Legal training can help a student develop penetrating analytical skills and an exhaustive work ethic. Lawyers, in their ever-changing interpretations of the legal statutes which govern society's actions, are poised to dispense advice on property, commerce, energy, crime and civil rights. Many lawyers find that legal study not only facilitates expertise in the law, but also helps to form a measure of flexibility in one's career.

One former-lawyer can speak from experience that receipt of a law degree does not require a student to retire at a law firm. Michael Forman, who rose to become a senior partner at a firm headquartered in Philadelphia, now runs a real estate investment fund aimed at retail investors, Philadelphia Business Today reports.

As a lawyer, Forman represented commercial clients in matters of corporate securities, dispensing advice on business transactions. After dabbling in real estate on his own, the attorney found excitement in actually performing the transaction, rather than simply advising on it. He told the news source, "There is a risk in [deal making] and a reward."

Forman says he realizes that his legal training and experience were instrumental in forming the successful businessman that he's become.

Research by the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that the employment of real estate brokers will experience an 11% increases in new jobs until 2016.