Sometimes in life, we can make decisions quickly, lightly or for bad reasons without giving proper consideration to the long term effects that our choices July have. For example, thinking back to school days, how many 13 year olds properly appreciated that they were effectively ruling out certain careers for themselves when dropping particular '0' level subjects.

And so it is the case with choosing the area in which you want to practice law, at the conclusion of one's training. Experience tells me that a significant proportion of young lawyers do not give the matter the amount of thought that it properly merits. In making the decision, they often give an inappropriate amount of weight to what should be largely extraneous factors. For example, some simply take whatever job is offered to them in the firm in which they have trained, irrespective of practice area, ignoring the fact that to move into a new area subsequently it is likely to be very hard. Others choose to take a job with a particular partner for reasons of personality, ignoring the fact that in all likelihood their working relationship will only last for a small proportion of their working life.

As with any choice, one can only make a proper decision when in full possession of the facts. A typical traineeship provides an excellent opportunity to experience working in different areas of the law, giving new qualifiers a good idea of the kind of work that appeals to them. However, that should not be the only consideration.

As a recruiter based in Asia, I receive countless CV's from lawyers from all over the world who are looking to find employment in another jurisdiction. Irrespective of their academic results and quality of experience, a significant proportion of them have little, if any, chance of making the move they crave. Put simply, there is no demand for their specialisation in the jurisdiction to which they want to move.

The somewhat wider point is that trainees need to give serious thought to what goals they have career-wise and how their choice of specialism will impact them. These days, there are a vast number of distinguishable practice areas, a number that has grown significantly as the degree of specialism in legal practice has increased. Too many to discuss here, but by way of example we can look at a few key areas.

Corporate lawyers generally have a wide variety of career choices. Corporate practice travels well to most key international jurisdictions, while it also provides significant opportunities to move in-house. It also sometimes opens doors to prestigious business roles with prominent companies. Few law firms do not maintain a corporate department and thus corporate specialists can work for a wide variety of practices. Moreover, with it being such a key area of practice, partnership prospects and earning potential are both exceptionally good.

Finance specialists also tend to have enviable prospects when it comes to finding interesting roles overseas. Moreover, moving in-house, typically with banks, is rarely difficult and again this can occasionally lead to opportunities on the business side. Finance specialists also have good options in private practice, although genuinely specialist work tends only to be carried out by very big commercial firms. Nevertheless, one's chances of advancement are good, and salaries high.

Litigators can certainly find roles overseas, but it is far from straightforward and in many jurisdictions virtually impossible. In others only those with arbitration and ADR experience will have genuine prospects. In one's home jurisdiction, litigation provides an individual with the chance to work in a wide variety of firms, but in-house options are usually hard to find. Contentious lawyers can certainly earn well, although on average they will tend to be a little way behind their corporate department contemporaries. Nevertheless partnership prospects tend to be good.

Qualifiers who choose to go directly in-house can find it hard subsequently to find a way into a private practice role. Equally a move overseas will not be easy. However, prospects of eventually moving to a business role are good. In an in-house environment, it is uncommon to find the kind of salary increases year-on-year that private practice lawyers expect in recognition of their increased level of qualification. Accordingly, career in-house lawyers often earn significantly less than those in private practice.

At the end of the day, we all have different goals career-wise. When choosing a practice area, it is an excellent idea to make sure you identify your own ambitions with a view to ensuring that your choice will not preclude or limit their achievement.