and then as a legal editor. I didn't find it difficult. Unless you go to work for a very large firm, you have to be prepared to work independently and to hit the ground running. Clients don't expect to have an attorney with a learning curve.

Is there anything students should know about the legal profession before they decide to commit their life to it? Many attorneys work very very long hours. They don't leave their work at the office. It can be stressful. But there are also many many opportunties to serve your community via public interest work, and there are opportunities for less stressful, albeit often less remunerative, jobs. Finally, having a law degree can open many doors in public life.

What does a typical day look like for you as a lawyer? As an editor, I don't have the typical day of a lawyer. I don't have clients. I work all day on the computer, reading and typing and researching. It's not for everybody, but I love it.