Sasha Otanez

BUS 1010
e-Portfolio Term Project
Intro
Human rights can be defined as the basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings
are entitled (Hg.org resource cite). These rights include civil and political rights, the right to life
and liberty, freedom of thought and speech, and the right to an education, food, the right to work,
and equality before the law. These rights are different from civil liberties because civil liberties
are freedoms that have been established by laws in specific states and prohibit things such as
torture, slavery and execution without trial. While civil liberties are different than human rights,
a lot of human rights lawyers are often civil rights lawyers as human rights sometimes falls into a
specialty of civil rights law. Human rights is often not a specific area of law, and those lawyers
often specialize in a few other areas such as immigration, mental health, environmental law,
public law, war crimes, etc.
Job Description
Human rights lawyers help to protect the well being of individuals, as well as challenge
discrimination and defend the rights and freedoms of regular people and organizations. On a dayto-day basis, human rights lawyers usually meet with clients and assess their case, provide
information/advice, take statements, creating court documents, researching previous cases, and
conversing with other legal professionals. Other things included in the job have to present cases
to judges and juries, negotiating settlements, filing legal appeals, and continually studying
human rights laws. According to the UN Human Rights Office of The High Commissioner, the
duties of a human rights lawyer are to: assist clients in appropriate ways and taking legal action
to protect their rights, uphold human rights and freedoms that are recognized by international as

well as national law, and advise clients to their legal rights as well as the legal system. When
human rights lawyers have to practice internationally, their duty is to safeguard, or protect, those
rights and freedoms no matter where in the world their clients are under threat. Since human
rights law isnt a specific field of law, most human rights lawyers will work in a range of legal
areas. They may focus on policing, privacy, immigration, family law cases, housing, or
employment. A private practice lawyer can be involved in things like immigration and police
cases, or filing applications against journalists for disclosure of information in articles. A
government lawyer may do human rights work since it is required for most departments to have
policies that are compatible with human rights law.
General Career Path
Since human rights issues are found in most areas of law, those who graduate from law
school can specialize in one area of law like employment, or family law, and still can be
considered a human rights lawyer. Before becoming a human rights lawyer, it is necessary to
clarify whose lives you want to change and why, define what causes are most important to you,
and what human rights abuses inspire you to take action. By answering these, a lawyer can better
focus on what specialty of law they want to enter into. Emma Douglas is a supervising solicitor
at the University of Law in England. She states that it is a good idea to focus your studies
towards human rights work as early as possible during law school. The electives one takes
should fit in with the kind of work they would want to do in the future. She recommends students
do a minimum of one morning or evening per week of volunteer work at a law center. Ben Jaffey
is a barrister who specializes in public and human rights recommends be reading current news,
thinking about legal angles, and looking for human rights cases to be able to identify them. He
says that working for the government is a good idea since it offers a different perspective of

human rights issues. Language is also an important necessity for a human rights lawyer,
specifically French, Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin. The language one chooses should directly
relate to the area of interest chosen. Since a lot of human rights lawyers are flexible and
sometimes shift into a career in human activism or international law, it is good to be willing to
work across a number of legal disciplines.

General Education Experience

In order to become a human rights lawyer, as well as any lawyer, a person must have an
undergraduate degree. The American Bar association doesnt require any particular field of study,
so it isnt required to have a specific undergraduate degree. After completing an undergraduate
degree, the next step is applying for law school. Law school acceptance relies greatly on grade
point average. Law school typically takes 3 years to complete and it is recommended to focus on
social justice or human rights law. One must also have a Juris Doctor Law Degree. Some
possible courses to focus on could be child advocacy, gender justice, world poverty, human rights
theory and history, immigration law, and desegregation. It is also recommended to have an
affiliation with a professional human rights organization as it can help increase ones credibility
and exposure in the field. Additional skills should be knowing a foreign language, be able to
interact with clients, witnesses, and media outlets professionally and be able to have good
interviewing, speaking, and writing skills. They must also be able to organize and manage a case
and draft legal documents.

Average Salary

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that lawyers in general receive a median
annual wage of $115,820 as of May 2015. In 2008, the U.S. Labor Statistics also stated a lawyer
that is taking an entry-level position including human rights cases earns a median annual salary
of $41,000. Human rights layers salaries depend on their chosen specialty. For example, an
entry-level public defender earns an average yearly salary of $47,500 while an entry-level UN
human rights attorney could earn $44,000-$90,000 depending on which UN headquarters the
lawyer worked at. Civil rights attorney salaries also very depending on employer, location, and
experience. Their salary can range from $69,000-$145,000. When first starting as a human rights
lawyer it is expected to receive a starting pay of $84,000 annually. After many years on the job,
this could potentially increase to $120,000 annually.

Career Outlook
In the human rights field there is a bit of competition because human rights organizations
have fewer job openings and often less funding than business law practices. In 2013, a U.S.
Bureau of Labor statistics survey shows the average number of hours worked by human rights
organization employees is declining between 2011-2013. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
also estimated that employment for lawyers in general would increase by only 6% from 20142024. However since human rights issues exist in many different areas of law, there are
opportunities to work for a law firm that doesnt specialize on only human rights. This can
expand the job opportunities greatly. It is recommended to specialize in a human rights related
field that has growth potential. An example of this would be elder law as it is profitable and
growing as the population ages.

Bio
Amal Alamuddin Clooney is a Lebanese-British lawyer and activist. She was born in
Beirut on February 3, 1978 and was raised in England. She had scholarship to Oxford University
in 1996 and graduated with a bachelors degree in law in 2000. She then attended New York
University School of Law where she earned her Masters and then spent several years practicing
at Sullivan & Cromwell LLPs New York Office. In 2005 Amal became a part of the United
Nations tribunal that was established to prosecute those responsible for the assassination of Rafic
Hariri. She is currently a barrister in London and represents clients in cases before the
International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and the European Court of
Human Rights. When not in court she lectures on criminal law and universities and also has coedited the book The Special Tribunal for Lebanon: Law and Practice. Additionally she trains
judges, UN investigators, and state officials on criminal and human rights laws.
Pros and Cons
The pros of being a human rights lawyer is that the job is very rewarding. Simply the act
of helping a client through a legal matter with success is satisfying. Another pro is that it is often
not repetitive, as no two cases are the same. It is a good career if you are a person who enjoys
confrontation and strategy. It is a very fast-paced career and the work can be diverse. Along with
helping a client win a case, if you are passionate about civil rights than doing the job regardless
is rewarding because youre following your passion.
The cons of being a human rights lawyer is that it can be very stressful and a job with
very long hours. Hours can sometimes not be set, and will vary depending on the case you are
working. If you are a person who doesnt like conflict or deadlines it is not a good fit. The
deadlines in law are very strict, and can lose a case completely. Another con is that it is difficult

to not take your job home with you, as you will continue to think about the case long after you
leave the office.

Fit with this career

After doing this research I am still unsure about my fit with this career. My original plan
was to get an undergraduate degree in international studies and then possibly apply to law
school. Not only is international studies a useless degree for the most part, Im not sure if I could
even get through law school with my sanity in tact. Although if I were able to get through law
school, I would want to be a human rights lawyer. I am passionate about human rights, and want
to make a change, but I have also heard it is not that simple and it is a lot of small cases for not
much personal payoff at times. My step dads father, Frederic Dorwart, is a lawyer and he
informed me most people now who go to law school still have a hard time finding a job once
they graduate. Another reason this may not be the best fit for me, is that I am not a good public
speaker, and I tend to stay away from conflict. Another issue is that, for example this paper, I am
terrible with deadlines as I put things off or stress too much and take too long on them. While it
is an interesting career path, I dont think I would do very well at it.

References

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