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Constitutional
Law
As you might expect, Constitutional law concerns how to interpret and implement the US Constitution. The Constitution is what the country was built on, so this is arguably the most important area of law. It deals with the balance of power and the fundamental rights of citizens, and the Supreme Court plays an important role in shaping Constitutional law. If reading, memorizing, and applying Supreme Court cases is a favorite hobby of yours, read on.
This might sound silly… but if you want to know what you would be working with in Constitutional Law, READ THE CONSTITUTION!!!
Seriously, you should read it, read it again, and then memorize it. The Constitution is your bible if you work in Constitutional law.
Education and Background:
There are generally two ways of interpreting the Constitution – sticking to its “original” meaning or considering it to be a “living document”. If you want to be a Constitutional lawyer, you should have a strong understanding of English law as well as what the Framers intended when they drafted the Constitution and founded America. You need to be able to argue what the Constitution “really means”.
While in law school, you should join a Supreme Court litigation clinic if your school offers one. You should also join law review and do any other activity your school offers that will help set you apart.
You may want to become a member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). It has over 4 million members who want to protect our fundamental rights. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) also is dedicated to protecting civil liberties; there may be positions available to work there.
If you have a background in history or politics, this will transition well into constitutional law. What is most important, however, is a desire to analyze issues from the unique perspective of what this country was founded on. Realize that not all cases will be high stakes and fundamentally change the shape of the law forever, like Miranda v. Arizona or Roe v. Wade. Many cases are in lower courts and are just everyday legal disputes but still involve constitutional issues. That being said, if you Google the biggest legal cases ever, you will be seeing Constitutional law cases. So, if you are the type of person looking for high-profile, life-changing cases that will put intense pressure on you, Constitutional law is an area that could take you there.
Getting a job:
Constitutional law is an area that most attorneys will encounter at least once because it touches on most aspects of our lives, but it is an area that not a ton of attorneys practice exclusively. That is because it is a highly-sought-after and very competitive. Think your chances of getting a Supreme Court clerkship are slim? Well, your chances of arguing before the Supreme Court or even practicing Constitutional law are pretty slim as well. You need to be the very top of your law school class and have an outstanding background if you want high-profile Supreme Court cases. However, some areas of law intersect with Constitutional law to a large extent, such as criminal law. Thus, having a strong understanding of Constitutional law and a willingness to practice it alongside another area can be a huge plus, since trying to go into Constitutional law exclusively can be extremely risky. If you identify what areas of the Constitution interest you the most, you can focus on those instead. For example, if the First Amendment interests you, consider Communications law. Or, if you want to focus on the balance of power because you love politics, consider administrative law and work for a government agency.
Still think you want to focus exclusively on Constitutional law and someday will argue before the Supreme Court? There are opportunities with organizations such as the North Caroline Institute for Constitutional Law or with law schools, in addition to working for a law firm. Attorneys at the Office of Legal Counsel in the DOJ provide advice about the Constitutionality of pending litigation. There are also public-interest organizations such as the ACLU or ACLJ.
Average salary:
A current search on Law Crossing revealed an average salary of $117,709.
Would you like this practice area?
What is perhaps most interesting about Constitutional law is seeing the intersection of past and present; as social issues change and as technology gets better, we see new problems appear before the Supreme Court and get interpreted by using a document that is over two hundred years old. The key to succeeding at Constitutional law is that you must be both “detail-oriented” and “big picture.” You need to be able to pick out tiny distinguishing factors in cases, but at the same time, you can never forget that your overarching goal is to protect the rights of the people from excessive governmental power as the Framers intended, which brings in some historical analysis. What exactly are the rights of the people? What exactly is too much government power? Back to tiny details again!
Consider whether these articles interest you:
Faithful Execution and Article II (Kent, Leib, and Shugerman)
“Article II of the U.S. Constitution twice imposes a duty of faithful execution on the President, who must “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed” and take an oath or affirmation to “faithfully execute the Office of President.” These Faithful Execution Clauses are cited often, but their background and original meaning have never been fully explored. Courts, the executive branch, and many scholars rely on one or both clauses as support for expansive views of presidential power, for example, to go beyond standing law to defend the nation in emergencies; to withhold documents from Congress or the courts; or to refuse to fully execute statutes on grounds of unconstitutionality or for policy reasons.” Read more
“Are foreign nationals entitled only to reduced rights and freedoms? The difficulty of the question is reflected in the deeply ambivalent approach of the Supreme Court, an ambivalence matched only by the alternately xenophobic and xenophilic attitude of the American public toward immigrants. On the one hand, the Court has insisted for more than a century that foreign nationals living among us are “persons” within the meaning of the Constitution, and are protected by those rights that the Constitution does not expressly reserve to citizens. Because the Constitution expressly limits to citizens only the rights to vote and to run for federal elective office, equality between non-nationals and citizens would appear to be the constitutional rule.” Read more
“Although it is virtually undisputed that children have some Fourth Amendment rights independent of their parents, it is equally clear that youth generally receive less constitutional protection than adults. In a search for continuity and coherence in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence involving minors, Professor Henning identifies three guiding principles—context, parental authority, and the minor’s capacity—that weave together children’s rights cases.” Read more
Conclusion:
If you want to have a huge impact on society and what laws and freedoms we have, Constitutional law is a good area for you. You must also be an extremely competitive candidate to work in this area of law.