Others apply their legal education in areas such as banking, insurance, and real estate, where legal procedures may be a part of the job activities. Because the profession of law is so diverse and complicated, law school provides a general legal background, after which there are many options as to the specific concentration of law to be pursued. The lawyer's role most familiar to the public is that of a trial lawyer. Trials are news items because they involve people in dramatic and crisis situations. However, many men and women who practice law seldom appear in the courtroom.
Many lawyers never plead before a jury or a presiding judge.
A trial is costly and time-consuming and it usually benefits both parties to settle out of court. Since most lawyers are not involved with trial practice, activities of those in the legal profession vary according to the individual lawyer's personality and area of practice. A lawyer may spend one day in conference listening to a client's problem. The next day may be spent in the library or at a computer terminal doing research to find prevailing laws and decisions affecting that problem. A lawyer may spend the morning in the court and the afternoon visiting the scene of a client's accident.