Mass media has helped shape the image of the high-profile lawyer: sharp and intelligent, champion of the masses, rich and powerful.  Some are even ruthless, despite being incisive.  Further, we have seen lawyers branch out into other high-profile positions of power.  A prime example of this is the current crop of politicians.  A majority of those holding electoral positions today is or were lawyers.

Most people think that most law graduates get into high-profile law firms and start practicing law like they do in John Grisham novels and law-oriented television programs and movies.  The truth is, while practicing law as an attorney is the most obvious career path for law school graduates, it is not the only career option.  And this is a good thing because there are basically more law graduates than law-related jobs.  A quick check at job search sites like Monster.com would reveal that law jobs are one of the most scant listings in whatever city you go to.

The jobs available for law graduates are also very limited.  According to Cornell University, most law graduates get into private law firms, around a quarter get into government service (i.e. government agencies, public interest firms, judicial clerkships).  Only a tenth of all graduates is able to secure a law-related job in private companies and businesses, an indicator that law-related jobs outside of law practice are really hard to come by.  A more telling statistic is that Cornell also found that almost a third of all respondents was employed in positions that did not require someone who passed the bar.

The other truth is that law school and practicing law afterwards is not all prestige and glamour.  For one, it is a well-known fact that not everyone who enters law school survives it.  The stress and difficulty, not to mention the financial considerations of law school, all come into the equation against the law student.  In fact, every year, almost a third of all law school enrollees stopped schooling.

Moreover, if you make it past school and get into a job, a typical workweek  would be more than 12 hours per day every day of the week.  Law practices are well-known for their long hours and the high degree of stress, even with the huge paybacks.

Huge paybacks, however, do not equate to pay.  Paybacks or huge favorable verdicts come seldom in a lawyer’s life and some wait their entire lifetimes without seeing any.  These huge rewards are often the result of very stressful litigation, and more often than not, these verdicts are contested, further prolonging the process.  Pay, however, is not that great for someone who is just out of law school.

Cornell University reveals that a survey involving its law graduates in 2002 holds that:

* A fifth of their 35,295 respondents held jobs that paid less than $40,000 a year.

* The average salary for starting lawyers was a little more than $70,000.

* Most respondents got a far lesser annual salary at $60,000.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that this does not really change over time.  The BLS reports that in 2006, salaried lawyers (those who do not have their own law practice) had a median salary of around $100,000, while salaries ranged from around $70,000 to $145,000.

With the high level of stress, the intense competition, the low pay and the long hours, it would sound like a legal career just might not be a good career choice.  However, at the heart of the discussion is the person’s own interests and dreams.  If you think that you are born to become a lawyer, do not make these factors hinder you from pursuing your dream.  You should know these things, though, in order to level your expectations and be informed with your decisions.  Entering law is a lifelong commitment, and could very well dictate your future; make sure you know just what exactly you are getting into.

One can say that the king’s decision has been good for the welfare of the child, but did he really make the right call of determining the baby’s real mother? He based his judgment on the behavior shown by both women thinking that no real mother will do any harm to her own child. Did he really make the right judgment? Probably yes, if we are talking about the best interest for the child. However, on determining the child’s real mother? We can’t be that certain, especially these days. We can only assume that the judgment is passed for the best interest of both parties – one woman concerned for the baby and the other, who didn’t really care of having the baby or not.

However, how can one say that the judgment being passed by one person is good? Now that we are living in a world bounded by a range kind of rights, rules, policies, agreements, and laws, one judgment or decision is no longer that easy to pass especially if a number of people will be affected by it. Judgments and decisions made by every person, not only by those in court trials, arguments, investigations and others but even in every move we make. The process of coming up with a decision may often take longer than expected since certain laws had been established in every aspect and people carefully checked on each case such that every judgment made abides the written laws and also has considerable justification with every evidence being presented. Each of us seeks for every logical reason possible behind every move made and all possible angles as well substantial evidence which lead us into our own judgment. One can say that judgment is not that hard when the basis is being made only on the visible and concrete proofs. However, what made it difficult for one to come up with a final decision is when their judgment is affected by a variety of other reasons – the trust being established by one person to the another, influence of other people surrounding the person, the reputation to be protected, while some on their own intuition or gut feeling, and some thinking about the benefits they can get with the judgment they make. This is when the strategy steps in.

One example of some strategies is when most people undergoing through some court trials are advised to limit the words that they will share to other people like the media people about the case because every word they say can be used against them. Lawyers often plan the move their client makes from the words they speak and to the behavior one should act to make some good impression and make each of their statements plausible to the others. Even in the different elections in many countries and the decisions made by most leaders are carefully studied to boost their image and get good criticism from the majority of the people and a lot of other scenarios.

Passing judgment is not always an easy thing to do, but defending such judgment is even more complicated. Whether or not other people agree on the verdict, the important thing is decisions have to be made and as long as there are people who are not convinced or satisfied with the decision, they can always undergo the same process over again. One’s judgment can always change in time but the more important question which matters most to us is if the judgment being made is good for all the people involved.

There was a man living alone in an island. He is in peace, he is contented, he can enjoy all the endowments of the island, he can do anything he can think and pleases without any soul complaining. There is no use for a law. And there came another man who appears and settles in the island. Then the problem arises, there comes limitations. The first man is not happy; he cannot enjoy some of the things he had enjoyed before. Conflicts and arguments occur, fight for dominance arises. They only have two choices, either agrees on some rules they should obey, or rage war until one of them submits.

And so they choose to have mutual agreements, and it resulted in peace but now with limitations. And then came women settling in the island, and it means children and children bear children and the original first two people died leaving their kin behind. Now does the original agreement between the first two man holds through the children? It now depends on the children, some may choose to live with the original agreement, others may reject it, others want dominance and others seem not to care. Then again, conflict arises; fight for dominance emerges, children group together for alliance creating another agreement in them.

The example above illustrates the meaning of Law. The Law in the comprehensive and general sense is a regulation of action, living or non-living, thinking or non-thinking, like laws of gravitation, of mechanics, of motion, of optics, of natural laws, and of laws of the land and nations.

Focusing on the Laws of the land, this is promulgated by the strong and imposed on the weak, and this law lives just as long as the strong remains the strongest and the weak remains a weakling. This is the old concept of the Law, as the collective consciousness of the people evolves; this form was replaced by the law of equality. This law is founded of the principle that all men are created equal.

This is the evolution of the Law of the Land, Bad Anarchy – chaos and lawlessness, Rule of Man – Kings, Conquerors and Emperors, Rule of Law – Senates, parliaments, congress and assemblies.

Why is there a need for a Law? Anthropologists suggest that man is a social being in nature, man needs each other for protection and when men gathered together, the need for a law that governs them is necessary. According to Sigmund Freud, Men are not friendly and gentle creatures hoping for love and who merely defend themselves when they are under attacked. Men are aggressive, that is a part of its instinctual endowment. And this aggressiveness will eventually manifest when provoke and when the circumstances favored it. The law serves as a guard, a deterrent, and serves as a constant reminder for the people to abide.

Who promulgated the first Law? This is the question that is still subject to many studies, findings and argument. Based on gathered theory and facts the law dates back and is closely related to the existence of man. However, some findings give evidence of ancient laws. The earliest civilizations in the world are said to have formulated the first laws.

The Ancient Egyptian law was said to date as early as 3000 BC. This law incorporates a civil code broken down into twelve books. It was characterized by rhetorical speech, tradition, social equity, and impartiality. This also includes penalties commensurate to any violations.

The early Sumerian ruler King Hammurabi on 1760 BC developed the Babylonian Law and codifies it in stone slabs. These stone slabs are distributed in the kingdom for people to see. This Codex was unearthed in the 19^th century and was later known as the Code of Hammurabi.

Perhaps the most famous law of all is the Ten Commandments as written in the Bible. The Ten Commandments was said to be promulgated by God to the tribes of Israel. This contains both religious and social laws incorporated into ten commands.

The Law clearly is meant to subdue man’s inner brutal instincts and to establish a working relationship of men treating each other’s as equal. Law is a great equalizer.