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Where Will Your Legal Education Take You?

Compliance Attorney

Lego Compliance Attorney

Graphic by Alondra Pulido

Compliance attorneys may work for a corporation, and assist that corporation comply with governmental and contractual obligations. In doing so, compliance attorneys try to address problems before they arise, and reduce the legal risks taken by the corporation. It is recommended that law students interested in pursuing a career as a compliance attorney study contractual and administrative law, rules of discovery, and evidence.

Careers in compliance law are regulatory in nature, with compliance attorneys being responsible for keeping up with rules, policies, and regulations at both the state and federal level. Variance within the job leads to some compliance attorneys focusing more on transactional or litigation work, while others may work relatively outside of the law, as a compliance officer, but with a legal background that assists them in administering risk assessments and audits of the organization’s compliance.

Compliance attorneys may specialize in the area of health law, because the industry has numerous governmental obligations, including those related to Medicare and Medicaid, as well as privacy and security laws. The healthcare industry must constantly audit its processes and performance to ensure adherence to such regulations, and compliance attorneys specializing in health law are often called upon to do so. During the COVID-19 pandemic, compliance attorneys have become increasingly important to healthcare compliance, making sure that corporations and communities abide by the government’s expectations during the pandemic (learn more about Health Law Attorneys).  

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Students who do not wish to complete their J.D. but who nonetheless want to pursue a legal degree may choose to attain a Master of Jurisprudence (M.J.) from the University of Washington. Additionally, compliance professionals unsure of whether they want to commit to a 3-year J.D. program that believe that legal knowledge would be beneficial to their current profession may also choose to pursue the program. The Master of Jurisprudence (M.J.) program offers 10 areas of focus, including health law, employment and human resources law, health law in China, and an individually tailored education program so students can tailor their curriculum to fit a more compliance-focus. Because most positions in compliance do not require a J.D., the M.J. is a good fit for those wishing to enter the field of compliance without a J.D. 

Additionally, because environmental law may overlap with compliance, law students interested in this area of compliance may consider taking part in the Regulatory Environmental Law & Policy Clinic at the University of Washington School of Law. 

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