Question for lawyers/law students/anyone

[knight_shadow]

Bumping because I didn't want to create another thread about this.

This may seem like a silly question, but I'm a bit curious. When you're in law school, do you become familiar with "the basics" before choosing your specialization (ex. corporate, environmental, etc), or are you expected to jump right into your area?

I'm a b-school student, and while my focus was in marketing, I still had to learn about finance, accounting, operations, etc. If asked a question about something outside of my specialty, I can offer recommendations, but will usually defer to someone whose main focus was in said specialty.

I'm curious because I know that lawyers have to be careful when offering legal advice (which is foreign to me, as we don't have a "bar" type organization). I just wanted to know if you're able to say "Well, in this instance, you should _____, but I'd still suggest speaking with a ____ attorney for more information," or if you always have to say "Speak with a ____ attorney for more information."

Thanks.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

This may seem like a silly question, but I'm a bit curious. When you're in law school, do you become familiar with "the basics" before choosing your specialization (ex. corporate, environmental, etc), or are you expected to jump right into your area?

You learn the basics first. Specialization doesn't really happen in law school, except to the extent that you might try to take classes or get internships in areas that really interest you your second or third year. (Normally, there are no electives first year.) Specialization typically happens after you graduate and pass the bar. It can be informal ("I tend to mostly do x kinds of cases") or more formal if your bar certifies people as specialists in certain areas.

As for the original topic, I wonder if the use of "Esq." is a regional thing. I've rarely encountered it around here -- we just don't use, and haven't really at least as long as I've practiced.