State: More jobs for lawyers

• Vanessa Brown Hanks is a lawyer with the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, a LeRoy-based Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
• About 50 new attorneys are expected to be added annually in the Finger Lakes region, according to the state.

Vanessa Brown Hanks went to law school at age 30, wanting to combine the strong research, writing and analysis she’d done in academia — where she once thought she’d spend her career — with more opportunities to interact with people.

As a lawyer with Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, a Le Roy-based Board of Cooperative Educational Services that serves 22 school districts, Brown Hanks, now 38, works face-to-face as an impartial hearing officer for student disciplinary hearings, a negotiator during collective bargaining with unions, an investigator of potential employee misconduct, and more.

“I am definitely the type of person who needs to be intellectually stimulated,” said the resident of Farmington, Ontario County, who travels between Livingston, Genesee, Wyoming and Steuben counties. “I enjoy that we do so many diverse and unpredictable things.”

In the Finger Lakes region, according to the New York Department of Labor, employment opportunities for lawyers are expected to increase by 4.4 percent between 2010 and 2020, with 50 annual openings. The majority work full time, and long hours can be customary.

Brown Hanks has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Binghamton University, a master’s degree in European History from the University at Albany, SUNY, a master’s degree in comparative politics from the University at Buffalo, and a juris doctor degree from the University of Baltimore.

That educational background required a lot of reading, something she continues to do to hone her craft, in addition to attending conferences and continuing legal education classes. She stays up-to-date with materials such as newsletters and supplements to a host of legal publications.

“My job is to be reading them and not just skimming them,” she said. “This area of the law changes less than some other areas, but it definitely has its nuances. And it’s those small differences that matter.”

Flanigan is a freelance writer covering the Rochester area.

Attorneys

The job: Lawyers or attorneys advise and represent individuals, businesses, and government agencies on legal issues and disputes.

The pay: The median annual pay for lawyers was $113,530 in May 2012.

The prospects: Employment of lawyers in the Finger Lakes region is expected to grow by 4.4 percent between 2010 and 2020, with 50 annual openings.

The preparation: All lawyers must have a law degree and must also typically pass a state’s bar examination.

Sources: New York state Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor