We recently took a poll on our Facebook fan page about what field of law our fans wanted to be. Responses ranged from Entertainment to Public Interest to Intellectual Property.

Going to law school is a big decision in and of itself, but figuring out what you want to do AFTER law school can also be a challenge. One decision to think about is whether you looking to work in a big firm or a smaller one. A recent article on Lawyerist.com laid out some important questions for lawyers to ask themselves when considering whether they would like to work for a big firm. It notes:

“For the most part, the bigger the firm, the farther away you are from being in a courtroom (or at least speaking in a courtroom). At the same time, when you do get the chance to talk, you will be extremely well prepared. If you are working in a small firm, or working with one other attorney, you are much more likely to get thrown into the fire quickly.”

So getting into a big firm is certainly a trade-off. Often it means a lot of money, but sometimes it means a year or two in the basement, looking for misplaced commas and other errors in endless pages of contracts. Yes, you’ll lose all color in your skin, but you’ll be able to pay for a great vacation to go tan it back!

If you’re unsure of where you want to land once you finish law school, you may want to consider environmental law. According to this article in the National Jurist, thanks to new EPA regulations and certain oil spills, there looks to be a big demand for environmental lawyers on both sides of the argument. Amber Maclver, an associate at Baker Botts, said “Environmental law attorneys are involved in every stage of a business’s life cycle. As a new attorney, there is a lot of potential to become an expert in a niche area of this practice. This is a great field to pursue with amazing opportunities.”

Whether it’s a big or a small firm, or whether you’re looking to help actors or oil-coated seagulls, there are definitely a lot of options for you and for many of us it’s worth thinking outside the box (or basement).