A career as a legal consultant can be a good choice for you if you want to work in a legal field without going to court. A legal consultant helps their clients and enterprises navigate through legal issues and other business-related issues. This career path is similar to that of a lawyer. However, the obligations of a legal consultant take place outside the courtroom.

Starting a career as a legal consultant gives the knowledge and expertise to provide legal guidance to businesses and individuals. A legal consultant can also be called a legal advisor. You can specialise in different legal fields such as nursing, business law, real estate, financial law or foreign affairs. This career path offers a high-earning potential and prospects for career growth and development.

You will need to obtain the required education and acquire relevant professional experience to be able to pursue a career as a legal consultant. I will walk you through the processes to take to acquire the skills and experiences needed.

Steps to Starting a Career as a Legal Consultant

1. Earn a Bachelor’s Degree

   This is the first step you need to take. You need to obtain a bachelor’s degree before you attend a law school. You can obtain a bachelor’s degree in courses related to communications, economics, psychology, English and government. Additionally, you should also participate in internships, volunteering and student organizations. This will enable you to build relevant experiences that will be useful for law school and your career pursuit.

2. Take the Law School Admission Test

   You need to take the law school admission test to be able to get into law school. Without taking this test and obtaining a high grade, you will not be able to attend a law school. Attending a law school is very important in this career pursuit.

3. Earn a Law Degree

   Furthermore, when you get admitted to law school, you should work towards receiving your Bachelor of law degree. This is the qualification you will have to work as a legal consultant.

4. Gain Professional Training

   You can begin to engage yourself in real work situations while in law school. However, you should look for opportunities to work with genuine legal practitioners. This will enable you to have a hands-on experience of what a career as a legal consultant entails.

5. Obtain a License

   After graduating from law school, you can decide to practice law to gain valuable legal experience before working as a legal consultant. This is not necessary to do. However, this can give you a competitive advantage as most clients would prefer to hire someone a legal experience. You need to obtain a license to be able to practice in the legal field.

6. Gain Experience

   It is important that you gain relevant experience in this field. This will demonstrate to companies your level of expertise and competence. You can work for legal firms and acquire courtroom experience. Additionally, you can keep studying about your career and area of expertise. This will keep you updated about the development in your career field.

Types of Jobs for Legal Consultants

1. Trial Consultants: These are experts in human behaviour who assist lawyers in selecting juries for cases. Additionally, they provide significant services during trials. They observe responses from the jury and determine how they view or react to certain data.
2. Compliance Officer: A compliance officer is a professional who works within an organisation to ensure that all regulations and laws are adhered to. They can work in various industry sectors such as health care, food safety and human resources.
3. Environmental Consultant: An environmental consultant advises firms on decisions involving activities that could have an impact on the environment. Additionally, they offer suggestions that could make an organisation comply with federal, state and local environmental laws making it more environmentally friendly.
4. Intellectual Property Consultant: They advise clients on how to use intellectual property assets such as patents, copyrights and trademarks. Additionally, they assist clients in valuing intellectual property portfolios in monetary terms.
5. Real Estate Consultants: They deal with advising clients on land use restrictions, leasing, property transactions, property development and zoning rules.

Top Skills of a Legal Consultant

1. Critical Thinking
2. Customer Service
3. Legal Expertise
4. Listening
5. Research
6. Technology
7. Verbal Communication
8. Written Communication

Universities in Africa to Offer Law Degrees

1. Cairo University, Egypt
2. University of Lagos, Nigeria
3. Rhodes University, South Africa
4. University of Johannesburg, South Africa
5. Alexandria University, Egypt
6. University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
7. Mansoura University, Egypt
8. University of Cape Town, South Africa
9. Assiut University, Egypt
10. University of Monastir, Tunisia
11. Ain Shams University, Egypt
12. University of Nigeria, Nigeria
13. Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
14. University of Ibadan, Nigeria
15. Moi University, Kenya
16. Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
17. University of Ghana, Ghana
18. Makerere University, Uganda
19. University of Ilorin, Nigeria
20. Covenant University, Nigeria
21. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
22. University of Calabar, Nigeria

In Conclusion, pursuing a career as a legal consultant is a career that requires you to have a good knowledge of the legal field and the industry you would like to work under. Therefore, you should focus on getting the required knowledge and skills that will enable you to thrive a legal consultant.

Good luck!

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